Flintstones Celebrate their 50th Anniversary Today!

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[Source: Wikipedia] The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966 on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones is about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next door neighbor and best friend. It has since been re-released on DVD.

It has been noted that Fred Flintstone physically resembled voice actor Alan Reed, and also Jackie Gleason. The voice of Barney was provided by legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, though five episodes (the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 9th) during the second season employed Hanna-Barbera regular Daws Butler while Blanc was incapacitated by a near-fatal car accident. Blanc was able to return to the series much sooner than expected, by virtue of a temporary recording studio for the entire cast set up at Blanc's bedside. It should be noted, however, that Blanc's portrayal of Barney Rubble had changed considerably after the accident. In the earliest episodes, Blanc had used a much higher pitch. After his recovery from the accident, Blanc used a deeper voice.

Additional similarities with The Honeymooners included the fact that Reed based Fred's voice upon Jackie Gleason's interpretation of Ralph Kramden, while Blanc, after a season of using a nasal, high-pitched voice for Barney, eventually adopted a style of voice similar to that used by Art Carney in his portrayal of Ed Norton. The first time that the Art Carney-like voice was used was for a few seconds in "The Prowler" (the third episode produced).

In a 1986 Playboy interview, Jackie Gleason said that Alan Reed had done voice-overs for Gleason in his early movies, and that he (Gleason) considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copying The Honeymooners but decided to let it pass. According to Henry Corden, who took over as the voice of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed died, and was a friend of Gleason’s, “Jackie’s lawyers told him that he could probably have The Flintstones pulled right off the air. But they also told him, “Do you want to be known as the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air? The guy who took away a show that so many kids love, and so many parents love, too?” 

Henry Corden handled the voice responsibilities of Fred after Reed's death in 1977. Corden had previously provided Fred's singing voice in The Man Called Flintstone and later on Flintstones children's records. After 1999, Jeff Bergman performed the voice of Fred. Since Mel Blanc's death in 1989, Barney has been voiced by both Frank Welker and Kevin Richardson. Various additional character voices were created by Hal Smith, Allan Melvin, Janet Waldo, Daws Butler and Howard Morris, among others.

Otome Yokai ZAKURO to Simulcast on Crunchyroll

San Francisco, Calif. ­ Crunchyroll, Inc., announced today the simulcast acquisition of Otome Yokai Zakuro, a supernatural adventure anime set in a parallel Taisho Japan. Based on Lily Hoshino¹s manga of the same time, title features preeminent Japanese voice actress Mai Nakahara in the titular role of ZAKURO. Directed by Chiaki Kon and animated by J.C. Staff, Otome Yokai ZAKURO will stream on Crunchyroll following its broadcast on TV TOKYO in Japan. More information on the Otome Yokai ZAKURO is available at http://www.crunchyroll.com/zakuro now.

Plot Summary:
In an alternate history of the Meiji era where humans and magical beings known as "younin" live side by side, half-younin girls team up with army lieutenants to fight younin wrongdoers. 

Crunchyroll Vice President of Licensing Rob Pereyda said: ³These kind of unique adventure titles, full of intricate exposition and engaging plotlines, are just what Crunchyroll needs. What we love about Otome Yokai ZAKURO is the very combination of intriguing concept, exciting story and fantastic animation the title has. We look forward to an overwhelmingly positive fan reaction forthcoming.²

Otome Yokai ZAKURO will be available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Portugal.

Is Anime Expo 2011 the last one? - Update 3

Just a few days after Lattanzio resigned from the SPJA another organization has announced their plans for their event and it may not look good for AX 2011.

 

Bonus Video from DAICON III

Young Justice - Coming November 2010

[Source: Wikipedia] Young Justice focuses on the lives of a group of teenaged superhero sidekicks and protégés attempting to establish themselves as proven superheroes and as teenagers dealing with adolescent issues grounded in the context of their personal lives.

