In this edition of Animation Roundup, we have a collection of clips from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy animated series and DC's latest animated feature, Justice League: Gods and Monsters. There's also a fun bit of news for fans of Kevin Conroy, who voices a character on Netflix's series Turbo FAST that is heavily inspired by the Batman. And in a departure from our usual news, we have word of an animated science series coming from astronaut Chris Hadfield. Check it all out below!
'Guardians of the Galaxy' Animated Series clip
We brought you the first teaser trailer for Disney XD's Guardians of the Galaxy animated series about a week ago, and now we have an early clip from the show to share with you. This particular look features a young Peter Quill (Will Friedle) during his first introduction to Yondu (James Arnold Taylor) and some extraterrestrial ruffians.
Watch the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series clip below, courtesy of ET:
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy follows the newly-formed team who finds a strange artifact keyed only to the DNA of Peter Quill. Upon opening it, Quill unleashes a treasure map leading to a powerful weapon known as the Cosmic Seed which is capable of giving birth to the next universe. It’s up to the Guardians to find, protect and ultimately destroy the Cosmic Seed in order to keep it out of the hands of those who would abuse its power, from galactic big boss Thanos, to the conniving brothers the Collector and the Grandmaster, to a resurrected Ronan, to the ultimate trickster, Loki, in order to save the universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy will debut with two back-to-back episodes on Saturday, September 26th at 9:30pm ET/PT on Disney XD. You can get a sneak preview of the first episode on Saturday, September 5th at 9:00pm ET/PT.
'Justice League: Gods and Monsters' Clips
DC Entertainment's Justice League: Gods and Monsters is now available on Blu-ray/DVD, but if you haven't picked it up yet and are curious about it, these clips should be as good an introduction as any. The animated feature serves up an alternate version of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman in a storyline that sees the trio being framed for murder. It's worth a look and listen if only to hear Michael C. Hall, aka Dexter, voice Batman. Take a look at the following clips courtesy of CBR:
Justice League: Gods and Monsters also stars Benjamin Bratt as Superman, Tamara Taylor as Wonder Woman and Jason Isaacs as Luthor. Sam Liu (Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman) directs from a screenplay written by Alan Burnett based on a story by Bruce Timm & Burnett. Depending on how well the movie sells, fans could expect more content in the future after the 10-episode second season of the Chronicles series finishes up on Machinima next year.
Kevin Conroy Voices The Stinger on 'Turbo FAST'
This is a pretty cool little news tidbit for fans of Kevin Conroy's voicework. No, it's not to announce that he'll be voicing Batman once again in any upcoming projects, but that he's the voice behind a similar character in Netflix's animated series, Turbo FAST.
As Screenrant reports, Conroy plays The Stinger, a not-so-serious take on the Caped Crusader. Conroy describes him as follows:
Kevin Conroy: [laughs] Well, he’s everything that Batman is not allowed to be, which is great. That man is humble. Batman is self-effacing. Batman doesn’t want any attention for all the good work he does. This guy is arrogant. He’s full of himself. He blows his own horn. It’s so much fun to play exactly the opposite of what people expect. So I had a blast doing it.
Take a look and listen at Conroy as The Stinger in the following Turbo FAST clip and check out Season 2, now on Netflix:
Support Chris Hadfield's Animated Science Education Series
In a change of pace from the normal animation news, I bring you a very cool project that is in need of your help. Astronaut Chris Hadfield is attempting to bring science education to the masses in a new comedic animated series called It's Not Rocket Science. Featuring an animated Hadfield and his pet, Albert the Space Pug, the free series is coming to YouTube this fall for a 10-episode run.
As Slate reports, they could really use your assistance in making the show the best it can be. Their goal is to reach a funding level of $5,000 per episode; currently they're about halfway there. You can head on over to their crowdfunding site on Patreon to find out more. There are plenty of cool goodies to put your money towards from behind-the-scenes access to the series, new Albert the Space Pug avatar graphics, and your very own custom avatar in a space suit, to signed items from Hadfield himself. Whatever your level of support - even if it's just watching the monthly series and spreading the word - you'll have the gratitude of the creative team behind It's Not Rocket Science. Who knows, it could be the next Mr. Wizard, Beakman's World, or Bill Nye, the Science Guy.