Ben 10 Alien Force, Season
Vol. 3 DVD | Vol. 4 DVD
Created by Man of Action
Featuring the voices of Yuri Lowenthal, Ashley Johnson, Greg Cipes
Rated Y7
Warner Home Video

Ben 10 Alien Force Vol. 3 and 4 continues the journey of teenage hero Ben Tennyson, the bearer of the DNA changer Ominitrix. With his super powered cousin Gwen and Frienemy Kevin Levin, Ben continues on a mission to track down his Grandpa Max and fight off a new breed of alien invaders known only as the Highbreed. Volumes 3 and 4 collects the end of season one of the hit series and first five episodes of season two of the exciting kids cartoon.

Created by comic book alums Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, and Steven T. Seagle (AKA Man of Action Studios), each episode is pretty much a by the books cartoon geared toward young boys. The heroes encounter a problem. Ben uses the Omnitrix to turn into a new alien to combat said problem. Someone gets hurt or captured or both. Gwen and Kevin flirt in a family friendly way. Ben uses another alien to save the day. It is pretty much a rinse repeat process. [...]

You know we love keeping up with the videos over at How It Should Have Ended, where they take popular live-action movies and in a few minutes give us a cartoon rendition of how that movie should have ended. Typically, their endings make a lot more sense than the actual ones.

The most recent target for a revised ending is JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. Watch the 3-minute video here below and be sure to stick around after the credits.

This was a real fun one, as Star Trek was my favorite movie of 2009 and this revised ending has some special appearances you’ll definitely love. Trust me on this one [...]

Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming will begin an hour earlier (from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST) starting in 2011, according to Turner Animation.

The additional hour of prime time is in response to Adult Swim’s high ratings that have dominated the 18- to 34-year-old male demographic consistently since 2007.

So what can we expect to fill that additional hour? No freaking clue at this point, but higher-ups at Turner all agree the Adult Swim brand certainly has room to grow. And that could mean several different things.

The network will probably pick up more syndication rights to pre-existing properties. The Cleveland Show seems like a shoo-in as does more Anime that could easily transition from most of the kid friendly programming on Cartoon Network’s 8 p.m. slot. Also, if you factor in all the “Brit Block” programs they’ve recently introduced, it’s clear that Adult Swim could squeak by without having to drastically alter its lineup come 2011 [...]

Not too long ago it was reported that the king of motion capture, Robert Zemeckis, would be remaking The Beatles‘ animated film, Yellow Submarine, using the technology. Now this new project has its cast of four actors who will be offering their voices to the movie as the four legendary Beatles.

The trades are reporting that Cary Elwes, Dean Lennox Kelly, Peter Serafinowicz, and Adam Campbell are all in negotiations for the roles (Click image to see all four in comparison). Elwes is the best known of the bunch with his roles in movies like The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights; he would be voicing George Harrison. Peter Serafinowicz isn’t a household name here in the States, but you may know him better than you think. He’s very popular overseas and has appeared as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s flatmate in Shaun of the Dead, as well as on the popular series Spaced. Serafinowicz would be handling the voice of Paul McCartney. Lennox Kelly would be appearing as John Lennon in the film, and has appeared in The Secret Life of Words as well as popular shows Doctor Who and Robin Hood. [...]

Recently we shared a couple of new images from ABC’s Lost that showed the cast replicating Leonardo da Vinci’s famed “The Last Supper” painting. This along with shows like Battlestar Galactica (seen above) and House have made it quite apparent that this was a popular thing to do whilst promoting your show. As it turns out, this happens all the time, and Jeremy from Culture Popped was able to point us to a ton of them to check out.

Among the many variations you will find many popular TV shows and movies and brand name characters. Titles like The Simpsons, Star Wars, M.A.S.H., South Park, and The Sopranos appear along with Walt Disney characters and brand characters from McDonalds and everything in between, all showing off their very own “Last Supper” renditions. Some are very well-done and worth seeing while others are basic and passable.

Click on over to the other side to check out a few of our favorite “Last Supper” parodies, and be sure to head over to Culture Popped where you can see an insane amount of these images all in one convenient location. [...]

The gang over at How It Should Have Ended strikes again, this time targeting the beloved classic The Wizard of Oz.

In the original 1939 film, Kansas girl Dorothy is transported along with her little dog Toto to Munchkinland in the magical land of Oz. After being threatened by the Wicked Witch of the West, the good witch Glinda sets Dorothy off on a journey to follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City to meet the Wizard who will help get the lost girl home.

As we know, Dorothy meets new friends on her arduous journey, but also is in constant danger from the Wicked Witch. As the How Should Have Ended guys point out, it’s a lot for Dorothy to go through and the motives of the “good characters” are somewhat questionable.

Watch the two-minute animated video here below of how The Wizard of Oz should have ended [...]

X-Men
Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection
Volume 1-4
Starring Norm Spencer, Cedric Smith, Cathal J. Dodd
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 28, 2009

When I found out that the X-Men cartoons from 1992 were being put out on DVD, my nine-year-old self jumped out of my body and threatened me with bodily harm if I did not pick up this DVD. Fearing for my life and the risk of being beat up by a nine-year-old, I relented.

For those who are unfamiliar with this cartoon, X-Men debuted on the Fox Kids Network in late 1992, and was part of the Fox Saturday Morning line-up alongside another little unknown cartoon called Batman: The Animated Series. The cartoon featured the popular Marvel mutants, led by their mentor, Dr. Charles Xavier and their battles with the mutants hell-bent on destroying the world. This incarnation of X-Men was composed of members from the past (Cyclops, Jean Grey) and present (Wolverine, Gambit) teams.

Now, there were many things that I loved about this cartoon. For one thing, it was one of the only cartoons back then where one of the main character was an Asian person. That’s right, the series featured newest X-Men recruit Jubilation Lee, aka Jubilee, quite prominently in the series. Being Asian myself, it was hard to find any person who was Asian on TV with such a prominent role and so seeing Jubilee front and center was certainly awesome [...]

Everyone knows about the hilarious folks over at How It Should Have Ended, where they take the endings of popular movies and make a cartoon of what it should have been, right? They always point out the absurdities in those movies we love, which makes their endings oh so enjoyable.

They’ve done alternate endings for Superman Returns, The Matrix, and Tranformers. Now, they’ve released one for the ultra-popular teen vampire flick Twilight, which you can watch here below.

I think even the most sensitive Twihards will just have to laugh at what HISHE came up with. Oh, and there’s a post end-title cameo from another well-known vampire, so check it out [...]

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 [...]