Out of all the announcements and trailers we saw during the 2022 Game Awards, I only cared about seeing more of Space Marine 2. We’ve been waiting for more than a decade for a follow-up to Relic Entertainment’s fantastic take on the Warhammer 40K franchise. Now it’s just around the corner. But we’re not only getting a sequel; there’s also a collector’s edition on the way.
While the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Collector’s Edition does come with the usual forgettable like a steel book and “art” book, the main selling point is the Lieutenant Titus statue. For $249.99, you’ll receive the game, DLC, and a bloody scene of Titus delivering some righteous justice to a Tyranid via a chainsword. The statue is made of resin and measures 8.25″ x 6.7″. It is hand-painted and includes a second head for Titus, without his helmet. The CE is available exclusively through Focus Entertainment.
Photo Credit: Focus Entertainment
Lieutenant Titus is an 8.25 x 6.7″ resin statue that is finely painted and detailed.
The game’s official Steelbook.
The Art and Making of Warhammer 40,000: SM2 in English: 64 pages about Saber Interactive’s fantastic craft.
The game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on the platform of your choice. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions will be shipped as physical copies, with a Focus Entertainment Store-exclusive box art.
The PC version will be sent digitally as a Steam download code.
The Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Macragge’s Chosen DLC.
Oddly enough, the Space Marine 2 Collector’s Edition does not appear to be a limited run. This may change the closer we get to release. I’m hopeful we’ll also get a primer-colored version of the statue so those who paint Warhammer miniatures can give Lieutenant Titus our personal touches.
Did you play the original game when it launched in 2011? Isn’t it time that Microsoft added it to the library of backward-compatible titles for the new XBOX hardware? Let us know your thoughts below.
Anyone that has seen a Godzilla film knows how exciting it can be to see two giant monsters duking it out. It’s a whole genre of film called kaiju, meaning giant monsters, where the charm is seeing gargantuan beasts battle for supremacy. That is the hook for GigaBash, a game developed by Passion Republic Games for multiple platforms. While the game has a bunch of original kaiju to smash buildings and duke it out with, there’s also some Godzilla-themed downloadable content to mix it up. Whether or not you know about Godzilla films or Japanese monster movies, you’re going to have a fun time here.
GigaBash plays very similarly to the Godzilla fighting games from the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. You and your opponents battle within a sandbox city or landscape, where you can smash building structures and vehicles while fighting other kaiju. The controls are simple, mapping all of your attacks and special moves to a few buttons to allow you instant use of all your abilities, as well as a boost that increases your size and attack power. This feels great because the action can be fast and chaotic, especially with up to four players fighting each other simultaneously. It’s an all-out monster melee, where anything and everything goes, and it’s very fun.
However, combat isn’t without its flaws. Hit boxes on some attacks from different characters can vary and at times be inconsistent. Some of this can be due to the camera angle showing the action, where you think you might be safe or able to land an attack at first but proven wrong shortly after. It doesn’t happen often but enough to impact the outcome of matches. This is especially true with the special moves of each kaiju you play with. They can look very flashy, but might not always be accurate upon use. Battles can get a bit murky when multiple fighters become S-class size and cover up a part of the screen, obscuring your view of things on the stage depending on the view. Again, it doesn’t happen often but can impact a match significantly when it does.
There are 10 original monsters to pick and fight with, as well as four DLC characters from the Godzilla universe. Every character has their own unique arsenal of moves and taunts, with a ton of fan service for giant monster fans. Characters like Gigaman are obvious nods to the classic kaiju heroes such as Ultraman or Jet Jaguar, while Thundatross will remind everyone of giant mechs from the Gundam universe. There’s so much more beyond that with every part of the game oozing personality that it fully commits to. All the crazy attacks, intricate designs, and powerful poses from the kaiju genre are on full display, and it’s great.
