Not much to say here except that the trailer for Disney’s return-to-hand-drawn feature, The Princess and the Frog, is now up at its official site . . . so hop on over and check it out.
Black Panther trailer
A "better" version of the trailer BET Animation premiered at Comic-Con.
Looney Tunes Vol. 6 Bonus Materials
A few weeks ago it was announced that Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6 (on sale October 21st) would be the last Golden Collection. It is true, this will be the last - but let me be very clear: Warner Bros. will continue to release new Looney Tunes on DVD on an annual basis for the foreseeable future. There will be more classic cartoon restoration and collectible DVD sets to come (and No “double dipping” is planned). More about that later.
For now, we have an incredible collection of material to savor in Volume 6. Details about the main content of 60 classic Looney Tunes is listed here. Bonus materials will include:
Disc One: Looney Tunes All Stars
Commentaries Hare Trigger Commentary by Greg Ford Birth of a Notion Commentary by Mark Kausler My Favorite Duck Commentary by Jerry Beck
Music Only Tracks Raw! Raw! Rooster Jumpin’ Jupiter Rabbit Rampage Boyhood Daze
The Looney Tunes Television Specials Bugs Bunny in King Arthur’s Court [1978 WBTV special] Daffy Duck’s Easter Eggcitement [1980 WBTV special]
Disc Two: Patriotic Pals Commentaries Herr Meets Herr Commentary by Greg Ford Russian Rhapsody Commentary by Mark Kausler The Draft Horse Commentary by Greg Ford Fifth Column Mouse Commentary by Jerry Beck
Music Only Track Yankee Dood It Friz Freleng at MGM Poultry Pirates [1938 MGM cartoon] A Day at the Beach [1938 MGM cartoon] The Captain’s Christmas [1938 MGM cartoon] Seal Skinners [1939 MGM cartoon] Mama’s New Hat [1939 MGM cartoon]
Bonus Cartoons The Fighting 69 1/2th [1941 WB cartoon] Hop and Go [1943 WB cartoon] Confusions of a Nutsy Spy [1943 WB cartoon]
Disc Three: Bosko, Buddy and Merrie Melodies Commentaries Shuffle Off to Buffalo Commentary by Historian Jerry Beck A Cartoonist’s Nightmare Commentary by Historian Jerry Beck
The World of Leon Schlesinger Introduction by Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck Crying for the Carolines [1930 WB short] Haunted Gold Title Sequence Schlesinger Productions Christmas Party with Optional Commentary by Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck
Bonus Cartoons I Love a Parade [1932 WB cartoon] I Like Mountain Music [1933 WB cartoon] Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence [1933 WB cartoon] How Do I Know It’s Sunday [1934 WB cartoon]
Disc Four: Most Requested Assorted Nuts (One-Shots) Commentaries Fresh Airedale Commentary by historian Greg Ford The Hole Idea Commentary by animator Mark Kausler
Alternate Audio Programs The Hole Idea Music Only Track Martian Through Georgia Music Only Track Punch Trunk Music and Effects Track Wild Wild World Music Only Track
Bonus Documentary Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices (70 mins.)
Bonus Cartoons Sleepy Time Possum [1951 WB Cartoon] Punch Trunk [1953 WB Cartoon] Wild Wild World [1960 WB Cartoon] Bartholomew versus the Wheel [1964 WB Cartoon]
I urge you to buy the set the day it comes out (or Pre Order the set on Amazon.com). Your purchase of this collection will help keep the cartoons coming, and will strengthen the message to Warner Bros. that the public wish to continue to buying Looney Tunes on DVD.
The CCTV International website has posted a feature article on the success of the animated short films spotlighting the fuwas, the five mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. 100 short films have been created starring the five characters, who also adorn keychains, pins, stuffed animals, toys, and other Olympic paraphenalia. The article also chronicles the history of the shorts from the point when the Beijing Olympics were announced to their current success on Chinese TV.
