Month: April 2009 (Page 2 of 2)

1980s ‘Transformers’ and ‘G.I. Joe’ DVDs announced

AWN reports that Shout! Factory and Hasbro will be bringing the classic 1980s ‘Transformers’ and ‘G.I. Joe’ series to DVD this summer.

Originally released by Rhino, the Transformers DVDs suffered from bad video and audio quality. This will not be the case with the Shout! Factory releases, as all episodes have been remastered. “THE TRANSFORMERS: The Complete First Season — 25th Anniversary Edition” will include all 16 episodes in story order from the series’ 1984 debut season. Bonus features will include “Triplechanger: From Toy to Comic to Screen: The Origins of the Transformers,” printable script, toy commercials, concept art and more.

As far as “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” is concerned, the Shout! Factory releases will include the debut of some episodes never before available on DVD due to the fact that Rhino lost the rights before they could release the entire series.

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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7’ DVDs announced

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lionsgate Home Entertainment is presenting all 27 episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, available for the first-time ever on DVD.

Fans can collect the commemorative set that will be sold as four separate DVDs, each featuring different episodes from Season 7 and a Mini-Classic Turtles Action Figure. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7 DVDs will be available on May 12th, with an MSRP of $14.98 each.

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Instant Netflix nabs South Park and Nickelodeon content

Big news for South Park and Nickelodeon fans as Netflix today added hundreds of new animated episodes to their Instant Streaming service.

Users now have access for the first nine seasons of South Park, which consists of a total of 139 episodes. Also available now are Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob Squarepants and others.

Available Blues Clues and Dora the Explorer episodes include the complete first and second seasons, while SpongeBob Squarepants fans can check out the third season.

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‘The Goode Family’ premieres May 27 on ABC

According to a supposedly leaked schedule, ABC will debut Mike Judge’s newest animated show, The Goode Family on May 27, airing two episodes from 9-10pm, after the season premiere of the game show, Wipeout.

The Goode Family is the latest from the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill and tells the story of a family obsessed with doing good.

ABC is expected to confirm the schedule this week.

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Pixar’s “Up” not commercial enough, claim experts.

As usual, the “experts” are predicting that Pixar’s upcoming masterpiece Up will not be a big merchandising hit due to the film’s protagonists: a chubby boy scout and a 78-year-old cranky man. According to Richard Greenfield of Pali Research, “We doubt younger boys will be that excited by the main character,” while also complaining about the lack of a female lead.

Thankfully, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, came to the aid of his company’s product. “We seek to make great films first. If a great film gives birth to a franchise, we are the first company to leverage such success. A check-the-boxes approach to creativity is more likely to result in blandness and failure.”

This feeling is mutual among Pixar’s Pete Docter, director of Up and Monsters Inc., who has been quoted as saying: “We make these films for ourselves,” he said. “We’re kind of selfish that way.”

The quality of the film is so impressive that it will have the incredible honor of opening the the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Unfortunately all the early praise and Pixar’s prestige aren’t enough to convince retailers and toy manufacturers to support Up. According to reports, Target and Wal-Mart will stock little Up merchandise because there was not much interest from manufacturers; mainly Thinkway Toys, Pixar supporter since Toy Story, which will not produce any Up products.

Fortunately for all those money hungry execs who want tie-in merchandise, Pixar will deliver Toy Story 3 in 2010 and Cars 2 in 2011 — both of which will provide thousands of product opportunities ranging from childrens’ toys to shampoo. So relax, Wall Street.

Via NY Times

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‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Blu-ray release date

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment today announced that it will release Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Blu-ray on October 6, followed by a Deluxe 2-Disc DVD release on November 24.

The film will be released as Disney Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack and will include new bonus features with a restored picture and new 7.1 digital HD surround sound. This is the first time Snow White has been available in any form since 2001.

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‘Iron Man: Armored Adventures’ premieres April 24

Nicktoons Network announced today that “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” will premiere Friday, April 24 at 7:00pm. It will continue to air in that time slot. The 26-episode animated half-hour series follows a teenage Tony Stark as he attempts to balance the pressures of being a teen with his responsibilities as Iron Man.

In the fpremiere episode, “Iron, Forged in Fire, Part 1,” Tony Stark has just finished his greatest invention: the Iron Man armor. But before he gets to show his dad, Tony’s world is shattered. His father, his home, his entire life are all gone, and Tony is left picking up the pieces. But with the help from his friends Rhodey and Pepper, he begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the attack on his father. As Iron Man, Tony takes his first steps toward becoming a hero.

Below is a sneak peek at the series:

‘The Simpsons’ USPS stamps announced

Next time you’re at the post office you may just find yourself sticking Homer Simpson on your envelopes. Featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, the stamps were designed by Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

A sneak peek of the stamps will go live on USPS.com next Thursday, April 9 at 8:00am. The Postal Service will also take this opportunity to announce the release date and how to pre-order the stamps.

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Max Fleischer’s SUPERMAN coming to DVD

Warner Bros. is set to release the “Max Fleischer’s SUPERMAN 1941-1942” 2-disc DVD set on April 7th and The Animation Blog has a sneak peek for you below.

The collection includes 17 Technicolor short films along with tons of bonus features including a documentary which defines the tradition of the “Super Human” archetype of hero and why Superman resonates with fans on such a deep and personal level. Also included in the bonus features are interviews with surviving members, relatives and biographers of the animation and production team and contemporary animators such as Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series), Paul Dini and Dan Riba (Superman: The Animated Series) who detail the influence these cartoons have had on their own works.

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