Totoro + Chewbacca = Chewtoro!
This cute little Chewtoro adorns this t-shirt which is created by riptapparel.com. Found via Takashi Akimoto.
My Little Pony — in Japanese!
Friendship is magic — but even more magical in Japanese! Below is a very cute fan made Japanese dub of My Little Pony: Read more…
Will Wallace and Gromit be Outsourced?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 6, 2011 in Animation
This is really bad news if you love old school claymation: Aardman the studio behind Wallace and Gromit is now talking about outsourcing their animation process. This BBC news article has this very depressing quote: “When a company like Aardman is considering offshoring stop-frame animation, which we are at the moment, something’s got to be wrong.”
Garrett Hedlund May Ride Another Glowing Motorcycle
Garrett Hedlund’s made a name for himself based on his starring role in Disney’s highly successful TRON: Legacy, but it looks like he might start getting typecast. No, not based on the role he played, but on the vehicle he drove! He might be trading in his lightcycle for a Neo-Tokyo motorcycle, according to reports, as he’s been offered the lead role in…oh, no. Not this again. The live-action Akira remake? Wasn’t this thing dead in the water, like, months ago? Why do the Warners want to throw so much money at this project? Oh well. At least Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter got offered parts as well. Maybe they can class up the joint. Read more…
Mark Hamill Sends Out the Clown, For Real This Time
Posted by Michael Sacco on Oct 30, 2011 in Animation, Comic Books
Mark Hamill may have gotten famous portraying Luke Skywalker, but his acting career never quite took off afterward. Hamill found another route to the hearts and minds of a new generation, though — portraying the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series. Say what you want about Nicholson’s or Ledger’s or even Romero’s Joker, but TAS Joker is the defining Joker for most people my age, and at the very least the very first voice that comes to mind when someone says “The Joker.” Now, Hamill’s ready to say goodbye to the role after his performance as the Clown Prince of Crime in the recently-released video game Batman: Arkham City. For those who’ve been following along at home, Hamill also said this after he wrapped up Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009, but he ended up sticking around for the sequel after its developers promised him that this Joker role would be something special. Everyone give Joker a nice buzzer handshake on his way out. Read more…
Missed Star Blazers on Syfy? Catch it on Netflix
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 26, 2011 in Animation, Television
It’s been tough times for Netflix. Between the whole Qwikster debacle, price changes, and inability to renew their contract with Starz, many subscribers have decided to move on to greener pastures. Those who’ve stayed are banking on Netflix to provide fresh content despite the recent setbacks. Fortunately for us, they’re trying.
Disney Face Swapping
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 24, 2011 in Animation
Anyone remember that mid-90s action flick, Face/Off? You know, the one where Travolta and Cage swap faces for whatever reason. I always thought it was kind of ironic that even though they’re supposed to have only swapped faces, it was pretty much their entire bodies — it’s not as if they have the same build. Any way, take that concept, throw in some Disney and you’ll have yourself a hilarious Tumblr account. Disney Face Swap is a collection of ‘shopped’ images featuring one or more characters from our favorite Disney classics. The curator not only posts his own swaps, but also accepts fan submissions, so its updated frequently. The images themselves range from hilarious to outright disturbing, but they’re all work safe and, I guarantee they’ll keep you entertained throughout the day.
Disney’s Dumbo is 70 Years Old Today
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 23, 2011 in Animation
On October 23, 1941 the elephant who could use his ears to fly stepped onto the silver screen. Expectations were set low for the film as it was intended originally to be a short, and was done on a low budget to make up for the financial losses from Fantasia. Even though they weren’t trying to push the edge with Dumbo, the strong focus on storytelling and strong characters won over critics. What I love about this film is that Disney wasn’t trying to be realistic as with Snow White, so there’s a great deal of the silly cartoony look which harkened back to their shorts: Read more…
Voltron Live-Action is a Thing That Needs to Happen
I’m impressed. Earlier this month, director Alex Albrecht threw together this live-action short entitled VOLTRON: The End, starring Psych‘s Timothy Omundson. I have no idea if this was meant as some sort of series or film pitch, or if it was just something he decided to do for fun, but it’s pretty awesome. The idea of a Voltron live-action film never really crossed my mind, but having seen this, I certainly wouldn’t object. I also want to know how he landed Omundson for the role of Lance. He’s not exactly a huge star, but he is a series regular on a popular show that’s currently airing. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say his involvement was either a favor, or Omundson is just a fan of the animated series. You’d almost have to be to want to film this, wouldn’t you? Either way, it’s pretty cool that he’d take the time to contribute to the short. Let’s hope something good materializes from it.
Are Dr. Who and Yoko Littner an Item?
It looks like it’s crossover universe time on Gurren Lagann! If you look at this second photo it seems pretty clear that Yoko Littner is smitten with the Time Lord (and vise versa): Read more…
Sailor Mars is Slacking Off…
New York Comic Con can even wear out a magical girl who has super powers! Meanwhile Chun-Li is reviewing photos from the weekend: Read more…
Photobomb Dad Doesn’t Want You Looking at Cosplay Daughter!
Wait a second — who that’s peering at us behind Hatsune Miku? Oh noes it’s her father and he doesn’t seem to happy about the situation: Read more…
The Cutest Kawaii Cosplay at New York Comic Con 2011
Above: Ashphord “ashi-chan” Jacoway strikes a proper cosplay pose!
The secret to be being a cute kawaii cosplayer is having that certain smile in your eyes! And here are few examples of that technique: Read more…
Darth Maul is … Alive?
