Even after the 1990s animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers had its run and gained fans worldwide, humanity still continues to fuck up the planet.  The Amazon rain forest remains threatened, animal species march toward extinction due to human interference, and weather events grow ever more extreme.  It seems that our generation missed the message or chose to do nothing about it.  Time for a reminder.  Today’s suggestion deviates from previous installments which were based mostly out of a nostalgic desire to see reboots of shows and movies from my childhood.  Instead, this re-imagining comes out of a necessity of shaking people out of their complacency with environmental issues and into action.  Hollywood! Adapt this: Captain Planet and the Planeteers. 

I love this time of year. The opening week of college football is upon us and we’re in the middle of a three-day Labor Day weekend. To make matters even more enticing, the 100 degree heat of the Midwest is slowly but surely becoming a distant memory. All in all, life is good. Now, for those of you who look forward to our weekly “Top 5″ installment, things are only getting better.

In this week’s edition, we’re bringing you our coverage of Star Wars: The Complete Saga (blinking Ewoks and all), a new batch of set photos from Man of Steel and The Avengers, Don Cheadle’s hilarious albeit disturbing take on Captain Planet, and an exclusive interview with 50/50 director Jonathan Levine. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

By your powers combined, he is Captain Planet! It’s hard for me to believe that 20 years have gone by since Captain Planet and the Planeteers first aired on TBS. Two decades later and the world is still spiraling toward global environmental disaster. While we could sure use a blue-skinned, green-mulleted superhero, for now we’ll just have to settle for the first season of Captain Planet and the Planeteers on DVD.  Hit the jump for more.