Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
More news from Warner Brothers and Cartoon Brew: In anticipation of the brand new Thundercats TV series coming to Cartoon Network this July, Warner Brothers will release the original 1980’s Thundercats series to DVD on July 12th. Thundercats: The Original Series, Season 1, Part 1 is a 2-disc set that features the first 12 episodes, “as well as a special featurette entitled Feel the Magic, Hear the Roar, where fans speak out about their incredible passion for the classic animated series.”
Our good buddies Cartoon Brew have announced the formation of a new cable TV network, to be known as The PB&J. According to them, Luken Communications (owners of the Retro TV channel, which has been airing much of the Filmation cartoon archive) and Classic Media (owners of… well, a whole lotta stuff!) are partnering up to create the new channel. According to the PB&J press release, “The 24-hour network, set to launch in the US this summer, will feature Classic Media titles from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Those include The Archie’s, Mr. Magoo, The Lone Ranger, Gumby, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. PBJ will be available to broadcasters, cable and satellite providers”. Plus, according to the Cartoon Brew folks, “If they have the Classic Media library, this new channel could also air the Harveytoons (Casper, Herman and Katnip, et al), the Jay Ward library (Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, etc.), Roger Ramjet, Underdog, Felix the Cat, Rankin-Bass Specials, UPA’s Boing Boing Show, Dick Tracy cartoons and Magoo’s Christmas Carol – among others… “. At the end of the Cartoon Brew article is a link to a You Tube video with an introduction — apparently not official — to the new network. Stay tooned.
On April 27th, Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe (in London, UK) released six animated pilots for possible new cartoon series. The pilots were actually started back in 2009, under the creative direction 0f Timothy Bjorklund (who had previously directed American shows like Teacher’s Pet and Brandy & Mr. Whiskers). The first original cartoon to come out of the studio since is called The Amazing World of Gumball. Cartoon Brew has a preview of all six pilots up on line, though the reviewer had decidedly mixed feelings about them. Still, furry fans might want to check out things like Elliot’s Zoo by David Needham, The Furry Pals by Rikke Asbjorn, and Verne on Vacation by Sylvain Marc. Make your own decisions.
Life is hard for the teenage werewolf. Scott was an ordinary high-school kid until that one night in the woods… Now, he finds himself with amazing new abilities, coupled with horrific new urges and hungers. Not to mention the inconvenience of transforming into a growling werewolf every time he gets angry — or excited, like when his would-be girlfriend is in sight. To make life more complicated, the werewolf who bit him in the first place wants to be friends in human form, and the leader of a posse out to rid the countryside of werewolves is also the father of the girl our hero has his eyes on! Having almost nothing to do with the Michael J. Fox Teen Wolf film (obviously), the new Teen Wolf TV series stars Tyler Posey as Scott. It’s coming to MTV (formerly Music Television) on June 5th. MTV has a trailer and some more information up on their web site.
Looks like they’re getting serious about the return of Thundercats this time around… This footage was recently shown at Wondercon — to, reportedly, thunderous applause. It’s interesting to note that this new show from Cartoon Network looks much more anime in style than the old original series. It also spends a lot more time setting things up on the Thundercats’ home world. We’ll find out more when Thundercats comes to Cartoon Network this July.
image c. 2011 Cartoon Network
In case you haven’t got the word yet: Cartoon Network will be premiering a brand new Looney Tunes Show on Tuesday, May 3rd. They’ve set up a web site with lots of pictures, video clips, and even a fan discussion board. Needless to say there’s already a lot of discussion (to put it mildly) on places like Cartoon Brew about the ups and downs of the new show and the new character designs.
Recently DirecTV has been running a series of ads featuring a very, very rich gentleman from Russia, showing off his indulgences — including, of course, DirecTV. But the thing that has seemed to get the most attention in the ads is sort of in the background: A little, miniaturized giraffe the fellow has for a pet. Everyone seems to have noticed the little guy, and they’re talking about him on line. So much so that someone (presumably DirecTV) has given the “petite lap giraffe” his own web site! “Welcome to world wide famous Sokoblovsky Farms. The best and only breeders of Petite Lap Giraffes” says the introduction. There are lots of funny pseudo-Russian-isms used, of course (“To be clicking here!”). In addition to historical backgrounds and information about purchasing your own lap giraffe, there is also a 24-hour “Giraffe-Cam” where you can watch the petite bull Vladamir in his enclosure. Yes really.
image c. 2011 petitelapgiraffe.com
Not long after announcing that the sequel to the wildly popular film How to Train Your Dragon will be released to theaters in 2013, Dreamworks Animation let it be known that a brand new How to Train Your Dragon weekly TV series will be premiering on Cartoon Network in 2012. IGN has a lot of information about the new series up on line. Although we’ve been told that the TV series will feature the same characters in the same world as the feature film, it’s not been announced if any of the cast or crew from the feature will be working on the new series. And speaking of television: Don’t forget that sometime this fall, the much-delayed Kung Fu Panda TV series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness is set to premier on Nickelodeon.
Empresas Polar is a well-known brewer of cerveza (beer) in Venezuela. Recently they decided to create a campaign bringing their company logo, a polar bear, to life. Enter The Character Shop, an outfit famous for their creation of animatronic characters for use in advertising — a great many of which are anthropomorphic animals. They helped Empresas Polar create the character of Pedroso the Polar Bear for their new line of TV commercials. And the people of Venezuela seem to be taking to them — and Pedroso, the 7-foot tall bear himself — quite well. The Character Shop has a page dedicated to their creation of Pedroso, and of course you can see some of his actual commercials on YouTube.