But what about the amount of content in GigaBash, is there enough to keep you busy? The answer is yes, especially if you prefer to play alone. The game has a story mode that lets you play through four different stories, each with five missions per character. There is some rollover between stories, but it’s not a fully interconnected plot. You’ll see a few battles from different perspectives or conclude with varying outcomes, but each story is still separate. The human characters here are as shallow as what you would find in kaiju movies, but the action comes from everything focusing on the monsters. The plot might not always make sense, but it’s still fun enough to play through. Just don’t expect a high caliber of writing here.
Other solo modes include an Arcade mode and Training mode, which are standard for most fighting games. Playing through all of these will help unlock bonus items in the Gallery. This includes items such as concept art, music, and even bios on every monster and environment. These extras are pretty cool, especially since many more details are laid out that you won’t get from playing through the story mode. There is even a full move list with descriptions of attacks and alternate colors for each playable character.
Unlocking some of these things will require you to level up the rank of each character as you play with them, with goes up when you complete matches offline and online. It can take a while to get enough experience to level up and may take longer to reach a high rank with every kaiju in the game.
Multiplayer and Versus modes are where a lot more fun can be had, especially if you decide to go online. Local multiplayer is great if you have friends who can play with you nearby, the action is just as fun as any party game. Getting into online matches, however, may be more difficult at times. Getting a full game for Mayhem or Team Matches can be tough as you won’t always be able to find multiple people fast in matchmaking. You can sometimes get stuck in matches with three people instead of four, or someone will time out just as a match begins, leaving you at a big disadvantage.
There’s also a lack of customization within multiplayer matches. You don’t have control of certain elements on the stages or other factors of the matches, unlike most other party games that open these options up to you. You can’t change how frequently stage hazards will appear, or how many breakable and throwable objects will be within the stage to use. It doesn’t ruin the battles when you play them, but it does impact the variety of matches you can have with friends when you want to mix things up. The balance between characters can also be a big problem, especially for those with powerful long-range attacks that can hit multiple times and lock opponents down. Unless you get lucky, you’re going to have a tough time against someone exploiting moves that are golden for them.
And then there’s the Godzilla downloadable content, which is very light overall. You get four playable characters from the Shōwa, Heisei, and Millenium eras of Godzilla films. You can play as Godzilla, Gigan, Mechagodzilla, and Destoroyah. Unfortunately, you don’t get any extra stages, alternate costumes, or extra bonuses with the characters that are Godzilla-themed. It would’ve been nice to see something from the Heisei era be included, like an iconic location made into a stage or something similar.
There are profiles of each monster in the Gallery that give details and a breakdown of their moves, but there’s nothing beyond that like the other characters on the roster. Luckily, we still get the classic Godzilla dance taunt and flying kick from the older films that Godzilla fans will instantly recognize and appreciate. It’s good to see stuff like this, but a lot more could’ve been done to round out this downloadable content.
GigaBash is definitely for fans of kaiju films, but will also be fun for everyone else who wants a good party or fighting game to play with friends. The game’s flaws are noticeable, but not a complete deal breaker that makes the experience unlikeable. If you just want to smash up things and make some monsters fight each other, you can have a great time with GigaBash.
What do you think of GigaBash? Are you a big fan of giant monster movies as well? Let us know in the comments below and tell us some of your favorites!
In 1982 George A. Romero and Stephen King came together to deliver one of the best horror anthologies ever to grace the genre. It paid homage to classic EC Comics like Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror. The labor of love was known as Creepshow and has become a classic among horror fans. Over the years, we’ve seen a few action figures based on the film. One of those is NECA’s Ultimate 40th Anniversary version of the movie’s “host,” known as The Creep.
Created by Tom Savini, the rotting corpse guided us through the five frightful tales. He was also the star of the film’s well-known poster. We only ever see The Creep from the waist up, and his screen time can be measured in seconds. So, that leads a lot of stuff up to interpretation when it comes to making an action figure. How did NECA do? Let’s take a look.
