Tagged: Cartoon Network

MIKE GOLD: Green Lantern Trashed – Three Times!

I’ve been trying to make it through the Green Lantern DVD. I didn’t see it in the theaters – nobody I knew actually liked it, although to be fair few totally hated it. But when a close friend who happens to be in the intellectual property racket told me the best way to see it was to download a bootleg, I got dissuaded. So now ComicMix reports there’s an “extended cut” DVD out there. Hot damn! 360 seconds of more mud.

Bobby Greenberger, who writes under the name “Robert,” reviewed this dachshund a couple days ago and he did so with all the eloquence and joie de vivre one should expect from a comic book editor turned Star Trek writer turned politician. All I can say about his review is that I agree with his observations and, damn, he’s a lot more polite than I am.

Green Lantern deserves better than this. There’s a reason why the guy has been in print for all but about eight of the past 70 years. The character actually deserves a real movie, not ten tons of CGI squeezed into a ten-ounce can. He’s survived countless reboots – and I mean countless; you can play the Monty Python Cheese Shop game with GL reincarnations. There’s something there there, and it’s something the filmmakers missed. Or avoided completely.

Now I see the clips for the new Green Lantern animated series. It’s from Warner Bros. Animation – go figure – and once again, they seem to have missed the boat by driving to the wrong ocean. This is the same company that did brilliant adaptations of the character in two solid, entertaining D2DVD movies as well as on their Justice League and Superman animated shows. Heck, they even did a great job with the guy on their Duck Dodgers show. So why they decided to abandon all of this for a diuretic dump of overly modeled CGI crap is beyond me.

Well, it isn’t quite beyond me. They’re simply following in George Lucas’s footsteps. Personally, I would have picked Bruce Timm. Or even Jay Ward. Tom Terrific looked better than this.

Maybe the writing will be so fantastic it’ll overcome their clunky, awkward and cheesy animation approach. I’m more than enough of a fanboy to give it a shot. It goes up on Cartoon Network on Armistice Day.

And, please, don’t get me started on the New 52 Green Lantern.

Review: ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One Part Two’

[[Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]] is just a fun television series that pays homage not only to the joyful comic books of the 1960s but  crams in both story and characterization with a verve that is all too often missing from animated fare. Out this week is Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One Part Two featuring episodes 14-26, which ran on the Cartoon Network between March and October 2009.

Clearly, the highlight of the two-disc collection is “[[[Mayhem of the Music Meister]]]!” with Neil Patrick Harris as the singing villain. The music is fun and bouncy and the story fresh. It was so well-regarded by the producers that they rushed out an eight-track CD soundtrack within a week of the episode’s debut.

The show is a romp through the DC Universe with most of the characters recognizable although they have been given some modern-day reimagining so Aquaman is a pompous doofus and Green Arrow is out to one-up his counterpart. My complaints about the show which I aired when the first set was released remain. Batman has too many gimmicks that fit the needs of the script and his cape converts to a jet-pack (I’d sooner have the dreaded Whirly-Bat). These are really quibbles as the show entertains with amazing consistency.

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Dwayne McDuffie by Glen Muramaki & Andrew Pepoy

Dwayne McDuffie tributes

  • News
  • February 22, 2011

Dwayne McDuffie by Glen Muramaki & Andrew Pepoy
From all corners of the comics internet, the only word to describe the reaction to Dwayne McDuffie’s death has been shock… although dammit is running a very close second. His passing has become a trending topic on Twitter, which only partially shows how far his influence really was.

Andrew Pepoy sent the image above, which he inked over Glen Muramaki’s pencils. Dwayne liked it a lot and used it on his blog and Facebook page, it’s nice to see the original at a decent size.

From Peter David:

I will never forget sitting in his office as we worked out storylines. There was more than just his physical presence (he was well over six feet tall). He seemed to radiate confidence in his abilities, which was entirely warranted, and he was determined to roll with whatever curves Cartoon Network might throw his way and turn them into the best stories possible. He had boundless enthusiasm not only for his work, but for the sheer creative process. To say he will be missed is to understate it. I offer condolences not only to his family, but to the entirety of fandom for losing one of the great ones.

Geoffrey Thorne:

he was a great man. he was good friend to me. he was the only person in my life i’d refer to as a mentor. i can’t fucking believe it. i really am not a person right now.