Background 

The show is set in Earth-16, a DC Multiverse world, and corresponds to the present time of our world — a time period Vietti has called "a new age of heroes." The recently founded (three to four years in activity) Justice League is a powerful organization of superheroes who find themselves becoming "high-powered, high-wattage celebrities" tracked closely by the public. As it grows increasingly difficult for the Justice League to operate outside the spotlight, the supervillains take advantage of their opponents' prominence while becoming better at organizing and working under the radar. Meanwhile, the teenaged sidekicks of several Justice League members feel they are ready to graduate on to the next level and become more independent. Consequently, Batman organizes the teens to fill the need for a covert operations team while keeping their protégés under their authority.

Continuity 

Although Young Justice follows a continuity considerably different from that of mainstream DC Universe, Weisman has stated that the series covers its early stages. Earth-16 was chosen by DC Entertainment for the show because it was largely untapped, freeing the series and its franchise from established continuity restraints set by either DC Universe or other Multiverse worlds. There are crucial differences in the line-up of teenaged superhero sidekicks from those of Teen Titans or Young Justice series of comics. Dick Grayson and Wally West were chosen over Tim Drake and Bart Allen/Impulse because the former characters were the first incarnations of their respective superhero identities. Miss Martian was added because the date of her arrival to Earth could still fit in the early DC Universe concept. Aqualad, as opposed to Robin, is the leader of the team. Arrowette was replaced by Artemis in the producers' desire to focus on the latter's storylines. Some of the Young Justice characters' ages are tweaked from those of their original counterparts. However, the spirit and the intent of the characters are said to be kept.

Upcoming KOTOBUKIYA Japanese imports

[Source: aicn.com] MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS KOTOBUKIYA COLLECTION
DANGER ROOM SESSION SABRETOOTH FINE ART STATUE
Inspired by Jim Lee’s 1990’s era X-Men, sculpted by Erick Sosa, Sabretooth stands nearly 14 inches tall (in 1/6th scale with the other Danger Room Sessions members Wolverine and Psylocke). Beneath his feet is an amazing exclusive base consisting of snow-covered rocky terrain on top of a mechanical projector. Every mutant in the Danger Room Sessions series is mounted on a unique Danger Room holographic environment with translucent parts that glow with a built-in LED light in the base.
srp $179.99
Available in March 2011


Marvel, Sabretooth: TM & © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. All rights reserved. DC X BISHOUJO COLLECTION CATWOMAN BISHOUJO STATUE
Catwoman appears for the first time in the Japanese bishoujo (pretty girl) style inspired by the 90’s style of Jim Lee and based on original character art by world famous illustrator Shunya Yamashita!
Catwoman is constructed of high-quality pvc plastic and stands approximately 9 1/10 inches tall (in an increased 1/7 scale for DC X Bishoujo statues) atop an exclusive Gotham City Batman-inspired gargoyle base complete with two miniature cats! She’s the perfect companion to the Batgirl statue and will be joined by many other DC beauties in this sizzling line!
srp $59.99
Available in MARCH


TM & © DC Comics. (s10) STAR WARS EMPIRE STRIKES BACK BOBA FETT CLOUD CITY VER. ARTFX+ STATUE
Poseable in two ways (holding his gun at ease or aimed at his quarry), Fett comes with two different interchangeable arms and magnets in his feet for display on the included base!
ARTFX+ Statues are fun-to-assemble pre-painted snap-fit kits that can be easily put together in seconds without glue or modeling skill. Boba Fett stands almost 8 inches tall (1/10th scale) and is just the first in the all new Saga Collection!
srp $44.99
Available in MARCH


© 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. STAR WARS ARTFX+ STORM TROOPER BUILD PACK
Joining the ARTFX+ line, these two Storm Troopers are perfect miniature versions of the onscreen characters, with fully detailed armor and weapons. In fact, they both come with interchangeable four different kinds of arm parts and two different style of leg parts! So giving you the option of eighteen different posing combinations! Like the other ARTFX+ Statues the Troopers also have magnets in their feet for display on included bases.
ARTFX+ Statues are fun-to-assemble pre-painted snap-fit kits that can be easily put together in seconds without glue or modeling skill. The Storm Troopers stand nearly 8 inches tall (1/10th scale) and are perfect back up for the Saga Collection Boba Fett ARTFX+ Statue!
srp $74.99
Available in MARCH


