Cartoon Network

Aardman Animations Takes on Superman, Batman, and Catwoman in DC Nation Short

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 4:32 pm

While you may not be familiar with the name “Aardman Animations,” you’re most certainly familiar with their work. The studio is responsible for films like Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Arthur Christmas, as well as the upcoming The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Their films are teeming with their definitive oddball sense of humor, and they’ve translated that goofiness into a fantastic series of shorts for Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block of programming.

A look at what they have in store for some of our favorite superheroes is now online, and it’s hilariously adorable. The studio takes on Superman, Batman, Catwoman, and Joker in this short, but all the claymation characters are voiced by children. British children. Hit the jump for a jolt of happiness.

Trailer for JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM and Opening Scene from GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 8:05 am

This weekend, New York Comic-Con attendees got a first look at the trailer for the upcoming animated feature Justice League: Doom as well as the opening scene from Green Lantern: The Animated Series.  I like that Doom is bringing back almost all the voice actors from Justice League, but the trailer is mostly just action scenes and corny one-liners.  Also, I didn’t realize the new Legion of Doom is six people, which is kind of dinky when compared to the twenty or thirty featured in Justice League Unlimited.  Green Lantern looks more interesting since right from the get-go we’re introduced to members of the Red Lantern Corps.  It may be a bit confusing to those who don’t know the character beyond this summer’s disappointing blockbuster, but I assume there will be some kind of exposition in the hour-long premiere.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the opening scene.  Justice League Doom is due out on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD in early 2012.  Green Lantern: The Animated Series premieres November 11th at 7/6c on Cartoon Network.

Comic Con 2011: GREEN LANTERN ANIMATED Series Interviews with Executive Producer Bruce Timm and Producers Jim Krieg and Giancarlo Volpe

by Jonah    Posted: July 26th, 2011 at 12:41 pm

While DC may not always knock the ball out of the park with their feature film offerings, it’s fairly safe to say that their Animated Television projects have been almost universally hailed as excellent.  With the Green Lantern Corps getting the spotlight this summer in a feature film, video game, and direct to home entertainment animated film, DC looks to once again storm TV screens with a new 3D CGI series Green Lantern: The Animated Series destined for Cartoon Network.  Comic Con alumnus and DC Animated architect Bruce Timm was joined by series producers Jim Krieg and Giancarlo Volpe in the press room and we were able to talk to all of them.  Watch our video interviews after the jump.

Comic-Con 2011: THUNDERCATS Screening and Panel Recap

by Jason Barr    Posted: July 22nd, 2011 at 5:03 pm

If you’re a fan of the property, chances are you already know that the ThunderCats will be returning to television courtesy of Cartoon Network. Although the series doesn’t debut until a week from today (Friday, July 29^th), the network screened the debut episode at Comic-Con in Room 6A. For my thoughts on the screening and the ensuing panel, hit the jump. [Warning: Spoilers may lie ahead]

Live-Action CAPTAIN PLANET Movie Announced

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 19th, 2011 at 8:01 am

Captain Planet was a cartoon from the mid-90s that conjures up great nostalgia for those who watched it and pledged never to pollute ever again.  That’s why the Earth is as clean as it is right now: because of a cartoon where teenagers summoned a flying blue man to beat up polluters.  Now we’ve received a press release announcing that producer Don Murphy (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Cartoon Network are developing a live-action Captain Planet movie.

For those unfamiliar with the series, five teenagers across the globe, called “Planeteers”, received special rings that bestowed superpowers and together the rings could summon Captain Planet.  Individually, four of the rings could summon useful elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. The fifth ring was “Heart” aka “We Ran out of Ancient Elements”.  The Heart kid had the power to make people care and to speak with animals.  Maybe his power needs to be readjusted for the film.  However, he also had a pet monkey, so they have to keep that.  Hit the jump for the press release.