Nick Picks Up Eisner’s Glenn Martin
Michael Eisner, former CEO of the Walt Disney Co., has sold a stop-motion animated series to Nickelodeon’s Nick at Nite. The network has ordered 20 episodes of Glenn Martin DDS and plans to launch the show next summer. Celebrity Deathmatch creator Eric Fogel is helping to design the family-oriented production for Tornante Animation, a new division of Eisner’s Tornante Co.
In the series, the titular dentist and his family set out on a cross-country road trip in their toothbrush-topped dental mobile “dental mobile.” The concept is reportedly inspired in part by In Search of America, a 1971 ABC made-for-TV movie that starred Jeff Bridges as a college dropout who drove around the country with his family in a bus.
“Nickelodeon is a global brand synonymous with innovative and creative content for kids and families,” Eisner remarks. “This network is a great fit for Glenn Martin, DDS and I look forward to helping Nick at Nite grow their primetime line up.”
“Michael Eisner has been the creative architect of some of the most successful sitcoms in television history, and we're very excited that the first new series from his new company will be on Nick at Nite,” adds Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “Glenn Martin, DDS is an innovative take on the modern American family and has the potential to be a definitional program in Nick at Nite's lineup of family comedies like George Lopez and Home Improvement."
Eisner put up his own money to make the animated pilot. A team of 10 writers has been hired and animation will be handled in Toronto. An obscure comedy troupe will provide the voices with a bit of improvisation involved. Nick plans to heavily promote the series debut in conjunction with its September kickoff of the popular sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Eisner decided to bring his show to Nickelodeon rather than Disney because he appreciated cable channels’ strategy to make bets on a small number of shows and nurture them. “And Nickelodeon liked it, they bought it. It felt comfortable to me, period,” he said.
Avatar, Freakazoid!, Tiny Toons Lead DVD Slate
Six episodes of the Nickelodeon’s hit animated action series Avatar: The Last Airbender debut on DVD with today’s release of Book 3 Fire, Volume 4. Also hitting retail are the first season of Steven Spielberg’s 1990s series Freakazoid!, and Tiny Toon Adventures, the animated feature 64 Zoo Lane and a two-part Phineas and Ferb adventure.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3 Fire, Volume 4 is a single disk that contains the final 6 episodes of the fourth season, including the ratings hit Sozin’s Comet movie, which is broken up into four installments. The Paramount Home Entertainment release lists for $16.99 an includes an Avatar comic book and commentary by creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and various members of the cast and crew.
Freakazoid! Season One is a two-disc set offering 14 episodes of the cartoon series about a cyber nerd named Dexter Douglas, who gets zapped while surfing the nest one day and turns into a smart-mouthed, butt-kicking maga-voltage superhero. Special features include the featurette Freakazoid: The Original Freak, Freakazoid-less Freakazoid Promos: cruise ship parodies that promoted the series launch, and commentary on thre key episodes by senior producer Tom Ruegger, voice actor Paul Rugg and writer John McCann. Created by Steven Spielberg, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the series aired from 1995-1997 on Kids’ WB!.The Warner Home Video disc lists for $26.99.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Volume 1 offers 35 episodes in a four-disc set. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz, Tweety, Sylvester and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang navigate childhood in this hit comedy series that introduced classic Warner Bros Animation characters to a whole new generation. Extras include the featurette From Wacky Tunes to Tiny Toons: A Looney Evolution. Fans can pick up the set for $44.98.
64 Zoo Lane is a feature-length compilation of episodes that follows the adventures of a little girl who lives next door to a zoo and who, every night, slides down the neck of Georgina the giraffe to listen to one of the animal's stories. The series currently airs on Nickelodeon’s Noggin network for preschoolers. The PorchLight Entertainment release carries a suggested retail price of $14.98.
Phineas and Ferb: The Fast and the Phineas is a two-part story arc from the hit Disney Channel animated series, which just got 13 episodes added to its second season. The Disney disc lists for $19.99 and includes “Phineas and Ferb's Homemade Tree Shade Arcade,” set-top games and the original series pitch by creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh.
Sci-fi fans can also pick up Alex Proyas’ director’s cut of vfx-laden cult favorite Dark City. Starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt and Kiefer Sutherland, the 1998 film has been updated with enhanced picture and sound, never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that viewers deeper than ever before into a trippy world where nothing is what it seems. The New Line release lists for $28.99 and is also available on Blu-ray Disc.