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‘MAD’ Comes to Cartoon Network

‘MAD’ Comes to Cartoon Network

  • News
  • September 10, 2010

For those who missed it (including us, to be honest), on Labor Day, a funny thing happened; at 8:30 PM, Cartoon Network aired a ‘MAD‘  cartoon. And guess what? It wasn’t a one-time fluke! Our friends over at HeroComplex snagged the new animated sketch show’s producers Mark Marek (of Crank Yankers fame) and ‘Emmy winner’ Kevin Shinick (of Robot Chicken) and sat them down for an interview. For those who are too lazy to click that link and read their awesome interview, allow us to give you the 411:

The show is a 15 minute sketch cartoon show meant to carry the programming of Cartoon Network’s normal schedule to it’s [ironically bumpered] Adult Swim block of shows. Taking a ‘film festival’ approach to presentation, the MAD cartoon show will feature short cartoon sketches in a variety of styles. Mimicking the work and look of long time MAD contributors like Sergio Aragonés, the late Don Martin, and Al Jaffee, as well as including anything animated ranging from photo montages, flash animation, to stop motion sketches all in a single episode. Crediting the writing to “the Usual Gang of Idiots” means the material featured will provide wonderfully skewed takes on current events… targeting an audience that’ll range from the ‘kiddies about to say goodnight’ crowd to the ‘college frat kids just waking up’ demographic.

The show comes as a welcome surprise, as the last “MAD” penned show, Fox’s MADtv did little to take the real MAD brand to the masses. For those who tried to forget, we implore you to recoil in horror as you remember that the show provided the world with a sub-SNL quality sketch show with even more annoying repetitive characters (The UPS guy! Ms. Swan!), and literally no material ever gleaned from the pages of the long-running magazine. OK, that’s a bit of a lie. The show did feature a ‘Spy vs. Spy” cartoon, but it was cut after the second season, we assume because the average Fox viewer at the time was too confused by the high brow humor and subtle racial undertones of ‘Spy vs. Spy’.

Well, let’s wash our minds of that dreck, and check out ‘MAD’ on Cartoon Network… Mondays at 8:30 CST. I mean, if the show is as good as we think it’ll be, dare we say it… “What, Me Worry?”

Check out Cartoon Network for a short sneak preview.

Lost ‘Dial M for Monkey’ Cartoon Surfaces!

Lost ‘Dial M for Monkey’ Cartoon Surfaces!

  • News
  • September 1, 2010

Hey there kiddos. We were playing around working hard to find you awesome content the other day when we stumbled across this little gem! For those who recall the most excellent Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon, once shown on Cartoon Network (now being shown on Cartoon Network’s dump for it’s old toons and Hanna-Barbara classics, Boomerang!), had within it several “mini-shows”. While we were huge fans of the “Justice Friends” mock reality cartoon (in which Major Glory, the Infragable Krunk and the mighty Valhallan shared a small apartment…) the real gem of the extras was “Dial M for Monkey”. Monkey, an homage to SHIELD, Dial H for Hero, and several spy/superhero thrillers in the 60s, always spoke to me. Why? Cause super-powered monkeys are hilarious. Even more-so, super-powered monkey’s having to face off against a flamboyantly gay Silver Surfer homage, and his master, the planet eating Barbequor is too funny to pass up.

While the episode ran once in 2002 on Cartoon Network, it’s since been pulled from the run, due in part to the portrayal of said Surfer, but probably more due to the Infragable Krunk getting intoxicated, throwing up, and having to be driven home. Kids these days… so innocent. Don’t want them copying what they see on the the ole’ teevee now do we? But we trust you, loyal ComicMix fan. We’re gonna post up this “lost” episode for your enjoyment anyways. Cause we’re rebels like that. Rebels that love monkeys.

‘Young Justice’, ‘Mad’, ‘Looney Tunes’ coming to Cartoon Network

‘Young Justice’, ‘Mad’, ‘Looney Tunes’ coming to Cartoon Network

  • News
  • April 21, 2010

The Hollywood Reporter has the skinny on the Cartoon Network upfronts, and there are many familiar faces for comics fans this year.

Young
Justice: Being a teenager means proving yourself over and
over—to
peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself.  But

what if you’re not just a
normal teenager?  What if
you’re a teenage super hero?  Are
you ready to join the ranks of the great heroes and prove you’re worthy
of
the Justice League?  That’s
exactly what the members of Young Justice—Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash,
Superboy,
Miss Martian and Artemis (the renamed version of Arrowette)—will find out, whether they have what it
takes
to be a proven hero. This
all-new series is based on the series by Peter David and Todd Nauck, and is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Sam
Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave
and the
Bold) is the executive producer. Brandon Vietti (Batman:

Under the Red Hood, Superman
Doomsday, The Batman) and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles,
The
Spectacular Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H.) are the producers.