© 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
* Yamato USA will be releasing the Zoids Shield Liger Non-Scale, Die-Cast Action Figure
Approximately 10.25” in length, over 17.00” including tail
Two hundred (200) parts in total, including approximately eighty (80) die-cast parts
Die-cast used in legs, chest, and waist
Twenty-four (24) points of articulation
Canopy opens & closes allowing boarding of Van Flyheight and Fiona pilot figures
Head Shield (E Shield) spreads out
Beams (Bazooka) lift from back
Missile Pods spread out from side
Six (6) kinds of figures: Van Flyheight (Standing), Van Flyheight (Pilot), Fiona (Standing), Fiona (Pilot), Zeke (Standing), Zeke (w/ Core)
Zoids Core
Both Zoids Core and Zeke with Core can be stored inside figure
Up-grade Parts: two (2) kinds of Fangs and 30mm Twin Beams (for tail)
Display Stand
Extra Decal Stickers

* A two foot tall, limited Shogun Warriors - Beast King Golion (aka Voltron) Jumbo Action Figure figure will be released in November. The 500 units produced will retail for $249.99.

* Linkin Park album A Thousand Suns will be packaged with the Japanese limited released of a HGUC 1/144 RX-78GP01Fb Gundam GP01Fb Full Vernian "Linkin Park Edition" Gundam model in November

* Neon Genesis Evangelion Ayanami Rei Ballerina style 1/7 PVC figure by Kotobukiya
CollectionDX has an interesting look at a second rate transforming toy
On the customs front
Obama as Gundam for the Red Carpet Kaiju show
Kaiju costume Munny
Votoms diaramas

Anime Expo's CEO Michael Lattanzio Steps Down

SPJA Chair Marc Perez assumes interim CEO duties for parent of N. America's largest anime con

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the parent organization of the Anime Expo convention, has announced on Saturday that its CEO Michael Lattanzio is "leaving on good terms to pursue other projects." SPJA Chairman of the Board Marc Perez has assumed Lattanzio's duties in the interim. Anime Expo is the largest convention devoted to Japanese animation and manga in North America.

SPJA hired Lattanzio as its president and chief executive officer in 2009, and he remained as its head during the Anime Expo 2010 convention this past July. During his tenure, multiple Anime Expo staffers, including the majority of the convention's division managers, resigned in a dispute with Lattanzio and the board. Lattanzio presided when Anime Expo assembled one of its largest guest lineups to date. Anime Expo reported a turnstile attendance of over 105,000 this year, compared to over 109,000 last year. ("Turnstile attendance" is the number of attendees on each day added together, so a person who uses a four-day pass is counted four times.)

Lattanzio is SPJA's third formal CEO since 2005, when then-CEO Jennifer Pon resigned her post. Trulee Karahashi served as SPJA's CEO from 2007 to 2009. On March 27, 2009, Karahashi was dismissed in what she described as a termination. SPJA announced its hiring of Lattanzio on September 8, 2009. Perez was one of several individuals who temporarily headed SPJA during the interim period between Pon and Karahashi's tenures, and again during the interim period between Karahashi and Lattanzio's tenures.

Lindsay Lohan Gets Out of Prison

Family Guy Style. Meg Griffin as Lindsay Lohan. Enjoy.

Is Anime Expo 2011 the last one? - Update 2

More Controversy over America's largest Anime Con

Great news, great news, great news! Part of the AX headache is gone but we are not out of it yet.

