Who loves Star Wars? We do too! So it’s with great pleasure that we here at Geeks of Doom have five (5) copies of Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars to give away to some lucky readers!

One (1) winner grand-prize winner will receive:

– (1) autographed copy of Draw Star Wars: Clone Wars, signed by author Bonnie Burton

Four (4) winners will each receive:

— One (1) copy of Draw Star Wars: Clone Wars

Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars is packed with tips and techniques, practice space to draw right in the book, and translucent overlays to make you a master of drawing. Start with stick figures, move onto basic shapes, and finish up with the details. Learn to draw 20 different Clone Wars characters. The book comes with everything you need, including a black marker, double-tipped metallic — colored pencils, and an always-sharp mechanical pencil. Of course, we also include perhaps the most essential tool for any artist… an eraser. Because sometimes even a Jedi Master could use a do-over. Appropriate for ages 8 and up [...]

Mickey’s Magical Christmas
Snowed In at the House of Mouse
Directed by Burny Mattinson
Starring Robby Benson, Jodi Benson, John Cleese
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 3, 2009

I’m not all that familiar with the Disney House of Mouse animated television show, which ran from 2001 to 2003, so I wasn’t quite sure what Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse would be like, aside from its obvious yuletide theme. We find Mickey Mouse as the owner of the House of Mouse, where he and his guests are snowed-in on Christmas. Gathered at the House of Mouse with Mickey and his lady love Minnie is a cast of over 35 memorable Disney characters, like members of the Mickey posse (Goofy, Donald), the princesses (Cinderella, Belle, Ariel), and Winnie the Pooh’s gang (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore), as well as many others. Since they can’t leave, they decide to have a Christmas party right where they are by showing their ‘home movies’ in an effort to try to get a crabby Donald Duck into the Christmas spirit.

At first Mickey’s Magical Christmas seems like an all-star ensemble feature, which I was totally looking forward too, especially when I spotted Hades from Hercules in the crowd. But then it switches gears to show us the aforementioned home movies, which are actually four previously released Disney cartoons shorts from three different decades. After each video, the ensemble is shown talking about their Christmas wishes and the things their thankful for, as well as short sequences on the science of Santa and how characters decorate their home, which is a nice way to tie together all of the older videos [...]

Up
4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack
Directed by Pete Docter & Bob Peterson
Starring (voices): Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Delroy Lindo
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date: November 10, 2009

I never got to see the latest Disney/Pixar feature Up when it was out in theaters this summer, though I did get to view 20 minutes of the film at a convention early this year. What I saw at the time was what seemed like a cute little story about an elderly man named Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) who, in an effort to relocate his house, ties thousands of balloons to it. Strangely enough, the balloons do the trick, and away the man goes off on an adventure in his flying house. Along for the ride is Russell, a boy scout, who manages to get on Carl’s last nerve. At some point, talking dogs come into the picture and that’s where I lost my interest in Up.

I really should have known better, what with this being a Disney/Pixar effort, and let’s face it, with beloved films like Toy Story and Monsters Inc., you know anything from this studio is going to be good … real good.

From the preview, I could tell that Up would be a movie kids would love: there’s a little boy for them to relate to; a house that flies away on thousands of colorful balloons; and real-world dogs that somehow manage to speak. What I didn’t know was what a compelling story Up had, and how for the first 20 or so minutes of the film, I would be in tears.

Yes, tears [...]

A Christmas Carol
Disney Digital 3D
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins
Rated PG
Release date: November 6, 2009

Even though I haven’t even put the Halloween decorations away, this past Friday I went to see Disney’s A Christmas Carol because, well, it combines two of my favorite things: Disney and Christmas! I chose the Disney Digital 3D version as opposed to the IMAX version, since I had my 5-year-old, Mini CrueChik, and my 8-year-old, WiiDude (he picked that tag, is he cool or what?), with me and I thought the IMAX version would be too intense, mostly for the little one.

Disney’s version of the classic Charles Dickens tale did not disappoint. The opening scenes, with credits still rolling, were absolutely breathtaking, flying over a snow covered Dickensian London. Your first glimpse of Ebenezer Scrooge comes as he’s grumping down the street, humbugging at carolers and children playing in the snow. Scrooge is voiced by Jim Carrey, whose face is definitely hidden in the animation of the ultimate miser.

The beginning of the story was a little slow for Mini CrueChik and WiiDude, but I appreciated Disney giving a little backstory on just how screwed up Scrooge is, like seeing him remove the tuppence from the eyes of the corpse Jacob Marley, his lifelong friend and business partner, before allowing the undertaker to take him away (eww) [...]

I finally saw Disney/Pixar’s Up this weekend, and while I went into it figuring I’d probably like it but not love it, I ended up absolutely loving it.

