The Secret Saturdays
Volume 1-2
Created by Jay Stephens
Featuring the voices of Phil Morris, Nicole Sullivan, Diedrich Bader, Sam Lerner, Fred Tatasciore, Will Friedle, Corey Burton
Cartoon Network

The Cartoon Network’s The Secret Saturdays is a throwback cartoon that tips their hats off to various cartoons and genres of yesteryear. The cartoon focuses on the Saturday family, a team of crypto-zoologists (or scientists that search for strange creatures), as they go on adventures of exploration and various forms of daring-do. Along the way, they deal with their own rogue gallery of rival crypto-zoologists and various other supped up big baddies.

While I am definitely not the demographic for this cartoon, I must say that I actually enjoyed the cartoon a lot. I am a fan of mythical beasts like Bigfoot or The Loch Ness and I am glad to see an actual cartoon focused on it. The writing and overall tone of the series reminded me a lot of the old Hanna Barbera cartoons, mostly notably Johnny Quest. The creators also throw in a Fantastic Four vibe into the mix and that gels very nicely with the series as a whole (and with yours truly). There is definitely a lot of humor and action that is not family friendly but, I dare say it, adult friendly too [...]

In yet another announcement regarding a classic cartoon character, it appears as though there is a Yogi Bear movie in the works, and it’s actually set to begin filming next month. Naturally, this will be another hybrid movie that will mix live-action humans with the former cartoons getting their CGI makeover.
This comes [...]

It’s quite likely that 99.9% of you have already decided that you will not be seeing either of the movies discussed here based solely on the title of this post. Sadly, you are perfectly fair to judge so quickly, and you are not alone in your disdain for these and other childhood characters (liked or not) being made into feature films.

First up, it’s being reported that Owen Wilson has signed on the dotted line to voice the role of Marmaduke, a giant clumsy CGI dog based on the 1954 comic strip of the same name. The movie will do the same as all of these movies do in mixing CG and live-action. The plans for a Marmaduke movie have apparently been around for a while now as it has a cast of known names that will surely regret ever agreeing to appear in it down the road. The names include William H. Macy, Judy Greer, and Lee Pace as live-action characters, while Steve Coogan, Emma Stone, Damon Wayans, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Marlon Wayans, and Fergie will all voice CG characters. You might as well call it Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2: Honey, I Blew Up the Chihuahua. Marmaduke is set for release in June of 2010 — get excited. [...]

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! [...]

We at Geeks of Doom love Halloween. The smell in the air, the leaves changing color to mark the occasion, and all of the old edited horror movies playing over and over on your TV make it one of the most entertaining and exciting times of year.

Back in 2006, we compiled a list of some of the best geek costumes on the market for those of you who do not yet have an idea as to what you want to be. It’s already been three years now, so we thought it was about time to compile another epic list of costume options for the undecided (which includes myself).

While checking these costumes out, keep some things in mind — most importantly: pretty much every costume that you see will have multiple styles of varying price and quality. The majority of the ones we have here are in the $30-$50 range, but you can find really high-quality “Deluxe” versions of the costume that will run you in the $100-$200 dollar range. These are for the folks who have money to spare and love authenticity. If you’re out of your freakin’ mind, there’s even Batman and Darth Vader costumes that will run you $700+ dollars. If you don’t like the one we’ve linked to, just search the character and check out all of the others that exist. Most costumes have children’s versions available, too. We’ve included some great kids’ costumes, but if you find an adult one you’d like for the little ones, just search it out! [...]

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 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 [...]

Being a teenage most of the ’90s, I was obsessed with Mike Judge’s Beavis & Butt-head to a pathetic level. Even in high school, I occasionally answered a random question in Science or English class while speaking in one or the other’s distinctive voice, which was returned with sure-fire scolding from fellow classmates. The show, which only ran from 1993 to 1997, is one that many consider canceled way too early.

If you’re like me and still miss the show, then any kind of special “appearance” the animated duo make is worthy of celebration, so light off some fireworks, friends, because Beavis and Butt-head are back to help promote Judge’s new movie, Extract.

The clip is only a few minutes long, but it’s more classic Beavis and Butt-head than it is Extract. Be warned, Mr. Head sets up the clip in detailed fashion, which some may consider spoilers, but I think it’s safe to say most of you shouldn’t worry about it. [...]