Monster High

[Source: Wikipedia] The Monster High website opened on May 5, 2010. In the site, the viewer can access games, character bios and several downloads. The site also produces the online webisodes for Monster High. The site added one new webisode weekly (on Fridays) from May 5 to July 30. The series is currently on hiatus. The webisodes can also be viewed on Monster High's YouTube Channel. A commercial for the website has aired in national television on August 5, 2010 in the U.S.. 

Subsequently, a music video for the line was also created and can be found on YouTube. Monster High's theme song the "Monster High Fright Song" is also available on iTunes.

Characters:

The events of the webisodes are set in a fictional high school called 'Monster High' where the whole student body and staff is made up of ghouls and monsters from various popular monster fiction. Most of the main characters are children of the famous Universal Monsters.

• Frankie Stein — one of the main characters. She is the daughter of Frankenstein's Monster (and of, possibly, his bride). She is depicted as the 'new girl' of Monster High and is only 15 days old (according to her online bio). She has various stitches all over her body and has pale green skin. She also has two bolts on her neck which serve as electric conductors (based from the image of Boris Karloff in the 1931 film version of Frankenstein). Like Frankenstein's Monster in the novel, she is highly athletic and agile, and even lands a spot in the 'fearleading' squad (even though her body parts, especially her hands, tend to fly off at the worst times). Frankie's place in the school is new and exciting, she even has a sweet sixteenth day! Frankie has a pet puppy named Watzit, who has been stitched together like her.

• Draculaura — one of the main characters, she is a vegan vampire and daughter of Count Dracula. In the online bios, she is 1,599 years old. She has pale pink skin, protruding fangs and her appearance is similar to Béla Lugosi in the 1931 film version of Dracula. She also has pointed, elf-like ears. She wears Victorian era clothing and her style closely resembles Lolita fashion. She is known to be poetic and she loves creative writing. She has a pet bat named Count Fabulous dressed in a small pink jumper and large bow.

• Clawdeen Wolf — one of the main characters, she is the daughter of the Werewolf (possibly Larry Talbot from the 1941 film The Wolf Man). She has an African-American appearance and has wolf ears and protruding fangs. She, along with her best friends Frankie and Draculaura, make up the central characters of the webisodes. She is known to have a wild, uncontrollable nature especially when she sees a full moon. She often shaves and plucks her excess hair that grows rapidly all over her body. In the web series, she often bickers with Cleo de Nile and their fights have become a running gag throughout the series. She has a pet cat named Crescent.

• Lagoona Blue — the daughter of the Sea Monster (though her appearance is more akin to Gill-man from the 1954 movie Creature from the Black Lagoon). She has long, blond hair and light blue skin. She also has several fins, webbed hands and gills behind her ears. She speaks with an Australian accent. She is depicted as a jock and is the captain of Monster High's swim team. She has a pet Piranha named Neptuna whom she carries around in a fishbowl purse.

• Cleo de Nile — the daughter of the Mummy (most likely Imhotep from the 1932 film The Mummy). She is a 5,842-year-old Egyptian princess. She has olive skin wrapped with stray mummy bandages and frequently wears Ancient Egyptian jewelry. She is depicted as the 'queen bee' and 'mean girl' of Monster High and has a particular dislike for Clawdeen. She is also in a relationship with Deuce Gorgon. She has a pet snake dolled out in jewelry named Hisette.

• Deuce Gorgon — a son of Medusa. He has green snakes for hair (which he styles into a mohawk). Despite being a Gorgon, he has a charming face, peach skin and athletic physique. His girlfriend Cleo, even dubs him as the "hottest guy in Monster High." He frequently wears large sunglasses, since his gaze would turn anyone to stone (but unlike his mother's gaze in Greek mythology, the potency of his gaze would only last for 24 hours at most). He has a twin tailed pet rat named Perseus whom he named after an ancient warrior his mother knew (much to her dismay).

• Ghoulia Yelps — a zombie. She has light blue hair and pale gray skin. Her appearance is very bookish and she wears large, horn-rimmed glasses. She is depicted as timid and shy and could only speak Zombie (a possible reference to the ghouls from the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead and other films from the Living Dead film series). She is also the smartest girl in Monster High. She has a baby blue colored owl named Sir Hoots A Lot.