I was finishing up my review for the Up 4-Disc Combo Pack, which will be released this Tuesday, November 10, when I noticed that there’s a pre-order deal for it.

If you pre-order the Combo Pack, which includes the Blu-ray version as well as the standard DVD and a Digital Copy, you can get $10 off a second Blu-ray title from a select list: UP Combo Pack Deal. The select list includes great Blu-ray sets for movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bolt, Sleeping Beauty, the Pirate of the Caribbean trilogy set, and much more.

Choose from the list and enter promo code DISNEYBD checkout to receive your credit. Remember, the Up 4-Disc Combo Pack comes out this Tuesday, which means you have to pre-order it with the purchase of your second Blu-ray title before then.

If you’re not sure whether to get the 4-disc Blu-ray version or the 2-disc standard DVD version, right now they are both $19.99. The Blu-ray version comes with an extra disc of bonus features not included in the single- and 2-disc versions, plus it comes with a standard DVD copy that you can watch an any DVD player. Getting the Blu-ray version is obviously the better deal, and it seems like this is standard practice for Disney Blu-ray releases [...]

The 1981 R-rated animated feature Heavy Metal is now online to watch for free at Crackle.

Due to its rating, you have to sign in to watch it, but sign-up is free and quick and there’s even an option to sign in using your Facebook account (even quicker). While the movie is free to watch, it does have periodic but quick commercial interruptions.

John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Harold Ramis, among others, voice the characters in this scifi animated film, based on the Heavy Metal magazine. The soundtrack is packed with great tunes from Stevie Nicks, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, and more, including the title track by Sammy Hagar [...]

We’ve been hearing a lot from Robert Zemeckis in the past few months in regard to a potential sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, his classic live-action/cartoon hybrid. We’ve heard some good news, like that the 2-D animated characters will remain 2-D, though some new 3-D characters could be introduced (Read: SDCC 09: Director Robert Zemeckis Says 2D Characters Would Remain That Way In A ‘Roger Rabbit’ Sequel). We’ve also heard bad news, such as Bob Hoskins saying that he wouldn’t be able to come back and do a sequel if it happened (Read: Bob Hoskins Says ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2′ Won’t Have Eddie Valiant? I Call Shenanigans!).

To add to all of that, Zemeckis recently spoke to MTV and shared some new news that will get fans really excited: not only is he serious about wanting to make Roger Rabbit 2, but he already has the original movie’s writing team of Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman developing a script right this moment. [...]

Someone named Dr. Monster has an awesome artist remix of Scooby Doo in which Velma, the nerdy girl of the group, is the only remaining survivor of the the Mystery Team after zombies, vampires, and other evil creatures have taken over the planet. Click the image to see it in-full.

She isn’t completely alone, as a solid, Dolberman version of Scooby has shed his goofy skin and is ready and willing to protect with highly-aggressive nature. Velma has also grown up in her new role, making sure to always be equipped with a shotgun, machete, and wooden stakes while wearing a cross ’round her neck. She also re-named the van The Misery Machine and pimped it out with flammables, an artillery of weaponry, a giant wooden stake, ultra-powered lights, and a nice little memorial for Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy.

The image definitely gives off a sort of Y: The Last Man vibe but with a woman and monster invasion instead. OK, maybe I Am Legend would work much better in comparison, but that movie sucked, so Y it is! [...]

A new movie based on the Japanese manga franchise Ghost in the Shell has been talked about for a while now, but it appears that DreamWorks is ready to give it another big go. It has been announced that Laeta Kalogridis has been hired to write the script, and that the live-action movie will be filmed entirely in 3-D with Avi Arad, Ari Arad among the producers.

Ghost in the Shell is a highly-futuristic story about a cyborg named Motoko Kusanagi who works for a Japanese Public Safety division known as Section 9. She is almost completely composed of mechanical components with only her brain remaining organic. The title is something of an allegorical reference to whether her soul (ghost) exists within her shell of a synthetic body — Motoko often even wonders if her memories are also manufactured and nothing about her is real. The character has been used in many different ways, so it’s not known if DreamWorks plans to create their own story based on the manga or if they may remake one of the pre-existing anime movies. [...]

The Mirage Group, who owned the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and brought us the all CGI TMNT, has sold the entire global property rights to children’s brand Nickelodeon for $60 Million. The deal includes the movies and shows, as well as the rights to all merchandising.

It’s been in a news a few times recently, but in case you haven’t heard, a brand new Ninja Turtle movie is on the way. The movie is to retract from that CGI style that they tried and move back into the glorious world of live-action. To ensure an even greater realistic quality, it is expected that they will use the same methods used in Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are in which people are put into highly-detailed costumes and only the facial expressions are created using computer effects. Hopefully, the end result will be similar to the Ninja Turtles we saw in the ’80s and ’90s, but with a whole lot more realism to them. [...]