Lucasfilm Announces LEGO STAR WARS: THE PADAWAN MENACE Cartoon Network Special

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: July 7th, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Though The Clone Wars animated series has obviously garnered a big audience of Star Wars fans on Cartoon Network, the series just might be a bit too intense for some of the younger viewers who still want to journey into a galaxy far, far away. Therefore, children and parents alike might be happy to hear about Lucasfilm’s announcement of a new 30-minute animated special called LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace which will air on Cartoon Network on Friday, July 22nd at 7/6c. Since the video games that have inspired the series are a lot more childish and silly in tone than the real Star Wars films, this will definitely be lighter fare for younger Star Wars fans, but the animation should be something fun to behold. If you’re interested, hit the jump for images from the half-hour special plus the synopsis and the full press release with details on encore airings and such.

Over 9 Minutes of Footage plus New Images from Cartoon Network’s New THUNDERCATS Series

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 4th, 2011 at 7:47 am

What’s the best way to celebrate America on this sure-to-be-slow movie news day?  Manimals!  Almost ten minutes of new footage from Cartoon Network’s reboot of the 1980s TV series ThunderCats.  I didn’t much follow ThunderCats when I was kid.  I was more of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-man…boy…person.  In any event, if you’re looking forward to the reboot or if you want your kids to look forward to the reboot, hit the jump to check out the footage plus new images/wallpapers.  ThunderCats will debut with an hour-long premiere on July 29th.

New THUNDERCATS Series Premieres July 29th on Cartoon Network and Will Screen at Comic-Con

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: June 28th, 2011 at 10:18 am

We’ve already seen two trailers for the return of ThunderCats on Cartoon Network, but the premiere of the series itself is nearly upon us as the cable network has announced the series will kick-off with an hour-long premiere on Friday, July 29th at 8/7c. Then the series will hit its regular timeslot at 8:30/7:30c on August 5th. But before all that, audiences at Comic-Con in San Diego will be able to watch the full premiere episode at a ThunderCats panel on Friday, July 22nd at 3:30pm in Room 6A. The panel will include a discussion with producers Michael Jelenic, Ethan Spaulding and art director Dan Norton.

And if you’re anxious to check out some of the old school ThunderCats before this new series takes off, Cartoon Network will also air nine episodes from the classic ThunderCats series over the weekend of July 23 and Boomerang will also host a classic ThunderCats marathon on July 16 and 17 along with airing the series every day at 5 p.m. starting Monday, July 18. For an official synopsis of the new Cartoon Network series, hit the jump.

Joel Silver Developing a Live-Action BEN 10 Movie

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 13th, 2011 at 7:51 pm

Ben 10 has grown into a massive franchise under my nose.  Since 2005, Cartoon Network has produced a hundred-some episodes of three separate animated series, not to mention one animated and two live-action telepics.  Variety reports Ben is ready to make the leap to his next medium, a live-action theatrical feature.  Joel Silver was tipped off to the property by his young boys, and reportedly sees Ben 10 as a “potential franchise starter.”  Steve Richards and Andrew Rona of Dark Castle will co-produce with Silver — Warner Bros. is in talks for distribution rights. Richards indicated the new feature will recast from any previous live-action iterations.

Read quotes from the filmmakers and background on the Ben 10 story after the break.

Kevin Michael Richardson Discusses THUNDERCATS; Says Will Friedle Is Lion-O (UPDATED) Emmanuelle Chriqui is Voicing Cheetara

by Jason Barr    Posted: March 8th, 2011 at 3:49 pm

A few weeks ago we brought you footage from the first trailer for Cartoon Network’s rebooted Thundercats animated series. Today, we have what seems to be casting confirmation from the new voice of Panthro, Kevin Michael Richardson (The Cleveland Show). While discussing the upcoming series, Richardson claims that the voice of Lion-O is being provided by Will Friedle. Probably best known (by me at least) for his turn as Eric Matthews in ABC’s long-running sitcom Boy Meets World, Friedle also has an extensive amount of voice acting credits under his belt with series’ such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman Beyond, and Kim Possible.

In addition to Richardson and Friedle, Emmanuelle Chriqui also revealed that she is lending her pipes to an unidentified character for the new-look Thundercats via her recent interview with us. For more on what Richardson had to say about the series, hit the jump to check out his video interview.