Academy Rediscovers George Pal
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will revisit some of the magical works of a visionary filmmaker when it presents “George Pal: Discovering the Fantastic” on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The centennial celebration will be hosted by director Joe Dante (Gremlins) and will feature a panel discussion with several Pal collaborators, as well as a screening of two Pal “Puppetoons” and the 1953 vfx-driven epic The War of the Worlds in its entirety.
The panelists will include stop-motion animator Jim Danforth (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao) Puppetoon animator Bob Baker and actors Barbara Eden (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao), Ann Robinson (The War of the Worlds), Russ Tamblyn (Tom Thumb) and Alan Young (Tom Thumb, The Time Machine). The onstage discussion will follow screenings of new prints of Rhythm in the Ranks (1941) and John Henry and the Inky Poo (1946), which earned Pal two of his seven Oscar nominations in the Animated Short Subject category. The films were restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with the Academy Film Archive.
Pal’s career in Hollywood launched with Puppetoons, a series of animated shorts that featured wooden stop-motion replacement puppets to bring fairy tale worlds to life. He later branched out into live-action feature films that still inspire today’s blockbusters.
Tickets for “George Pal: Discovering the Fantastic” may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and all seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Calif. For more information on George Pal and his films, go to www.oscars.org/events.
Polar Express 4-D Bound for Dollywood
Kicking off on Nov. 8, Dollywood’s 19th annual Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival will feature The Polar Express 4-D Experience, a theme-park attraction based on the performance-capture movie from Warner Bros. and director/producer Robert Zemeckis. The attraction will be open through Jan. 3, 2009, in the Pigeon Forge, Tenn. park’s Imagination Cinema.
The Polar Express is based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. The story revolves around a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole. SimEx-Iwerks is the worldwide exclusive distributor of the theme-park installment, which employs stereoscopic 3-D and multi-sensory effects to make believers of visitors. As park attendees Upon arrive at the North Pole, it begins to snow inside the 4-D Special FX Theater, and when the conductor sings “Hot Chocolate” and the dancing waiters begin to pour, the audience can smell the aroma of cocoa.
Dollywood is a 130-acre family adventure park that operates mid-March through Jan. 3. The Smoky Mountain Christmas festival includes a lineup of award-winning entertainment including the shows Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland, Christmas in the Smokies, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, An Appalachian Christmas, Christmas with the Kingdom Heirs, The Victorian Melodies, O’ Holy Night, Carol of the Trees and a nightly Lighted Christmas Parade. For more information, go to dollywood.com.
Wolverine wants to join the Avengers
Asked yesterday by MTV Newsif he could envision a scenario where he’d have a cameo in an “Avengers” movie, Hugh Jackman sounded more than game. “Any movie with Robert Downey Jr. I want to be in,” he grinned. “I’m open to it. I love playing this guy.” Clearly in a great mood Jackman discussed why he’s still fond of this character. “The great thing about Wolverine is he’s still a fun character. He’s a tortured soul but he’s always got a quip. He’s always got a line. He’s like Dirty Harry and Mad Max. These aren’t nice guys but they get the job done. He marches to the beat of his own drummer. That’s why I love playing him.”
SDCC Update: 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' Poster!
Walking around Preview Night here at San Diego Comic Con and, well, we kinda stumbled upon this poster for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film wasn't supposed to have a major presence here at Con, so it's nice to at least see a poster for the flick, which hits theaters on May 1, 2009. We'll have a whole bunch of photos for you from Preview Night here at Con in just a little bit -- in the meantime, what do you think about this poster? Does it get you excited for the film? Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston, X-Men Origins: Wolverine will claw its way into theaters next summer.
Sam Jackson Wants Nick Fury Cameos in ‘Thor,’ ‘Captain America,’ Unsure If Favreau Will Return to ‘Iron Man’
Samuel L. Jackson had a brief cameo as Marvel Comics character Nick Fury at the end of “Iron Man,” so it would be up to director Jon Favreau if he appears again, right? And we probably won’t see Fury until “The Avengers,” correct?