MAD:
Produced by Warner Bros.
Animation and using the iconic MAD magazine,
published by DC Comics, as inspiration, MAD is an animated
sketch-comedy series utilizing a chaotic
mix of animation styles and twisted humor to pull back the curtain and
expose the truth behind movies, TV shows, games, pop culture and, of
course, curtains! Classic MAD magazine
characters and features such as Alfred E. Neuman and Spy vs. Spy pop
up,
and no subject matter or individual will be safe from MAD’s
barrage of parodies and sketches.  In the end, viewers
won’t get even,
they’ll just get MAD!  Sam Register (Teen
Titans, Ben 10,
Batman: The Brave and the Bold)
is the executive producer.  Kevin
Shinick (Robot Chicken) and Mark
Marek (KaBlam! The Andy Milonakis Show) are the
producers.

The Looney Toons Show will star Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, along with
Yosemite Sam,
Tweety, Sylvester
— the whole gang. The network is having each episode as a
half-hour story along with “cartoons within a cartoon.” It will also having classic characters singing original
songs in two-minute music videos called Merrie Melodies and the Road
Runner and Coyote in CG shorts.

‘Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’ coming to Cartoon Network this fall

‘Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’ coming to Cartoon Network this fall

  • News
  • March 13, 2010

While it’s not one of our favorite characters, we here at ComicMix know there are plenty of Scooby-Doo fans so as a public service, we offer up the following press release:

BURBANK, CA – March 12, 2010 – Warner Premiere is in production on Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, an all-new, live-action/CG movie follow-up to 2009’s record-setting Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, it was announced today by Eva Davis, EVP and General Manager, Warner Premiere.  The film commences principal photography on March 15 in various locations around Southern California.  The family-targeted feature will premiere on Cartoon Network in fall 2010 and release on DVD through Warner Home Video in early 2011.

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster continues the Mystery Inc. gang’s adventures from the 2009 hit Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which premiered as the most-watched telecast in Cartoon Network history, and set targeted demographic records across the board.  This new film will once again feature the familiar cast of characters in their high school years as they continue to develop and sharpen their combined sleuthing skills.

“After more than 40 years, the Scooby-Doo franchise continues to grow stronger as generations of audiences embrace these timeless characters, and that adoration has been clearly reflected in box office, DVD sales and television ratings,” said Davis.. “These new live-action films, with their contemporary approach, bring excitement and thrills to an altogether new era of Scooby-Doo fans.”

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster finds the Mystery Inc. gang heading toward summer jobs at a country club owned by Daphne’s uncle, only to stumble onto strange happenings around the local lake – including mystical moonstones, creepy characters and a Frog Monster on the loose.  There’s mystery afoot and romance in the air that only the fearful foursome-plus-one – Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo – can solve in this Warner Premiere production. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will distribute the film on Blu-ray, DVD, OnDemand and For Download.

Director Brian Levant, producer Brian Gilbert and writers the Altiere Brothers return from their successful turns at the creative helm of Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins.  The Atlas Entertainment production also has the live action cast returning intact with Robbie Amell (True Jackson, VP) as Fred, Kate Melton as Daphne, Hayley Kiyoko as Velma and Nick Palatas as Shaggy. Scooby-Doo will appear via computer-generated animation courtesy of Animation Picture Company.

In conjunction with the start of film production, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Movie Sweepstakes launches March 12, 2010 with a Grand Prize package that includes a trip for four to the set of Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster during filming.  Fans can go to www.ScoobyDooSweeps.com to enter.

An animated creation from the legendary Hanna-Barbera studios, Scooby-Doo celebrated his 40th anniversary in 2009 and represents one of the longest running, most beloved franchises in cartoon history.  Starting with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1969, the awkward, snack-craving Great Dane and his four unique pals have been solving mysteries through 10 televisions series (spanning nearly 300 episodes, with a new series slated for debut in 2011), seven TV specials/telefilms, 14 made-for-video animated films (with No. 15, Scooby-Doo: Camp Scare, arriving in September 2010), and two live action theatrical features (Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed).

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