• Holt Hyde — The character debuted in the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego.^[12] His display box states that he is the son of Mr. Hyde. He has blue skin and bright orange hair. Little information is known about him aside from the fact that his name is a probable reference to the titular character from the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In Deuce Gorgon's bio, he cites a person named 'Jackson Jekyll' as one of his best friends, this could possibly hint that Holt has inherited mutations . He also has a pet chameleon who's name is unknown.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse on DVD this September 28

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is a direct-to-video animated film based on the Superman/Batman comic storyline "The Supergirl from Krypton" and is a sequel to Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. The art style is partly based on that of Michael Turner, who penciled the Superman/Batman comic book arc. The film is the ninth in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation and the first sequel in the line. It is set to be released on September 28, 2010. The film stars Tim Daly as Clark Kent/Superman, Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Andre Braugher as Darkseid, Summer Glau as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Susan Eisenberg as Princess Diana/Wonder Woman, and Edward Asner as Granny Goodness.

After a spaceship splashes down in Gotham City Harbor, Batman and Superman encounter a mysterious Kryptonian with powers as great as those of the Man of Steel. The Kryptonian is soon revealed to be Kara, who is the cousin of Superman. Superman takes her under his wing to educate her about the ways of Earth. However, the villainous Darkseid has other plans. Big Barda has just escaped and Darkseid is looking for a capable fighter to take over the Female Furies. He sends Granny Goodness to abduct Supergirl and brainwashes her so he can gain control of her, utilizing the powerful Kryptonian to do his bidding. It's up to Batman, Wonder Woman, Big Barda and Superman to save Kara, but they'll have to take the fight to Darkseid within his hostile world – where unknown, deadly threats lurk around every corner, including a brainwashed Kryptonian able to match Superman blow-for-blow. They recruit Big Barda since she has intimate knowledge of Darkseid's home and was able to escape Apokolips before. 

Cast Voice actor / Character 

Tim Daly      Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman 

Kevin Conroy      Bruce Wayne / Batman 

Andre Braugher      Darkseid 

Summer Glau      Kara Zor-El / Supergirl 

Susan Eisenberg      Princess Diana / Diana Prince / Wonder Woman 

Edward Asner      Granny Goodness 

Julianne Grossman      Big Barda 

John Cygan      Male Radio Caller 

Dave Mitchell      Bearded Longshoreman 

Rachel Quaintance      Lyla/Harbinger 

Andrea Romano      Stompa 

Salli Saffioti      Gilotina 

Tara Strong      Female Radio Caller 

Jim Ward      Radio DJ 

Greg Williams      Terrified Longshoreman 

April Winchell      Female Radio Caller 1

New REDLINE Trailer

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt [by GAINAX]

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is a 2010 original anime produced by Gainax. It will begin airing on October 1, 2010 and will be simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Characters:

Panty (パンティ, Panti) Voiced by: Arisa Ogasawara

A sexy blonde girl who can form pistols from her panties.

Stocking (ストッキング, Sutokkingu) Voiced by: Mariya Ise

A black-haired 'goth loli' girl who forms a pair of swords from her stockings.

Garterbelt (ガーターベルト, Gātāberuto) Voiced by: Kōji Ishii

A large black man who dons a priest's outfit and a large afro.

Chuck (チャック, Chakku) Voiced by: Takashi Nakamura

Panty and Stocking's pet who is subjected to various pains.

Brief Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino

>> Watch Episodes <<

Voltron - Concept Art for Live-Action Film

[Source: JoBlo.com] This art is actually part of the pitch process aimed at getting the full-blown movie up and running. Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (SAHARA, the forthcoming CONAN movie) are said to be scripters on the project for the moment. 

Remember when some folks thought CLOVERFIELD was actually a VOLTRON film in disguise?

More Scott Pilgrim Game Sprites

By Paul Robertson