Animated

The Rango Full Length Trailer Looks Pretty Western, Awesome

Phew, this actually looks good. I was worried for a bit based on the ratio of tease to footage from the earlier trailers. The fact that it looks like a mix between every John Wayne movie and Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas certainly isn't hurting it any, although I do by rule hate almost everything with scales so the snake and lizard sort of creep me out. Another good reminder to lay off the peyote when going to the movies.

Synopsis: 
The story of a chameleon with an identity crisis.
Animated
Rango
Johnny Depp
Alfred Molina
Isla Fisher
Abigail Breslin
Gore Verbinski

The iPhone 4 Debate Gets Animated, Steve Jobs Goes To The Dark Side

Unless you have an amazing panic room or underground bunker without internet service, you've probably heard some whining back and forth about the new iPhone from Apple. Steve Jobs first handled the backlash like only a truly smug douchecopter can by telling someone not to "hold it that way", with the moral being that people have been holding phones wrong for years, they just need someone as amazing as Apple to show it to them. Shockingly this didn't satisfy the public, so Jobs held a conference last week where he turned up the smugometer and acted as if this is all the media trying to tear down his infallible company. Then he took his ball and went home and cried in his mom's arms that everyone was making fun of his new toy.

Fortunately there is an amazing Taiwanese news update on the story that really sheds some light into the entire saga. Like all good quality reporting we get quite a bit of backstory in this lovely animation as well, including how Jobs first came to the dark side, the amazing force used in the search of Jason Chen's house, as well as Jobs' initial plan to fix the iPhone 4's reception problem. So I guess free cases is better than the alternative. Good times.  [via buzzfeed]

 

General
Apple
Iphone
Animated
Steve Jobs
Taiwan
Video
Star Wars

Mike Judge Is Working On New Beavis And Butt-head Episodes

There's not too many rumors out there that could get someone like myself more excited than the following bit of info that isn't even being touted as a rumor. Go ahead, take a gander in all its uh, glory. 

REVIEWniverse has exclusively learned from an anonymous source that Mike Judge is currently outlining 30 new episodes of his iconic animated comedy Beavis and Butt-Head for its native network.

The source conceded that plans for actual broadcast are not yet cemented, or even a given, but confirmed that the King of the Hill/Office Space/Idiocracy maestro is definitely in the midst of writing new B and B material with the hopes of a full-throttle return.   [via examiner]

Well then, this just became a really kickass Wednesday, like that time Kelly Felcher let me touch her butt in fifth grade. So what if she sat in pudding and I was helping her clean it off, touching is touching and I touched. It seems impossible to imagine MTV passing on this unless they run out of room for ripoffs of the rest of their horrible shows.  Either way it's probably safe to assume that both Beavis and Butthead will start taking over social media and the rest of the internet sooner rather than later so go and get your Metallica and ACDC shirts ready.   [via the daily swarm]

Rumor
Television
MTV
Animated
Beavis And Butt-head

Rango

There's lots of interesting people involved in this one and according to /Film there's going to be quite a bit of real life Johnny Depp mannerisms in Rango thanks to some fancy computering.

But the most interesting thing about this new project is that Industrial Light & Magic will be doing the animation using “cutting edge techniques” that Verbinski has said, “will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated characterer in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature.” Basically it sounds like Verbinski has gone the way of Robert Zemeckis.

Verbinski's resume is a bit all over the place and not really in the good way.  The Pirates of the Caribbean series has its fun moments, but it certainly has its fair share of money hungry ridiculousness as well. All things considered Depp as a confused chameleon with some fancy animation techniques is enough to get me on board, especially with the comically simple synopsis. What are your thoughts on Rango?

Synopsis: 
The story of a chameleon with an identity crisis.
Animated
Rango
Johnny Depp
Alfred Molina
Isla Fisher
Harry Dean Stanton
Abigail Breslin
Gore Verbinski
Movies
Trailer

Neil Patrick Harris Cast As Human In Smurfs Movie

Mike Fleming over at Deadline Hollywood is reporting something that flirts with awesome but lives across the tracks.  The fact that they are making Smurfs: The Movie holds down the non-awesome segment while the recent hiring of a Mr Neil Patrick Harris as the lead live action character gets the awesome nod.  As it seems to be the case with most horrible movie adaptations of old cartoons, all the Smurfs will be of the CGI variety. 

Normally I'd try and find a way to get excited about this and I already have my angle.  The report by Fleming has very little details, so let's hope and pray that Harris has been hired to be a live action normal sized human Gargamel that hates smurfs.  I'm pretty sure he is an admitted magician anyway, which isn't really all that different than a wizard when you get down to it.  That's what she said. 

And then you find out Raja Gosnell is directing and check out his IMDB page and question the sanity of Hollywood.  His resume as a director is anything but flattering.

Um wow.  That is a lot of stink coming from one direction.  Stinson for Gargamel please, I don't know if I can handle it otherwise.  Seriously, check out this resume.

