Willy’s Wonderland (2021) | Episode #94

In this episode of the Such a Nightmare podcast, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca put a coin in the pinball machine to discuss 2021's Willy's Wonderland.

Episode Highlights: We talk about how Nicholas Cage is the reason for the season and, hands down, the best part of this film. We explore the film's brilliant practical effects with the puppets/animatronics. Katherine shares how the film builds on the carnivalesque aspects of the suspension of normality, the carnival king, the ambivalent nature of fire and laughter, and dualism of images. We discuss the lovely performances of the adult actors, but lament the teenage characters and how their scenes--which take us out of Willy's Wonderland--pull down the narrative. Ultimately, as Toni puts it, while the film might not have hit all the notes...we'd love to grab a beer with the fascinating and clever filmmakers.  

A Dose of Scholarship: For more on the carnivalesque, check out Mikhail Bakhtin's "Carnival and the Carnivalesque" in John Storey's 1998 Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. And be sure to check out the essay Toni referenced: Clark Collis's "'Nic Cage is into reptiles...': The insane, behind-the-scenes story of Willy's Wonderland."  

This podcast episode first aired on April 5, 2024.

Shout-out to Jackson O'Brien; thank you for editing this episode!

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