UPDATE: We’ve confirmed with the studio that Emmanuelle Chriqu is the voice of Cheetara.

First Trailer for the New THUNDERCATS Animated Reboot

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 26th, 2011 at 10:53 am

Fans of the original Thundercats series will want to skip right to the jump to check this out!  Cartoon Network is gearing up to release the new Thundercats series later this year. We recently brought you some still images of their new anime-styled look. Now, we can show you those same characters in action, plus a slew of other heroes and villains from the original series.

Want to see what Jaga and King Claudius look like re-imagined?  How about WilyKit and WilyKat?  Or maybe villains are more your thing and you want to check out the new interpretations of Mumm-ra and the Reptilians of Plun-Darr?  Why are you still reading?  Hit the jump!

THUNDERCATS Producer Talks Redesigning the Characters, the Anime Vibe, and Making Tygra Cooler

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 27th, 2011 at 9:48 pm

The first official image from Cartoon Network’s new Thundercats series caused a big splash when it dropped a couple days ago, in part because of the extensive character redesigns.  Thundercats is a property precious to the hearts of many, and you have to be careful when you try to reintroduce it to a new generation.

Producer Ethan Spaulding realizes this, and went on record to talk about the new series, including the motivation behind some of the redesigns, the Japanese influence, and where Tygra’s whip was.  Read what he had to say after the jump:

First Look at Toys and Character Designs from the New THUNDERCATS Animated Series [Updated with Official Image and Series Synopsis]

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 25th, 2011 at 1:41 pm

Last June we broke the good news that the 1980s would be making an appearance in the 21st Century with a new Thundercats animated series in the works at Cartoon Network.  Today, we have the first glimpse at new toys and character designs from the upcoming series.  While the image quality may be less than stellar, they provide enough of a glimpse for Thundercats fans to get excited about the series’ premiere later this year.  Hit the jump to check out the new images of Lion-O and company.

[Update: Shortly after posting this story, Warner Brothers Animation sent over the first official image and a short synopsis from the new ThunderCats series.  Find both after the jump.]

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Executive Producer Tim Johnson Talks Sequel and TV Series

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 17th, 2011 at 11:07 am

As we’ve previously reported, DreamWorks Animation is not only planning a sequel to their terrific film How to Train Your Dragon, but they’re developing an animated series for Cartoon Network as well.  BadTaste.it recently spoke with executive producer Tim Johnson about their plans for the sequel as well as the animated series.  Johnson says that (unsurprisingly), the sequel (which is due out in 2013) will be massive and they’re in the process of figuring out the new sets and characters.  As for the TV series, while DreamWorks Animation is pushing a Kung Fu Panda series onto Nickelodeon, HTTYD is going to Cartoon Network because DWA want to keep the more dramatic and darker edge of Dragon, and the challenge is in keeping that tone.

Hit the jump for Johnson’s in-depth answers on the sequel and TV series.  How to Train Your Dragon co-director Dean DeBlois is helming the sequel with the original voice cast set to return.

Venture Bros. Season 4 Part 1 DVD Review

by Aaron Roxby    Posted: January 13th, 2011 at 11:50 am

One of the hallmarks of a great television series is the willingness to shake up the status quo, to risk alienating the audience in the service of letting the characters and story evolve.  No two creators seem to embrace this ethic more than Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick.  When we left The Venture Bros. at the end of their third season, Henchman 24 was dead, the boys had lost their clone-based immortality and, Brock Samson quit, replaced by recovering pedophile super-villain Sergeant Hatred.

Much of Season 4, part 1 concerns the ramifications of these events. Brock’s post-venture career, 21’s transformation from sweet-natured incompetent to deadly possible-maniac and the boys, finally, growing up. Because of season 4’s new format (2 sets of 8 episodes as opposed to 13), many of these story lines don’t play out until part 2. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of gold in part 1 and, when coupled with the still-unreleased part 2, makes for one of the strongest seasons of television in years. My review of The Venture Bros. Season 4 after the jump.

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