There are certain questions that superfans think they know the answer to. But when we caught up with Sam the man himself Thursday at Comic-Con, he said we still have a lot to learn about the future of Fury.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to making that character a bit more integral, in terms of the other stories that are happening,” Jackson told us, revealing that he may have multiple cameos in practically every Marvel movie for the next few years. “’Iron Man 2,’ ‘Captain America,’ ‘Thor,’ and hopefully the big one that’s coming in 2011, when they put everybody together.”
Of course, Jackson is referring to “The Avengers,” which his recent cameo set up as he recruited Tony Stark to join the superhero team. But according to the “Pulp Fiction” legend, he has no intention of keeping Nick Fury on the shelf that long.
“’Iron Man 2’ is coming sooner!” he laughed. “I’d rather go to work than wait three years and be in ‘The Avengers.’ I’m looking forward to going to work soon.”
Ben studied animation under former Disney animator Milt Neil at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He has been in the animation industry since 1984. He started doing animation for small commercials, then years later moved on to J.J. Sedelmaier Productions working on the "Cluckin' Chicken" parody for Saturday Night Live, which led to MTV, where he worked on "Beavis and Butt-Head", doing storyboard revisions, character and prop design, layout. animation on the hallucination sequence on the feature "Beavis and Butt-head Do "America" and also MTV's "The Maxx", doing character layout. As a freelancer, he's worked for various companies including Disney TV, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, HBO Family, Miramax, Warner Bros., Saatchi and Saatchi, General Mills and Comedy Central. Currently, he's still doing the freelancing thing, while developing some personal projects for pitching.
A few weeks ago it was announced that Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6 (on sale October 21st) would be the last Golden Collection. It is true, this will be the last - but let me be very clear: Warner Bros. will continue to release new Looney Tunes on DVD on an annual basis for the foreseeable future. There will be more classic cartoon restoration and collectible DVD sets to come (and No “double dipping” is planned). More about that later.
Michael Eisner, former CEO of the Walt Disney Co., has sold a stop-motion animated series to Nickelodeon’s Nick at Nite. The network has ordered 20 episodes of Glenn Martin DDS and plans to launch the show next summer. Celebrity Deathmatch creator Eric Fogel is helping to design the family-oriented production for Tornante Animation, a new division of Eisner’s Tornante Co.
Six episodes of the Nickelodeon’s hit animated action series Avatar: The Last Airbender debut on DVD with today’s release of Book 3 Fire, Volume 4. Also hitting retail are the first season of Steven Spielberg’s 1990s series Freakazoid!, and Tiny Toon Adventures, the animated feature 64 Zoo Lane and a two-part Phineas and Ferb adventure.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will revisit some of the magical works of a visionary filmmaker when it presents “George Pal: Discovering the Fantastic” on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The centennial celebration will be hosted by director Joe Dante (Gremlins) and will feature a panel discussion with several Pal collaborators, as well as a screening of two Pal “Puppetoons” and the 1953 vfx-driven epic The War of the Worlds in its entirety.
Kicking off on Nov. 8, Dollywood’s 19th annual Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival will feature The Polar Express 4-D Experience, a theme-park attraction based on the performance-capture movie from Warner Bros. and director/producer Robert Zemeckis. The attraction will be open through Jan. 3, 2009, in the Pigeon Forge, Tenn. park’s Imagination Cinema.
Walking around Preview Night here at San Diego Comic Con and, well, we kinda stumbled upon this poster for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film wasn't supposed to have a major presence here at Con, so it's nice to at least see a poster for the flick, which hits theaters on May 1, 2009. We'll have a whole bunch of photos for you from Preview Night here at Con in just a little bit -- in the meantime, what do you think about this poster? Does it get you excited for the film? Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston, X-Men Origins: Wolverine will claw its way into theaters next summer.
Samuel L. Jackson had a brief cameo as Marvel Comics character Nick Fury at the end of “Iron Man,” so it would be up to director Jon Favreau if he appears again, right? And we probably won’t see Fury until “The Avengers,” correct?
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