Mr. Peabody to get a new voice from Downey

Briefly: One of my favorite contemporary actors, Mr. Robert Downey, Jr., has been cast in a new film for DreamWorks, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. The film, of course, will be based on the original cartoon, which was a part of Jay Ward's classic Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Although I hope it will be as good as the following clip from the original show, I have my doubts--especially since it is coming to you from the writers of the recent Yogi Bear flop. Although, it is being headed by Rob Mikoff, director of The Lion King and Stuart Little. I just don't know what to think yet; I have so many conflicting emotions about this project . . .

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Itchy and Scratchy meet 'Up'

Briefly: Above you will find the Itchy and Scratchy clip from last night's episode of The Simpsons (courtesy of Hulu). It parodies the brilliant 'Married Life' segment from Pixar's masterpiece Up, and even features Giacchino's wonderful score.

The episode also features Zuckerberg and numerous references to Facebook, most likely due to the recent release of The Social Network (which was, by the way, my favorite film of the year besides Toy Story 3).

I love when pop culture references other pop culture...

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'Prep & Landing' Wins 4 Creative Arts Emmys

Prep & Landing, the first TV special produced for ABC by Walt Disney Animation Studios, won four Creative Arts Emmys Saturday night. This "pre-show" at the Nokia Theater in L.A. was a lead-up to the Emmys, which will air live, August 29.

Prep & Landing swept the animation categories, winning Outstanding Animation Program (Exec. Producers Chris Williams and John Lasseter, Producer Dorothy McKim, and Directors/Writers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton were singled out for this award), and three Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (a juried award won by Background Key Designer William M. George III, Art Director Andy Harkness, and Storyboard Artist Joe Mateo).

Other winners of the night include The Simpsons, the Robot Chicken Christmas Special, and The Ricky Gervais Show.

This portion of the Emmys will air this Friday on E!, while the main Emmys ceremony will air live on August 29, with host Jimmy Fallon.

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New 'Airbender' Series Announced

Comic-Con 2010 has begun, and that means a flood of entertainment news. Nickelodeon has gotten the ball rolling this year with an announcement all about a spinoff of their Avatar: the Last Airbender franchise. No, they didn't announce another Shyamalan mess, but, thankfully, a whole new animated TV series.

Here is the official synopsis:

The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and follows the adventures of the Avatar after Aang – a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenage girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra.

Korra’s quest eventually leads her to Republic City–the epicenter of the world of “Avatar.” A metropolis powered by steampunk-type technology, the city is inhabited by people from all nations. Korra finds that Republic City suffers from rampant crime and is also dealing with an anti-bender revolt. Korra is tutored by Aang’s son, Tenzin, in the ways of airbending.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this yet. I am incredibly excited to see more animated Avatar, but it will be near-impossible for them to match the humor, suspense, and very deep character arcs of the original series. Can they replicate the slapstick comedy of Sokka? Maybe. The awesome philosophies of Iroh? I doubt it. The intense character of Zuko? Not in a million years.

But all of this is premature. After all, the original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are still heavily involved in the project. This new series starring a waterbender named Korra (who, according to execs at the studio, is "hot headed, independent, and ready to take on the world") could be just as great as the original. Or it could be a complete flop. We will find out in 2011 when this new series debuts on Nickelodeon.

Source: WSJ

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Pixar's Secret Dinosaur Project Revealed

Since Pixar is such a wonderful studio, there is always a lot of speculation regarding their future releases. When the above photo of some Dinosaur concept art was discovered on the Up special features, everybody wanted to know what Pixar was possibly doing with dinosaurs. Perhaps it was the short attached to Toy Story 3. Maybe it was Pete Docter's upcoming feature. Nobody knew, but, finally, we all do.

Disney and Pixar will be teaming up with the Discovery Channel for a TV special entitled Reign of the Dinosaurs. It is being produced by "top creative talent at Disney and Pixar," and will focus both on teaching about the dinosaur world and the latest in paleontological research while telling Pixar-quality stories. Here's the official description:

New creatures abound in a wondrous new world – giant dinos with Freddy Krueger style clawed hands, pygmy T-rex, frogs so big they can eat dinosaurs. Learn the latest in understanding of dinosaur behaviors with exotic mating dances, the inner workings of the T-rex’s nuclear family, dinosaurs drunk on fermenting fruit, dinosaurs in apocalyptic events, the underwater birthing of mosasaurs, and prehistory’s angriest mammals.