To begin with, I’ll let you know my history with NECA products. I’ve been steering clear of collecting NECA action figures for years now. In the mid-2010s, I picked up a Terminator, Robocop, and Batman ’89 figure. Each of these three had some sort of defect. The ears on Batman’s mask were badly curled inwards, and his left wrist broke the first time we tried to pose the figure. Robocop’s leg gun holster was broken out of the box. The T-800 Endoskeleton had a broken heel, and whatever was used to keep the wires on the clavicle together didn’t work. Last year I received a 2015 Marty McFly for Christmas, and it stayed in the box out of fear that some part of the time-traveling teen may be broken. In short, I’m now looking at all NECA action figures from the mindset that production issues are common.
The Creep’s overall details are hard to see, even when looking at a high-res copy of Creepshow. The ghoul is bathed in blue light and lots of shadows. However, thanks to Tom Spina Designs, we know exactly what the character looks like. The original prop underwent a rehab, which resulted in plenty of photos of The Creep up close. This will help when we compare the toy to the on-screen counterpart.
We’ll first look at the box. It’s great, like most of NECA’s Ultimate figures. The film’s original poster art adorns the front of the book-style box. Upon folding back the flap, we see The Creep and all of his accessories. These include two film-inspired heads, one poster-inspired head, Billy’s pumpkin, a candle with holder, and a small replica of the in-movie Creepshow comic book.
The inside flap shows off a picture of the prototype Creep. There are some noticeable differences between this guy and the finished product. The Creep in the images has brighter whites in his eyes, making them stand out from the rotten flesh in the surrounding area. The death shroud is also different. The original appears to be made from gauze, while the finished product is made of a much thinner material that is better scaled to the 6″ toy.
Another change spotted was in the hair. The final product has hair that’s made out of translucent plastic with white and grey highlights. This helps pull off the thin and whispy hair the character had in the film.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Out of the box, the figure looks pretty good. 90% of the character is covered with the shroud. It is unfortunate that the cloth isn’t thin enough to see through like it is in the film. It’s a missed opportunity because The Creep has a fully modeled body. Yes, under all that faded cloth is a rotting corpse with several points of articulation.
Some joints on this body are very tight, including the elbows and ankles. It took a bit to get The Creep to stand on his own. So, we’d suggest a figure stand or base for this guy. Thanks to multiple wires hidden in the shroud, it’s easy to hide any stability aids you use to display this guy.
There’s nothing spectacular about the body. It’s a withered and rotting body. There’s no genitalia, you sickos. I checked. See below.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
The Creep’s visible body parts are what we’re going to focus on now. In Creepshow, we see his face and hands. NECA included two movie-inspired heads. One has a neutral face with the eyes forward. The second is a grinning head with The Creep looking to his right. Thankfully, the lower jaw is articulated, allowing The Creep to pull off a sickening smile.
The problem with these two heads is in the eyes. The original prop had yellow irises, which appeared almost pale in the movie. The toy’s are green and kind of get lost without whiter scleras.
The balljoint for the head also proved to only truly fit the head that came installed. When we tried to fit the alternate head or the poster head, the sockets were too loose. Thankfully, the shroud’s hood has a wire in it, which can stabilize the head and keep it in one place.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Billy’s pumpkin didn’t really need to be included, but it’s welcome. Surprisingly, it’s fully detailed except for a light source. The top comes off, and the squash’s interior looks like it was carved out. That’s way more detail than we expected to be put into something so trivial.
The included candle is too big for the pumpkin, unfortunately.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
The candle holder has some of the finest detail I’ve ever seen in an accessory from NECA. The candle is held up by four tiny sculpted gargoyles, one missing his head. It’s a great accessory, but sadly, The Creep can’t really hold it. One hand is wide open, and the other is posed for pointing rather than holding.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
The comic book features fine printing and a waxy covering, making it decently durable. The interior does not contain a complete replica of the film’s prop. Instead, it’s a double-sided print with panels from the final story, “They’re Creeping Up on You!” It can be held by The Creep after some effort.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
I wasn’t sure if I would like the poster head, but after I attached it to The Creep’s body, it quickly became my favorite of the three. This is because the single remaining eye visually pops. This is where The Creep’s other two heads fail.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Regardless, I would strongly recommend picking up The Creep if you’re a fan of the original ’82 film. Although some parts felt a little too delicate, I did not encounter the same problems present in other NECA figures. The attention to detail is fantastic and makes me almost want to go out and buy the Universal Monsters TMNT line. If you can look past the lackluster eye detail on two of the heads, The Creepshow Creep makes for one hell of a display piece among your other horror collectibles. Even if you never open the box, all the accessories are clearly visible, making it easier to keep this 40th-anniversary figure MIB.
