Looking Forward to The Secret Saturdays

Next Friday evening will be the debut of this great monster movie/Johnny Quest mash-up called The Secret Saturdays on Cartoon Network. The show is the creation of Jay Stephens, a guy who has come up with comic books Jetcat and The Land of Nod then went on to make the animated series Tutenstien.

I'm looking forward to this show as from what I have read and seen, it looks like a show that has parts of shows like the aforementioned Quest show and bits of Scooby-Doo along with the great parts of classic monster movies and a smidge of superheroics. Without giving too much away, it is the story of a family of three scientific adventures who are fighting against an evil, egocentric villain while trying to discover more about a species called Cryptids.

To find out more and to play a great online 2-d scroller game, go to the Cartoon Network website. The Secret Saturdays will premeire October 3rd at 8PM EST.

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Cartoon Network and WB Animation present "The Brave and the Bold" trailer @ SDCC

If you're a fan of Batman or classic comics/animation in general, you must be peeing in your pants about the new animated series "The Brave and The Bold". If that is you, then you may want to evacuate your facilities because here's the trailer for said series was premeired at San Diego Comic-Con courtesy of Cartoon Network and Warner Brothers Animation (video provided by CBR):

After watching it and you're hungry for more, go on over to Superherohype.com to read an exclusive interview about the series with Producer/Character Designer James Tucker and Voice Director Andrea Romano.

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Upcoming DVD Release - DC Superheroes: The Filmation Adventures

DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures

Saw this in a press release from Warner Bros and knew that it had to be mine. For those of you who may not be old enough to remember, these cartoons were the only place you would get to see the non-Big Three of DC on TV; especially the groovy Teen Titans (with a raven-haired Kid Flash and no Robin due to contractual reasons) and the Justice League of America. Sure, they're dated and somewhat preachy but that's what makes them so good. Pick it up and show it to that special grade schooler in your life and relive being a kid a half-hour at a time.

The DVD is due on August 12th with the following list of episodes:

Disc 1:

The Atom Cartoons
Invasion Of The Beetle-Men (1967)
The Plant Master (1967)
The House Of Doom (1967)

The Flash Cartoons
The Chemo-Creature (1967)
Take a Giant Step (1967)
To Catch a Blue Bolt (1967)

Green Lantern Cartoons
Evil is as Evil Does (1967)
The Vanishing World (1967)
Sirena, Empress of Evil (1967)


Disc 2:

Hawkman Cartoons
Peril from Pluto (1967)
A Visit To Venus (1967)
The Twenty Third Dimension (1967)

Justice League Of America Cartoons
Between Two Armies (1967)
Target Earth (1967)
Bad Day on Black Mountain (1967)

Teen Titans Cartoons
The Monster Machine (1967)
The Space Beast Round-Up (1967)
Operation: Rescue (1967)

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Best Buy Exclusive "Batman: Gotham Knight" clip

In honor of the release of Batman: Gotham Knight today, here's a quick second post. Click on the picture above (or here) to see an exclusive clip from the Warner Brothers DVD movie. Be aware - this clip will probably require Windows Media Player or something similar.

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Hulk versus Wolverine trailer and Marvel Direct-To-DVD Announcement

Marvel is trying their best to keep the good vibe momentum from Iron Man (and to a lesser degree the new Hulk movie) by knocking out Direct-to-DVD animation movies like there is no tomorrow. And according to its released timetable (posted here), here is the latest info on the Hulk Vs. DVD.

Marvel.com has leaked out that Hulk Vs. DVD actually contains two movies - the undercard of Hulk versus Thor and the Main Event (and the one that will turn comic geeks to a puddle of mush) Hulk versus Wolverine. Also, Marvel.com has a quick trailer for the Banner versus Logan match.

The way I see it, this news is a strange mixture of odd pairings and possible pitfalls if done wrong. I'm not quite the comics historian but I don't really remember the Hulk versus Thor fight. I'm not saying that it won't be a good tale but the movie itself is going to greatly overshadowed by the comic anticipation that is Hulk vs. Wolvie.