Yeah, you read that right. Apparently George Lucas is bringing back our old demon-faced Sith pal for another go in the Clone Wars TV series. Now, I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure that Darth Maul was very recently dead, so there’ll have to be some downright Lucasian story leaps to make this happen. But hey, after how much of a wasted opportunity he was in The Phantom Menace, maybe he’ll do better this time around. Just kidding. That dude’s definitely gonna die by season’s end. Read more…
What Time is It? Adventure Time DVD Time!
Posted by Michael Sacco on Oct 14, 2011 in Animation
If you’re not familiar with Adventure Time, well, here’s a short primer: it airs on the Cartoon Network, it’s hilarious, and it’s probably the best animated show on TV right now regardless of your age. That’s why the world at large should be super excited to hear that 12 episodes of the hit show are now available on DVD as “Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People.” Now, this isn’t a full season, but rather a collection of “good” random episodes. I imagine that Cartoon Network took this route to make sure that kids would inevitably have to buy more DVDs. Oh well. Take my money, Cartoon Network. It’s worth it. Read more…
Hanging Out with Jem at New York Comic Con
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 13, 2011 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
With few exceptions most of what you see at the New York Comic Con are toys, book and other goodies aimed at guys — so it was a nice break to spot Jem hanging out at the Hasbro booth. According to our diva above Hasbro will be releasing the original series on DVD and they had tons of cool toys if you wanted to recapture some of the MTV magic of the 80s: Read more…
Gandalf Has Nothing on Daffy Duck
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 27, 2011 in Animation, Television
I recently stumbled across this awesome short from a recent episode of Looney Toons and have since made it my mission in life to share it with as many people as possible. I can only preface it by saying that I truly detest the use of the word epic to describe anything these days, but if there were ever times to invoke its use, this would surely be among them. The short features Daffy Duck in the role of “The Wizard,” as he battles hordes of villains in what is later revealed to be a dream sequence of sorts — or at least, how he must envision his every day life. What really amazed me was the quality of the animation itself, as well as the character designs. It actually makes me want to sit down and watch some recent episodes of this new series to see how awesome the rest of it must be.
Star Wars Episode IV: A Toon Horse
Regardless of how you feel about the whole My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic thing, you have to admit that this scene from a recent episode, a parody of Star Wars’ ending scene, is pretty much pitch-perfect. Perhaps the world doesn’t need yet another Star Wars parody/homage/reference/whatever, but hey, if you’re gonna do it, you might as well do it right, and it looks like that’s what happened here. Side note: I feel like Vader probably would have made being a “brony” against Imperial law. That’s at least one thing he and I would agree on. Read more…
We Invited Nyan Cat to Lunch…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 21, 2011 in Animation
Or is that to be lunch? This cute video also features Candy the Magic Dinosaur…
A Reason to Buy Star Wars on Blu-ray
I’ve been trying to convince myself to overlook Lucas’ edits, but I really haven’t found a reason until now. It seems as though the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special — or at least, the portion of it featuring the introduction of Boba Fett — has been included as a hidden treat. The Easter Egg can be found on the bonus disc for the Original Trilogy by accessing the archive for Episode V. After that, navigate your way to “Pursued by the Imperial Fleet,” access “The Collection,” then select Boba Fett’s prototype costume. A menu then pops up on the right with the option “First Look” which will treat you to a short introduction that leads to the Holiday Special. If you’ve never seen the special before, be prepared to be disappointed. The voice acting is terrible, and the plot is a little lame, but it’s a piece of history that rarely sees the light of day. There’s probably going to be more Easter Eggs hidden away, but I doubt any of them could be as pleasing as this one.
K-On! The Movie Official Trailer
I’ve never been fond of K-ON! Not because it’s insanely popular, because it really is, but rather because I found it incredibly mindless. I hesitate to label it a “slice of life” series since it seems to have an actual plot as opposed to something like Azumanga Daioh. However, I would constantly find myself questioning the point of each episode. I found some of the characters, Ritsu in particular, to be far too annoying for my tastes. That said, I know there are a lot of you who loved series to death, so if you haven’t already, I’m sure you’ll be excited to see the trailer for upcoming animated film. It was announced early last year but this is the first real trailer to be released. The film will hit Japanese theaters later this year.
A Recreation of the Jonny Quest Opening Titles Made with Action Figures
Jonny Quest fanboy supreme Roger D. Evans put together this amazing video using action figures and a ton of hard work. You can view his behind-the-scenes handy work here… Read more…
Bizarre (and Awesome) Real-Life Futurama Sculptures
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 3, 2011 in Animation, Television
It’s been a good weekend for Neat Futurama Stuff. Via io9, we learned about these totally cool and completely bizarre Futurama character busts with a real-life twist by DeviantArt user Artanis One. I actually really like this Dr. Zoidberg; he looks like he’d be right at home in a Mass Effect game in this particular iteration. Honestly, I don’t think Professor Farnsworth even looks that out-of-place as a a real person; he’s already so old that there’s only so much exaggeration you can even do. As for Leela, well, I think it’s a little weirder to see a cyclops with a realistic human head than it is to see one with the Groeningian Overbite. Read more…
Futuramonopoly!
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 2, 2011 in Animation, Television
According to the much-loved cartoon Futurama, a lot has changed in the year 3000, but at least one thing remains the same: greed is still alive and well! And you can take 80s Guy’s financial advice to heart when you pick up the Futurama edition of Monopoly, which comes out in November. Everything has been given a Futurama makeover, including the railroads (now modes of travel like the Travel Tube and Robot Santa’s Sleigh) and locations (own New New York and Robot Hell, among others). Even the player pieces are now show staples like Leela’s Boot, the Planet Express Ship, and Fry’s Dog (nooooo!). Just don’t be surprised when invaders from Omicron Persei VI invade your board and enslave you. I don’t think that’s actually part of the game, but then again, this is Futurama. Read more…