Anticipations are running high for Dreamworks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon, which hits movie screens this Friday, March 26th. As of this writing the film has a 100% “fresh” / 0% “rotten” rating at Rotten Tomatoes.com — likely to go down as more reviews come in, of course, but still one heck of a high to be starting from. Many critics have noted the flying sequences in this 3D CGI film to be especially exciting. If you’ve not heard, the story follows the adventures of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), a young viking in a land constantly at war with various species of fire-breathing dragon. When Hiccup’s new invention — a sort of bolo-catapult — injures a young dragon, the human is surprised to find himself befriending the beast (he names it “Toothless”). In the process, Hiccup finds out far more about dragons and his own people than he ever expected. Of course, getting humans together with unusual non-human friends is nothing new for directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders: They’re the team that gave us Disney’s Lilo and Stitch.
Fantasy
Surprise Furry Extras
Folks running out to pick up the new DVD/Blue Ray of Spike Jonze’s live-action Where the Wild Things Are will find an interesting extra included: A brand-new short (24 minute) film based on Higglety Pigglety Pop, another book by Maurice Sendak. Using a combination of live action, puppetry, stop-motion animation and more, the film tells the story of Jennie, a fluffy white terrier dog (voiced by Meryl Streep). When she finds that she is bored and thinks “There must be more to life”, Jennie sets out to become leading lady of the World Mother Goose Theater. Unfortunately, she’s informed that the leading lady has to have experience. And Jennie has no idea what “experience” even is, let alone where to find it! Setting out on a quest for it, Jennie winds up as a nurse-maid for a very strange baby who refuses to eat. And nurse-maids who fail to convince the baby to eat are fed to the ravenous lion living in the basement! Only Maurice Sendak comes up with plots like this, folks… The production company for Higglety Pigglety Pop also created the Oscar-Nominated short film Madame Tutli-Putli. Clips from the former and the latter are up on YouTube.
The Stuff of Legend
Love that title! Here’s part of the description from the publisher, Del Rey: “When a child is taken by the fearsome Boogeyman, his loyal toys (including The General, Max the bear, Percy the pig, and others) must rally to stage a daring rescue operation.” This trade paperback graphic novel was written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, and illustrated in black & white by Charles Paul Wilson III. It comes to stores this April.
Stuff of Legend cover, c. Del Rey Publishing
Coming Soon from Archaia
Archaia Entertainment (not to be confused with Arcana Studio, which we were talking about recently) is bringing out two limited-edition comic books of interest in the near future. Fraggle Rock #1 is the first of a four-issue full-color miniseries based on the original Jim Henson TV series (of course). Not adaptations of the TV episodes, this comic (starting up in April) will present brand-new adventures of Gobo, Red, Mokey, Boober, Wembly, and all their friends in their underground world. In the future, Archaia will be teaming up with Jim Henson Studios to produce new comic books based on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, also. Meanwhile, closer to home, we have the preview comic for Berona’s Hundred Year War. The full-color graphic novel by Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffey is forthcoming, but for now we have this 40-page preview. The Ele-Alta and the Cropones are two races of cute, furry, cuddly creatures… locked in an ages-old war of death and destruction with each other. Can anything break them out of the cycle of war?
Fafnir the Dragon
Aracana Studio describe their new full-color graphic novel, Fafnir the Dragon, like this: “Mightier than a god, dumber than a rock. While searching for his stolen treasure, history’s greatest dragon is hurled into an apocalyptic future where he and talk-show host Jon Stewart must battle hordes of slavering mutants, prevent the assassination of Barack Obama, and save earth from an Al-Qaeda super-virus!” Do tell. Based on a popular web comic by Thormond Skald and Asta Gunn, this new graphic novel (also described as “South Park meets Jurassic Park“) goes on sale this April. You can find out more about it at Aracana’s web site.
New Comics for Kids from Ape
Ape Entertainment is presenting Kizoic, a new line of full-color young reader comic book titles coming this year. And, luckily, several of those titles have notably furry themes. Two of those titles come direct from Dreamworks Animation: Shrek Forever After — The Prequel, coming this April, and The Penguins of Madagascar, shipping in June. Shrek, of course, is based on the upcoming fourth Shrek feature film. In this new comic by Scott Shaw and Drew Rausch, the villainous Rumpelstiltskin tries time and again to get the best of Shrek, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, and their friends. Meanwhile, keep your eyes out for Scratch 9, featuring the adventures of a little who can access all 8 of his past and future lives — including the one where he was a saber-toothed tiger!
The Legend of the Guardians
The animation team that brought us Happy Feet (which, we’re told, did rather well…) returns this fall with The Legend of the Guardians. This CGI film, directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is based on the first three books of the 15-book series The Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. The subject is owls. Specifically a starry-eyed young owl named Soren (Jim Sturgess of Across the Universe). Soren is obsessed with stories about the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole, armored owls who protect the weak and innocent against evil. Soren dreams of meeting them, and even of possibly becoming one. And he may well have to, when he discovers that an evil queen owl (Helen Mirren of The Queen (!)) is kidnapping young owls and brain-washing them for her own personal army. The film comes to theaters this September, but you can follow the film’s development and see a trailer at the Internet Movie Database.
Soren and family. Image c. 2010, Animal Logic
The Last Unicorn Comic Book
It’s been 25 years since Peter S. Beagle’s beloved fantasy The Last Unicorn was made into a successful and iconic 2D animated film by Rankin-Bass. Now, IDW Publishing presents a brand new Last Unicorn six-part comic book mini-series coming out this April. It’s been adapted by Peter B. Gillis and illustrated in full color Renae De Liz and Ray Dillion. In case you don’t know it: A beautiful unicorn finds that her kind have disappeared, and that she might very well be the last. In her quest to find her kindred, she is captured by a freakish carnival… where she learns of a terrible monster known as the Red Bull, who has be scouring the land, capturing unicorns…
Dragons Need Their Help…
Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (in hardcover, from Eos) begins the new Rain Wilds Chronicles — set in the same world as Hobb’s Realm of the Elderling series. In this new book, humans celebrate as dragons are once again born in the city of Cassarick. But something is wrong… This is from the Publisher’s Weekly: “Here be dragons—but debilitated, deformed, damaged dragons, hatched too soon, sick and starving, into a world that has mostly forgotten them. The first of Hobb’s Rain Wild Chronicles, an absorbing extension of her Liveship and Tawny Man trilogies, introduces 15 young dragons who struggle to survive with the grudging help of mutant Rain Wilders. Eventually driven out by the Traders Council, the hatchlings decide to seek Kelsingra, their ancient home. Caught up by the dragons’ plight and longing to escape unhappy families and the stifling Rain Wild culture, self-taught dragon scholar Alise Kincannon and teenage tree-dwelling mutant Thymara volunteer to accompany them on the quest, with the help of magnetic liveship captain Leftrin and a host of colorful characters. Hobb’s meticulously realized fantasy tale is a welcome addition to contemporary dragon lore.” It’s on the shelves now.