This is great news. I have always loved dinosaurs, and am very interested to see what Pixar will do with the prehistoric world. The special will air during the 2010/2011 TV season.

Stay tuned for more details...

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Tweets of the Day: Talking Chimps and Iron Men

I've never been a huge fan of Twitter, but as more and more Disney and Pixar folks get Twitter accounts, the more valuable a resource it becomes. That's why I'm starting a new feature of Disney, etc., where I'll share the best Disney-, Pixar-, and movie-related tweets with you.

My favorite so far is from yesterday and is by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich:

Many people have been asking what my next project is after Toy Story 3. I can finally reveal: a 100% motion-capture Lancelot Link movie.

I'm sure that he's joking, but it's still really funny. If you don't know what Lancelot Link is, watch the embedded video below. In my opinion, Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp is possibly the best TV show to ever air. Ever. It's so great due to it's campiness, and the simple fact that it is full of talking, costumed chimps. And adding the motion-capture detail makes the tweet all the more funny. We can all hope that Mr. Unkrich isn't joking...



The next-best tweet is by Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau:

Iron Man 2 is signed, sealed, delivered!

While not as funny as Unkrich's tweet, this is exciting news. Iron Man 2, which will be released on May 7 of this year, is officially completed! I loved the first Iron Man, and can't wait to see the new one.


Those are all of the amusing and exciting tweets that I've seen recently. As I said before, no matter how against the idea of Twitter you are, it has a wealth of information that you can't find anywhere else. I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Tweets of the Day.

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A Short Review of 'Prep & Landing'

Prep & Landing, a 30-minute animated short from Walt Disney Animation Studios, just premiered on ABC, and it was great. It follows the adventure of what happens to one elf when he gets himself, temporarily, on the naughty list.


While the story is a bit cliche with the "guy wants a promotion but ends up forgetting about it when he learns his lesson" theme, the overall special was wonderful. It took an exceptionally unique twist on the world of Santa and the elves with high tech gear cleverly connected with traditional Christmas keywords and names for things.


The reindeer were funny and all of the character designs were very quirky and cool. The animation was also unique and great. The whole Christmas special felt very "John Lasseter" to me with its formulaic plot and focus on character. The score by Michael Giacchino was also great--he managed to work multiple, recognizable Christmas tunes into a score that fit the action perfectly. Other tie-ins to Christmas, such as the classic Nat King Cole Chirstmas Song and a TV playing Mickey's A Christmas Carol made the special even better.


While not perfect, I'll certainly watch Prep & Landing again before Christmas. Even though the plot was lacking, the characters were unique, the animation was flawless, the score was wonderful, and its premise was very clever and interesting. You'll definitely want to check out the first 30-minute TV Christmas special to ever come out of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

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ABC Brings You A Christmas Special and Pixar Short Films

ABC always kicks it up a notch when the holidays come around. Well, the holidays have come around, and kick it up, they have. First, I'd like to talk about the new Christmas special that will be premiering on December 1. It is called Prep & Landing and is the story of an elite group of covert elves that prep the homes before Santa's arrival. It is the first special created by Walt Disney Animation Studios that will be shown on ABC. And, since it was created there, John Lasseter has had quite a bit to do with its production, so we should all expect great things from the half an hour long, computer-generated special. Watch some great behind the scenes videos at this link. They have some great interviews, clips from the special, and some really interesting animation secrets revealed. Look for Prep and Landing on ABC this 1st of December at 8:30/7:30c.


Also coming up on ABC is a two-hour special showcasing, for the first time ever on television, the Pixar Shorts! They will show every short from The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. to Boundin', the Cars Toons to Presto. Even though I have them all on DVD, I look forward to watching them all in a row; I hope there are introductions and perhaps some behind-the-scenes footage, as well. But, even if there isn't, it should be very nice to see all of my favorites again (my top three are For the Birds, Presto, and Boundin'). This special will air on December 2 as a part of ABC's 25 Days of Christmas. Check out the press release at AWN. Even though it isn't entirely Christmas-related, those two straight hours of Pixar shorts will be a wonderful watching experience... So nice to know there are jackalopes around.

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The Aflac Duck Goes 'Up'

Here is the new Aflac commercial that is set to show in the U.S. starting May 9. What does this have to do with Disney? Well, the commercial includes Carl Fredricksen, his wife, and more scenes from Up! The commercial features a young Carl and his wife having financial troubles, then moves on to feature more footage about Aflac, its duck, and Up. Enjoy!