Here are a couple more shots of The Creep to finish out our review.
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
Photo Credit: Mike Phalin
“That’s why God made fathers, babe. That’s why God made fathers.”
Along with news of Batwheels being renewed for a second season, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen gave some comments on the life and future of Cartoon Network. Very aware that many have concerns and questions about what is to become of both networks as David Zaslav continues to tighten the budgeting and canceling of many projects, regardless of how close to finished they are, Ouweleen agrees that things have changed, but “we’re not dead“.
In response to the reaction to news about the death of Cartoon Network back in October, Ouweleen said, “It was weird to wake up a couple of weeks ago and read our obituary as we were alive. We’ve got more stuff coming next year than we had this year.”
With all the changes going on at the animated network, “It’s definitely a pivot, through the merger and through this kind of industry-wide correction that we’re all seeing and navigating through.”
Even with all the massive cancellations that have happened at the network, Ouweleen says, “We’re not looking to cancel shows. It’s just we have to allocate the money we have in ways that we think are going to have the biggest impact and please the most number of people. You want to keep those creative relationships with people and see what else you can do.“
“The go-forward notion is Cartoon Network and Adult Swim will be the main source of animation at Max and we’re gearing up to share with them all the stuff we have in development right now,” Ouweleen says. “We talk to those guys every week, pretty much and coordinate and plan our activity together.”
Ouweleen explains that the plan to build an ambitious kids and family business (“to compete with Disney, frankly,” he adds) had to be shelved in the new conglomerate, which also included most of the now canceled live action plans. Basically he’s saying the shows planned were too wide and open and not focused. Too much was focused on trying to compete with Disney.
Now the new plan is to go back to the roots of what made Cartoon Network a successful place for cartoons to be. “When I joined the network (in 1996), to our minds it wasn’t a kid network, it was an animation network. We said it was for a psychographic, not a demographic. The best animation works on a couple levels and works for a couple of different audiences at once. And I think that’s where Cartoon Network proper is coming back around to. The remit I think for us now is to go back to being the best animation across Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, and serve the audience that is still there, starting on linear, which is adult.”
According to Ouweleen, Cartoon Network always attracted audiences in the 18-49 year age range, which is part of why Adult Swim was created. “When we started Adult Swim, that was the first moment where we were like, ‘Oh, wait, if there’s a thing just for adults, what is Cartoon Network now?’ It took us I’d say a couple of years to figure out what Cartoon Network was. Now it’s more natural for it to be aimed at doing great animated shows for everybody at once. And linear still has a healthy adult audience.”
Ouweleen uses “Adventure Time” as the guiding factor in the type of shows the network wants to create as they move forward. “Our median age is 29 during the day. So, the path forward is to lean into that and make really great stuff that appeals to young adults and kids can watch it too.
Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation will still exist as individual labels, and continue to fall under the oversight of president Sam Register. Sam Register is best known as the creator of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Looney Tunes Show, as well as being the executive producer of such shows as Teen Titans, Ben10, Transformers: Animated, and Teen Titans Go!
“We’ve known each other for so long and both see our responsibility as humans on the planet to make sure that the words ‘Cartoon Network’ stay as vibrant and strong as possible.Cartoon Network Studios is still a distinct creative entity and aimed at all the things that Cartoon Network Studios has always aimed at, which is unique creators, first time creators. Building shows that are worlds and new ideas. Pushing the conversation forward in terms of animation.
Sometimes people think we’re niche, or think animation is small and don’t understand the power of it. It helps having ‘Rick and Morty’ for everyone to understand. Like, oh, this can be big. This could be a popular thing. And we’ve been expanding Adult Swim globally.”