A rumor that has been making the rounds is one that involves the possibility of a Who Framed Roger Rabbit sequel. Director Robert Zemeckis, while out promoting his motion-capture remake of holiday classic A Christmas Carol, revealed that with all this new technology and options, that he thought it might actually be time to finally revisit his insane cartoon rabbit. He even went as far as to promise that though some things might be computer animated or 3-D, Roger and the other cartoon elements would remain as cartoons. Zemeckis then spoke to AICN, and happily explained that he had talked to star Bob Hoskins plenty of times and that he would definitely be up for another go as stressed and depressed detective Eddie Valiant.

This happy news didn’t last too long, though, as Hoskins himself has spoken to MTV News and pretty firmly stated that he wouldn’t be returning for the movie.

Here’s what Hoskins had to say while also out promoting Zemeckis’s Christmas Carol, in which he appears as Fezzywig. [...]

G.I. Joe
A Real American Hero: Season 1.1
Starring Chris Latta, Michael Bell, Frank Welker, Arthur Burghardt
Shout! Factory
Released July 14, 2009

GI Joe is the codename for American’s daring highly trained special mission force.

Its purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra — a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

If I had to list my favorite cartoons when I was a kid, one of the shows that would show up on that list would be GI Joe. I can fondly remember waking up before school, getting a bowl of healthy cereal (because my Mom would never let us have the sugary stuff), going downstairs, and watching GI Joe and Transformers. It was a great ritual for me, and thanks to the magic of DVD, I can relive those days. GI Joe has been released on DVD before, but the old sets have been long out of print. Fortunately, there’s a new movie to cash in on, so the show is coming back into DVD.

The plot for the show is right there in the theme song. The Joe team spends all their time trying to stop Cobra and their dastardly plans to take over the world [...]

Wolverine and the X-Men
Vol. 2Deadly Enemies DVD
Starring Steve Blum, Jim Ward, Tom Kane
Marvel Animation/Lionsgate Films
Release date: July 21, 2009

When Wolverine and the X-Men first came onto the scene, I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. I never watched creators Craig Kyle and Christ Yost’s first cartoon X-Men: Evolution, but so many people enjoyed the series that I thought I give it a try and was pretty satisfied with the first batch of episodes and even wrote a review on the DVD release, titled Heroes Return. And since I did review the first volume, it was only fitting that I also review the newest volume Deadly Enemies.

For a quick recap of the series, think of this as yet another alternate X-Men Universe. In this version, a mysterious attack on the Xavier school has left Professor X in a coma and Jean Grey presumed dead. This event shakes the X-Men to the core and every member of the team goes their separate ways. Fast forward to one year later, with mutant hysteria and hatred at an all time high, it is up to Wolverine to reunite the team to prevent a future that could wipe out mutantkind permanently [...]

The Venture Brothers and the rest of the Adult Swim line-up (sans Robot Chicken, which got its own panel earlier in the week) shared a panel on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, and the big news for some coming out of this is that the U.K. version of The Office will begin airing on the channel in September.

Originally airing in 2001, the series starred Ricky Gervais and is of course the basis for the popular American version airing on NBC. A total of 12 episodes and two Christmas specials were made for the UK show. If you think that this is an odd choice of a show to air on Adult Swim, keep in mind that they already run other British live-action comedies, such as Look Around You, Black Books, and The Mighty Boosh, so it should be a good fit.

Other pieces of news from the panel:

Metalocalypse Season 3 will premiere on November 8th, and the episodes will all run for a half hour [...]

As we all know and adore, a new mostly live-action, semi-computer-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is on the way (Read: Brand New ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Movie Goes Green!). Now this movie has made it’s first official move, hiring John Fusco to pen the movie.

Fusco seems to be a pretty decent-fitting choice for the job with both action and martial arts-heavy films under his belt. He’s written movies like both Young Guns movies, Hidalgo with Viggo Mortensen, and the recent Jackie Chan and Jet Li flick, The Forbidden Kingdom. He’s also the man that was tapped for the impossible task of writing a Seven Samurai remake — though that one isn’t an official go yet.

The movie is expected to use a method similar to that of the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are (both movies produced by Scott Mednick), where physical costumes and makeup are used for the creatures/turtles, with CGI animations added to certain parts of the film — specifically, to the faces of the turtles, which will help with realistic features and reactions. [...]

I’m not feeling great this week, so when the floodgates opened up today with a frenzy of backlash in regard to the news that 20th Century Fox is looking to re-cast all of the voice actors for the revival of Futurama…well, my little illness tripled over on me. That’s right, after making the giant announcement that the show would return (Read: Never Underestimate The Power Of Hypnotoad: ‘Futurama’ Is Officially Back!), they now are looking to replace brilliant talents like Billy West (Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Leo Wong, Zapp Brannigan), John Di Maggio (Bender), Katey Sagal (Turanga Leela), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad), Maurice LaMarche (Kif, Donbot, Morbo, Calculon) and others.