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Stephen Colbert on 'Up'

Briefly: Stephen Colbert made some very funny remarks about Up on Monday. Watch it here (after the advertisement):



Source: The Pixar Blog

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Stitch Humidifier and Television

Here are two rather odd products both featuring your favorite small, blue alien that resides in Hawaii.


The first is a Stitch humidifier which is a product from a Japanese company. It belches plumes of fresh air right next to your computer. How nice. But, at around $100 a pop, this USB humidifier seems a little bit ridiculous--cute--but ridiculous.


The second is another product released from the same Japanese company. It is a 20-inch LCD TV that has a full-size stitch climbing over it, complete with movable jaw to cover or reveal controls. But this TV is also a bit pricey at around $1,015.

These are, sadly, only available in Japan, presumably due to their obsession with small, cute animals like Pooh and Stitch.

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Emmy Winners Announced

The Emmys aired tonight, Sunday the 21st. It wasn't more or less special than usual, save Don Rickles. Here are some of the big winners of the night:

• Best Comedy Series: 30 Rock, although I prefer The Office and Entourage.
• Miniseries: John Adams
• Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Paul Giamatti for John Adams. I am very glad that Giamatti won this Emmy, it is his first, and he is a great actor.
• Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program:Don Rickles, for Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. I am so glad that Don Rickles won this award. He is a hilarious and great man. He is a great comedian, a hilarious Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story, and Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project was funny and interesting.

• Directing for a Comedy: Barry Sonnenfeld, for Pushing Daisies. I am also glad that Mr. Sonnenfeld won this award, because Pushing Daisies is a truly great show with wit, humor, and great writing and directing. I am glad that this show is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

• Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Personally, I like The Colbert Report, but Stewart has won this one almost every year, so, there ya go.
• Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report. I love this show, and the Emmy was well-deserved. I also loved Colbert's prune joke during the Emmys.

Those are the ones that I thought were worth mentioning. Although Mad Men and 30 Rock may have swept the competition, I believe that The Colbert Report, Pushing Daisies, and Don Rickles were the best award recipients, and I am glad that they are getting the recognition that is well-deserved.

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Pushing Daisies Updates

There are a lot of great shows on television. The Simpsons, South Park, and Spongebob Squarepants... Oh, and then there's Pushing Daisies, which, in my opinion, is the best TV show around. It is about a piemaker named Ned who has the power to bring things back to life, but finds that odd consequences come from this power. In addition to the great plot, Pushing Daisies also has tons of jokes, romance, and conflict to keep you entertained. This fabulous show features a cast of great actors and actresses including Kristin Chenoweth, Jim Dale, and Chi McBride, among other hilarious individuals.

Well, if the synopsis of the series hasn't intrigued you, the pre-season promotions ought to. The show airs on ABC on October 1st at 8/7c, and until then, there are lots of things happening. The most exciting thing is that "The Pie Hole" (the restaurant featured in the series) is making a national tour, and will be giving out free pie and Pushing Daisies-related souvenirs! These are some pictures from one of these "restaurants", and here is where you can find out when it will be in your city!



In addition to the national tour, you can get the 1st season of Pushing Daisies on DVD today! Now, if you still aren't excited about the premiere of the 2nd season of the best show on TV, Pushing Daisies, here are two exclusive "sneak peek" videos for the next season! Enjoy...

You're bound to be excited for the pie-laden, supernatural world of Pushing Daisies by now. Believe me, it is a well-written, funny, entertaining show that you will get hooked on from the 1st episode.

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'The Price is Right' Made a Mistake

Have you ever thought that those games on The Price is Right are slightly less favorable towards the contestant? A news story from today has confirmed any suspicions you might have had. They are somewhat rigged. It’s a funny story, actually. They were filming a commercial for The Price is Right, and they rigged the Plinko machine so that it’d go into the jackpot $10,000 every time. Well, they forgot to reset the machine before filming the real show, and a lady won $30,000! This seems like a big slip-up on The Price is Right’s part, and it was, which is why somebody got fired. And in case you were wondering, the lady had to play again and won $3,000, but they decided to give her both prizes, for a total of $33,000! Sadly, they will not be airing this portion of the show, so we may never be able to see the malfunctioning machine or the lucky contestant.

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