Robot Chicken: Star Wars – Episode II
Directed by Seth Green
Featuring the voices of Seth Green, Billy Dee Williams, Donald Faison, Carrie Fisher
Adult Swim

Some things in life just go really well together. Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Chocolate Chip and Mints are just some of the prime examples, but now you can add Robot Chicken and Star Wars into the mix as well. When the popular stop-motion series Robot Chicken decided to parody the mega popular Star Wars franchise the first time around, the reviews for the show was overwhelmingly positive. Even George Lucas approved so you can only imagine that it wouldn’t be long until the sequel Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II showed up.

Nothing has changed much since the first special. The folks at Robot Chicken, led by bite-sized star Seth Green, are still offering up their hilarious and often times, insane, fanboy interpretations of key moments in the Star Wars franchise. Ever wonder what happens to Boba Fett moments after he meets his fate in Return of the Jedi or what was going through the mind of Luke during his key battle with Darth Vader? All those questions are answered and even some random ‘what if’ scenarios are touched on in this funny special [...]

It was an exciting day when the first teaser trailer for Toy Story 3 was released, but that trailer didn’t show us too much in terms of story and such. It was clear that the real moment of magic — not counting the day we can see it in theaters on June 18, 2010 — would be when we were able to watch the full theatrical trailer…and that moment is right now. The official Toy Story 3 trailer has been released to the masses and can be seen here below!

The trailer is wonderful, as you fairly might have assumed, and it whisks you right back to that world, complete with all the glorious nostalgia you possess there. It opens up with a nice, warm little re-introduction to the young boy Andy and his childhood with everyone’s favorite toy box before shooting us to present day where Andy — now 18-years-old — is off to college and trying to figure out what to do with his old toys. We find out that they’re shipped off to a daycare center where a rather humorous segment of rampaging toddlers tears through the bunch. This sets up the main story of the crew attempting a daring escape from the daycare and their adventure to find home. [...]

Walt Disney Studios have released the first five minutes of their upcoming return to hand-drawn animation: The Princess and the Frog. The studio just recently released a brand new trailer for the movie, so they’re obviously planning to come at us hard and heavy with their marketing campaign.

The first five minutes is a good way to get a feel for the movie and if it’s able to win you over right away. Although many great movies take a while to get going, you can usually tell right off the bat if the table being set is your kind of meal or not. The Princess and the Frog starts off with our main character as a young girl, and sets up her eventual confrontation with a frog seeking her kiss to return him to his princely status. While watching, you can definitely feel the Disney in it, and it looks like it could be a really beautiful movie. You can even hear that old school tone in the dialogue that their actors delivered, which will go a long way in this return to traditional form. [...]

The Simpsons
The Complete Twelfth Season
Starring Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria
Twentieth Century Fox
Release Date: August 18, 2009

As far back as I can remember The Simpsons has been a part of my life. Growing up with the first family of Springfield, Any State USA since their Christmas special first aired in late 1989 I could see parts of myself and my own family in Matt Groening’s brilliant creation. Being a reader, a bit of a brain, and somehow able to stand outside the rest of my family and observe their strange behavior with the perspective of a seasoned psychiatrist, I could always relate to oldest daughter Lisa (voiced by Yeardley Smith), while my dad (who I was named after) took after intellectually challenged yet well-meaning father Homer (voiced by Dan Castellenata) somewhat (at least when he was around). Mother Marge (voiced by Julie Kavner), full of motherly wisdom and ready to be the glue that held the family together at all times, naturally reminded me of my own mom Carolyn. Then there was underachiever (and proud of it) brother Bart (voiced by Nancy Cartwright), whose tendency to raise hell without a moment’s hesitation continuously brought my own younger siblings Sean and Lisa. Little Maggie (voiced by someone sucking on a pacifier) could be representative of us all when we’re at that age. Besides them there’s the show’s sizable supporting cast. Who among us has never had a Bible-thumping neighbor like Ned Flanders, or a greedy employer like Montgomery Burns? You may have had a conservative principal like Seymour Skinner or encountered a bartender like Moe. The townspeople who populate Springfield, a city which appears to be all American cities and none of them, may have come from the imaginations of a brilliant writing staff and voice cast (not to mention some very talented animators) but most of these characters are bound to strike a few of us as a bit familiar [...]