As for the done wrong part, here's where I might be in the minority. I like my superheroes relatively proportionate. but if you look at the screencap above, it is simply not the case. Hulk has a huge body but has a head that resembles the head-shunked one from Beetlejuice. And what happened to Wolverine's nose? It's about the size of a fingernail. Maybe I am nitpicking but I'm not ready to get in line to buy this one like I am for the new Batman: Gotham Knight 2-disc'r.

Speaking of the trailer, here it is embedded below. give it a once over and let me know if I'm way off base with this one.

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Marvel's Super Hero Squad rights snagged by THQ

Here's a case where I missed the news on this latest license acquisition by THQ due to the fact that I was actually playing with the source materials - with my son and daughter obviously (not that there is anything wrong with adults playing with them by themselves). My son is real excited for the new series and subsequent video game (Wii will be a must for this demo) but how do you explain to a five year old why it won't be until the fall of 09 before he get to see it?

Check the PR here at Variety and a more robust one here at the THQ corporate website.

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DC Animation Seasons Available at iTunes

As I was importing some George Carlin concert mp4s onto the old iPod, I went to the store and saw the ad for new DC shows added (image below). Those shows (all 1st season episodes) are:

• Adventures of Superman (Live Action)


• Aquaman


• Batman Beyond


• Batman - The Animated Series


• Superfriends


• Superman - The Animated Series


• Superman - The Fleischer Cartoons

Once I clicked the link, I was immediately both happy and sad - happy for the fact that these shows are available for download and sad because I already have them all on the DVD. I mean, I wouldn't be a fanatic if I didn't.

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"Wolverine & The X-Men" trailer online - Now without zero Foo

Here's the updated and "official" trailer for the new animated Wolverine & the X-Men series. There are a couple new scenes with more fanboy eye candy (meaning the introduction of more superheroes) but it still looks off to me. Maybe it's the fact that Logan is front and center on a team where he's more of an hot-headed anti-hero. Or maybe it's the fact that Professor X and Jean Grey are taken out of the series entirely. Or maybe, just maybe, it's the fact that Cyclops wears a friggin bolero jacket and looks awful. Oh well, at least the trailer gets rid of the Foo Fighters song that the original trailer obviously did not get approval for and was not really appropriate in the first place.

Check it out for yourself below and make your own decision. Then, post that opinion in the comments. I dare you.

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Spectacular Spider-Man Theme Song Download

Came across this link on the internets and thought that I'd pass it along. To get the song, click on the image below.


Disclosure - If this MP3 happens to be in violation of some copyright code (RIAA or other institution) and you are the legal owner of said property, please contact me and I will remove the link that was discovered.

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"Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow" trailer now online

Marvel and Lions Gate have released the trailer for the next Direct-to-DVD video, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The movie follows the offspring of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes (mentored by Tony Stark) as they avenge their parents by taking on the mechanized evil of Ultron. Here's the trailer:



These Direct-to-DVD have been somewhat inconsistant from being quite decent (the sublime Doctor Strange and the first Ultimate Avengers movies) to the so-so (Iron Man was ehh) to the awful (Ultimate Avengers 2 was just laughable). Jusging by this trailer, this one has the potential to be, at least, similar to the great Teen Titans series but we'll have to wait until this summer to find out if those first impressions are good ones.