Casting
Movies
Animated
CGI
The Smurfs
Neil Patrick Harris
Raja Gosnell

How To Wednesdays: Get Buff Like A Mastodon

Here is a very informative animated lesson about mastodons, who apparently fit almost all of my parent's racist stereotype's perfectly.  Also interesting to note that they are powered by milk, you really do learn something new everyday. 

Obviously my favorite is Musclehead, because he sounds so much like me, what with the perfect specimen and favorite exercise being thinking traits.  Thanks to the Everything Is Terrible gang for the awesome. [via]

General
Awesomely Bad
How To Wednesdays
Animated
Everything Is Terrible
Mastodons
Racist
Video

Animated My Morning Jacket To Rock American Dad

While Jim James has managed to stay busy with that solo album and other side project of his, there hasn't been much happening in the My Morning Jacket world.  Hopefully said world gets a little kick start with the band's Nov 22 appearance in animated form on the tv show American Dad.  The band will be adding their vocal talents for the episode "My Morning Straitjacket" in which Stan, the dad that is American who presumably inspired the title, becomes an obsessed fan/groupie of the band.  You can check out a couple other pics of the band in animated action over at Stewie's Playground.  I'm pretty sure this is my favorite.  via

 

Jim James on American Dad

News
Television
Fox
Animated
American Dad
My Morning Jacket

Seth Rogen Helped Write This Week's Simpsons

Now that football season is in full throttle and the world is again as it should be (relatively speaking of course), it is time for one of the many treats we have been lucky enough to be awarded annually for the last few decades, a new season of The Simpsons.  The show's 21st season premiere "Homer The Wopper" will feature Homer in a movie as superhero Everyman, who has some pretty awesome backstory.

In the episode, Comic Book Guy creates Everyman, who can gain superpowers by touching the comic book of any superhero. The Everyman comic is such a success it becomes a film, with Homer in the title role. A trainer-to-the-stars, voiced by Rogen, pushes him to get in shape.

 

The writing gig came about after Goldberg met Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks and learned he was a fan of Superbad, which Rogen and Goldberg wrote. They are "obsessed" with The Simpsons— "the funniest single thing ever created," Rogen says — and decided it would be fun to write an episode.

Doing a voice was a bonus, he says. "In one scene, it's just me and Dan Castellaneta talking to each other. All I could think of was, 'I'm acting with Homer right now.' It was the most surreal, amazing experience." via

For some reason I had no idea this was happening.  Ricky Gervais is the only other "outside celebrity" to have helped write an episode of the series, so this is a pretty big honor.  Would there ever be anything cooler than getting to write/guest star in an episode of The Simpsons?  If so please post it in the comments, I'd love to know. 

This year The Simpsons will officially surpass Gunsmoke as the longest running scripted prime time series.

News
Television
Animated
The Simpsons
Evan Goldberg
Season Premiere
Seth Rogen
The Playlist article

J-Stache Has Me So Excited I'm Growing A Stache

This is the unbelievably awesome trailer for the new series J-Stache. My nerd boner has never been as big (that's what she said) as it was when I finished this video for the first time. After my thirtieth viewing I have but one joke to tell, boy are my arms tired. Thanks, thanks, I'll be here all week. Or at least until JStache asks me out on a date and takes advantage of me in the backseat of a Volkswagen. A boy can dream can't he.

The voice of the stache in question is that of Dave Attel, the never funny, always annoying guy from that show Late Night with Dave Attel or whatever. Not a very good name for a show either. I always thought he would have had more success as an animated mustache, but all the Hollywood bigwigs would just ignore my etch-a-sketch memos. Apparently someone was paying attention, and to that person I say thank you. Synchronize staches!

From the J-Stache Press Release:

The ‘70s and ‘80s were good to the mustachioed John Oates, but the rock ‘n roll lifestyle began to take a toll and he knew that change was necessary. After that fateful night in 1990 when John Oates and J-Stache split ways, J-Stache wouldn’t go quietly. He refused to slow down his hard-partying lifestyle and was determined to remain a part of Oates’ life. Now, they’re back together fighting crime and running Oates’ Aspen, CO celebrity health spa, Phunk Shui, on the side.

John Oates stars as himself, with comedian Dave Attell as the voice of J-Stache, his boozing, womanizing, and slightly drug-addled moustache. Whether battling mustachioed evildoers like Geraldo Rivera or diving down another bottle of tequila, J-Stache is a man… err… moustache… of action.

J-Stache has a blog at JStache.com, where he shares his latest exploits (like the time he saw Oprah naked after doing whippits and listening to ELO with Stedman), shares career advice (to marketer Seth Godin: “Fulfill your potential my man, we could start a pretty fresh side gig: Monopoly Guy appearances!”), and discovers the best new music out there. You should follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/JStache.

Music
Mustache
Animated
Awesome Series
J-Stache
Video
Hall and Oates