If you visit the site everyday (or any movie site, for that matter), you know that recently there was a massive shower of Disney-related news announced at their D23 Expo — most of which were revealed by Disney Chairman, Dick Cook. Most of the news was very exciting, including big news about a Muppet takeover, information on big Pixar sequels Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, and the official title for the fourth movie in their Pirates franchise: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

After this Christmas morning of announcements, the last thing you would expect to top it all off would be bad news, but that’s just what we’ve been given. It’s being reported by Nikki Finke that after 38 years of service, and an impressively popular reputation, Chairman Dick Cook has now been fired by Disney President and CEO Bob Iger. There are reports that the two weren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye, as well.

It was initially reported that he had innocently just “stepped down” from his position, which Disney is standing by, even though Finke has multiple updates on her report that quote various Disney insiders who are saying that it was a firing, and not one that is being taken lightly. [...]

It feels like it has been a week since any news that didn’t involve Disney has come out. The Mouse House recently held their D23 Expo and a flood of announcements were made, including some new information on the highly anticipated sequels Toy Story 3 and Cars 2.

Toy Story 3 basically just made a bunch of casting announcements. /Film picked up on some Tweets from director Lee Unkrich and Disney that revealed that John Morris, the boy who voiced Andy in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, has been cast once again in the role, which now sees Andy as an 18-year-old young man. Also added to the cast is a great collection of names, some of which are Pixar veterans. Lending their voices once again will be Bonnie Hunt (A Bug’s Life/Cars/Monsters Inc., Jerry Maguire) and Jeff Garlin (Wall-E, Curb Your Enthusiasm); while new to the Pixar dance is Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost) and Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz), who will apparently be playing someone named Mr. Pricklepants. [...]

Yahoo! Movies has put out a new teaser trailer for the Robert Zemeckis motion capture holiday remake of Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol. It was just announced that Zemeckis would be giving this treatment to a remake of the 1968 Beatles’ movie, Yellow Submarine, so this trailer is an instant example of what can be done using the technology.

The movie stars Jim Carrey multi-tasking like a mad man, filling the roles of Ebenezer Scrooge, and the three ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. It of course tells the classic tale of a wicked, greedy, bitter old man who’s cruel to all who interact with him. One holiday season, his wretched treatment of others goes too far and eventually sees him visited by three ghosts who take him on a trip through time, observing his entire life in hopes that this outside perspective of himself will alter how he treats others. [...]

Another significant announcement made by Disney at their D23 Expo was a confirmation to rumors that director Robert Zemeckis would be writing and directing a remake of The Beatles’ 1968 animated movie, Yellow Submarine.

The 1968 cartoon followed the legendary band as they traveled via the bright-colored submarine to Pepperland, a beautiful world inhabited by friendly, music-loving people that has tragically been taken over by the music-hating Blue Meanies, who have frozen all who live there and destroyed all of the beauty and music. The Beatles are employed to help out and use their music try and take Pepperland back and bring joy to the people once again. Yellow Submarine certainly has to be in the discussion of the most trippy movies ever made.

Instead of the cartoon style they used in ‘68, this new version will be in true Robert Zemeckis stylem using the motion-capture technology that he’s found so much success with in previous movies like The Polar Express and Beowulf, as well as the upcoming A Christmas Carol. [...]

Walt Disney Studios made some big announcements yesterday at their D23 Expo. One of which is the reveal that they have entered into a collaboration with none other than visual genius Guillermo del Toro, and will be launching a special new production label called Double Dare You. The goal for this new label: create a slew of new animated feature films for people of all ages, that are a lot more on the dark and scary side of things. The projects will all be overseen and produced by del Toro — who originally came up with the concept and design of the label — with some even being directed by him personally.

This is fantastic news for fans of animated movies. Guillermo del Toro is the absolute king of visually sensational cinema, and to have his hand and his style going into some darker animated films could be truly wonderful. It would be expected that the movies will have something of a Monster House feel to them. [...]

The Walt Disney Company hasn’t released a hand-drawn animated movie since 2004’s Home on the Range due to the takeover by computer animated movies and their partnership with Pixar and all of their genius releases. Home on the Range was in fact supposed to be the final Disney movie that was hand-drawn like the old days, but thankfully, for now, they decided to get back to it with The Princess and the Frog, which now has a full theatrical trailer available for viewing. As wonderful as the Pixar movies are, there is a magic that comes from these old-style hand-drawn animated movies, and hopefully this means Disney gets back to making more of them.

The movie is a new take on the classic tale of the princess who kisses a frog and turns him into a prince. It’s set in New Orleans and gained attention as the first Disney cartoon to feature an African American leading lady after so many decades and so many princesses. The Princess and the Frog was originally titled The Frog Princess, and is directed by The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules directors John Musker and Ron Clements. The main stars aren’t very well-known, but it features a supporting cast that includes Oprah Winfrey, John Goodman, and Terrence Howard.

Click on over for the full synopsis and the brand new trailer for this Southern set traditional Disney musical [...]