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Batman: Gotham Knight DVD details

Rather than fill this post with any setup, here's just the facts:

Release Date:
July 8, 2008

Versions:
Single Disc DVD ($19.98 SRP)
2-Disc Special Edition DVD ($29.98 SRP)
Blu-Ray Disc ($34.99)

Specs:
Video - Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio - 5.1 Dolby Digital

Voice Talent:
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Michael Richardson
Will Friedle
Gary Dourdan
Ana Ortiz
Parminder Nagra
David McCallum
George Newbern
Alanna Ubach
Jason Marsden

Extras (included in SE and Blu-Ray):

• “Batman and Me a Devotion of Destiny: The Bob Kane Story” - The comprehensive chronology of the remarkable life of the creator of Batman


• “A Mirror for the Bat: The Evil Denizens of Gotham City” - A stimulating documentary covering Gotham City’s most nefarious of characters, combined with a look into the symbiotic relationship Batman shares with his enemies


• “Batman: The Animated Series” Bonus Episodes - Bruce Timm selects his favorite episodes from Batman: The Animated Series


• “Sneak Peek: Wonder Woman” - DC Universe animated original movie


• Audio Commentary track features the filmmakers of Gotham Knight

If you want more info, it can be had at KFR

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Ripped from KFR - The Spectacular Spider-Man: A Fast-Forward Review

Just in case you’ve been away from KFR for the past week, the latest animated incarnation of Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, hit the cable/satellite waves last Saturday. Rather than go through a rather lengthy traditional review of both shows, I’m only going to hit upon the good and bad things from the first two episodes.

The Good:

• No tired attempt at an origin rehash (At this point, everyone on the planet should know how Peter Parker became Spidey; glad that the creators didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Although, there’s probably gonna be an origin episode in Season Three but I’m crossing my fingers here.)
  Peter Parker is a short geeky teenager again (As One More Day in the comics proved, the only good Spider-Man is one where Peter Parker has angst; not one where he’s over 6’2”, handsome, married to a world-famous supermodel and an accomplished scientist. Call it the Honeycutt rule – BJ with no mustache = funny; BJ with mustache = not funny.)
• Good restraint in not going overboard with the redesigning of the villains (Aside from Electro looking more like The Batman’s Mr. Freeze than the excellent original, the slight redesigns of both the Vulture and The Enforcers looked different enough from its comic version but not so much that they became Marvel 2099. Surprisingly good.)
• Great use of plot touchstones to tie episodes together (Rather than introduce the villains in the episodes that they appear in, the method of using the characters in their pre-villain form such as Doc Ock, Sandman, Venom, Green Goblin and the Lizard give the appearance of some form of continuity and give the older fanboys cause to smile when seeing them on screen)
• Good integration of 3-D and traditional 2-D animation (The “vine swinging” city scenes looked good and showed how far the rendering and integrating of 3-D animation has come since the late 90s. If anyone doesn’t know what I’m talking about, go rent the Batman/Mr. Freeze Direct-to-Video movie to see what I mean.)

The Bad:

• Terrible use of stereotypes in lead female characters (While the redesign of Spidey’s villains was seemingly restrained in most cases, the same could not be said for the female characters in the first two episodes. Gwen Stacy is a typical girl nerd while Liz Allen is some sort of non-descript ethic airhead cheerleader. Not cool.)
• Eddie Brock as a Lab Rat and Parker’s friend (Again, what the…? I like my Eddie Brock dumb and jealous of Petey; not being his bud and helping him get his foot in with Dr. Connor’s at ESU. Not liking how this will play out.)
• Art was so-so (This is nitpicking but the art for the series has that Matsuda/the Batman feel to it, which is grating to some people and not so much to others. I’m not asking for Hanna Barbera or Filmation-style artwork but a change in style from the previous superhero series would’ve been nice.)
• Not enough JJJ (How can you have the nemesis for both Parker and Spidey on screen for less than a couple of minutes? J. Jonah Jameson is both comic foil and antagonist who needs to be there to hate Spidey and to work Parker to death. Can’t be stated enough –More JJJ!)
• Spidey-verse may be too small (another nitpick but how can The Goblin, Doc Ock, and the Vulture work for Osborn Industries and Electro, Venom and The Lizard work for the same lab at ESU? Just seems too forced for my tastes but then again, I’m not ht target audience for the show.)
  

Overall, the two episodes were fun and made for a great start to the series. If you missed it last week, this week’s installment has the Lizard’s series debut so you better get on board, pal.

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