At first, many believed it was just some sort of marketing ploy and that the plan was to throw everyone into a panic and then throw some big surprise party with the cast showing up and all being well in the world. Though this scenario would be accepted and laughed about later, I believe it would still infuriate fans to hear they purposely did this. However, it appears that word first broke out when multiple cast members mentioned it on their Facebook, which takes away a Comic Con surprise. [...]

Alvin and the Chipmunks. Underdog. Garfield. These are just a few of the classic cartoons that we’ve all grown up with and have since been turned into live-action/CGI hybrid movies. Now comes word of the next cartoon character to get the dreaded treatment: Hong Kong Phooey.

Hong Kong Phooey is a Hanna-Barbera ‘toon about a dog named Penrod Pooch, a janitor at the local police station who does the superhero thing — turning into Hong Kong Phooey and fighting evil-doers with his sidekick cat, Spot. Phooey never really successfully brings any justice, usually foiling criminal plans by accident or with the assistance of the much more-skilled Spot.

There may be one saving grace to watch here. David Goodman has been hired to write the script, and he’s been a producer and writer on Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy, which obviously means the guy could potentially have some great humor in his work. Could this mean that Hong Kong Phooey may just actually be funny enough to enjoy? [...]

A couple of days ago, Collider got the scoop from an inside source that Comedy Central had ordered 13 new episodes of the ultra-popular sci-fi cartoon, Futurama. This was huge news that everyone had been anxiously waiting to hear about after we found out that Fox was pondering what to do with the show after a successful four-movie direct-to-DVD run. While I too was buzzing with excitement, I must admit, I was also incredibly skeptical due to the fact that this was the exact same order that Comedy Central made in 2006 before the four movies came out, and because when we last heard news, Futurama was waiting on Fox, not Comedy Central. Who was I to know they could tag team.

As it turns out, Collider’s insider was on the scent, and we can all now rejoice: Futurama is OFFICIALLY coming back to the air on Comedy Central, who have ordered not 13 episodes, but 26 new episodes!

20th Century Fox has put out a press release stating that due to the success of the four movies and the popularity of the show’s reruns on Comedy Central, they have made an initial order of 26 half-hour episodes that will also air on Comedy Central. [...]

Last year we learned that the long-awaited new Heavy Metal movie adaptation was finally moving forward and that Watchmen director Zack Snyder had joined David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) and Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) as directors on the project (Read: Zack Snyder Joins David Fincher & Gore Verbinski For ‘Heavy Metal’). Heavy Metal consists of multiple different chapters or sections, and the goal was to find a team of top-notch talent to handle these various sections.

Fortunately for us, the party does not end there: Film School Rejects have spoken to Kevin Eastman (Owner of the Heavy Metal Magazine, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator) who dropped the bomb that now a one Mr. James Cameron would be executive producing on the project, and that he would be directing one of the segments as well!

Eastman also shared that Kung Fu Panda co-director Mark Osborne would be doing a comedy segment of the Heavy Metal project along with Jack Black. They are really putting together one of the — if not THE — greatest collection of filmmakers ever seen; and this is just the directors — they still need to cast what I’m assuming will be all kinds of big name stars for the project. [...]

The large and lovably energetic actor of stage, screen, and television — Dom DeLuise has passed away at the age of 75. He died quietly in his sleep after a long battle with illness.

The very best thing about Dom DeLuise is that he was completely generational. He first showed up in the ’50s and by the ’60s, he was often a guest on Dean Martin’s legendary variety show and roasts. The ’70s saw his perfect chemistry with Mel Brooks’ style of movies skyrocket as he appeared in Blazing Saddles and Silent Movie — he also appeared in The Muppet Movie that decade. The ’80s were epic for Mr. DeLuise. He continued on his torrent pace of appearing in great movies and comedies like Smokey and the Bandit II, both Cannonball Run movies, History of the World: Part 1, Haunted Honeymoon, and Spaceballs. He also really shined as the perfect voice for animated feature films with work on The Secret of NIMH, An American Tale, Oliver & Company, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. [...]

For those who might not know, G.I. Joe Resolute, a new animated film written by comics scribe Warren Ellis premiers tonight 4/25 on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block at 12:00 am EST. This will be the first time you can see the movie on TV, although the episodes have been on Adult Swims website and [...]