Ouweleen finishes off his comments by stating, “When we get out of thinking of Cartoon Network as just living and dying based on kid revenue, it actually frees us up to do more stuff and lean into really what our core always was, which is, let’s advance what the animation art form can do, and create iconic stuff.“
What do you think of Cartoon Network seemingly going back to the roots of the network?
The kid’s cartoon ‘Batwheels’ is revving its engines for a second season with the announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery that it would return. Batman and his famous Batmobile along with their allies will continue to solve crime in Gotham City.
“Buckle up for a second season of Cartoonito’s original preschool hit “Batwheels” for Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, season one launched this fall to much fanfare and critical acclaim Following its premiere, the series became Cartoon Network’s #1 original preschool series with Boys ages 2-5 this year and is the #1 original preschool show on HBO Max. “Batwheels” marks DC’s first-ever Batman preschool show featuring a high-speed, vibrant CGI-animated iteration of the Caped Crusader. Michael G. Stern and Simon J. Smith will both be upped to executive producers and continue to helm the animated action-comedy for season two,” DC said on their website.
Cartoon Network exec said, “It’s been a joyride seeing how ‘Batwheels’ resonated with audiences, and in such a short amount of time. It delivered everything we hoped it would in introducing Batman to the youngest viewers while allowing parents to enjoy their favorite DC Super Hero with their kids.”
“Reimagining Batman’s iconic mythos for preschoolers using beloved and original characters has been a creative feat that we will definitely lean into as we expand into a second season,” he added.
The shows stars Ethan Hawke as Batman, Gina Rodriguez as Catwoman, Jacob Bertrand as Bam the Batmobile, Xolo Maridueña as Snowy the Snowcrawler, Crew Kingston Miskel as Redbird, Madigan Kacmar as Bibi, Noah Bentley as Buff, Lilimar as Batwing, Kimberly D. Brooks as The Batcomputer, Mick Wingert as Moe, AJ Hudson as Duke Thomas/Robin, and Leah Lewis as Cassandra Cain/Batgirl.
The second season will be launched with the Christmas special “Holidays On Ice” which will air on Cartoon Network and stream to HBO Max.
The co-founder and President of RightStuf will be leaving the company on Wednesday December 14th, making the hard decision to retire after 35 years since officially starting the company in 1987. In early August, Clownfish TV shared the news that RightStuf had been sold to Crunchyroll, immediately moving all their 18+ “erotica products” to the Ero Anime Store website. At the time, it was stated that both companies would operate separately “for the moment.”
Shawne Kleckner shared an email to Crunchyroll staff, as well as to Anime News Network, this week in which he described to fellow employees that he will be leaving Right Stuf and Crunchyroll on December 14th, expressing his confidence in the current Right Stuf management team at Crunchyroll. He also highlighted the customer-focused approached that he referred to as “Super Service”. Kleckner said Rightstuf has maintained a reputation of personalized customer response as well as secure packaging and shipping to customers.
On November 18th, Right Stuf Anime sent an email to customers hinting that “Dark Lord Kleckner”, as he is affectionately nicknamed, would not be staying with the company for much too long in the last paragraph:
“Some of you may be wondering about the Dark Lords plans for the future. Well, we have it on good authority that he plans on spending a good deal of time relaxing in the not-so-distant future. So, if you would like to shower him with your gratitude for bringing your favorite products over the past 35 years, we are certain he would enjoy cards or letters from you. They can be sent to our mailing address. This will ensure if he sneaks off, we can still get the notes to him.”
In the beginning, Right Stuf began as a shell company started by a Des Moines entrepreneur named Todd Ferson, who wanted to find a less expensive way of acquiring telescopes. He named his company “The Right Stuff“, inspired by one of his favorite movies from 1983 of the same name The Right Stuff. Soon after, his business started to grow, which led him to an idea to try to acquire the distribution rights his favorite childhood series Astro Boy. He could not find any copies of it for himself as a fan, so he thought he could try to do it with his growing young company. Ferson needed help finding English dub copies, so he called his friend Iowa State University student Shawne Kleckner. Kleckner liked the idea and agreed to help.
After acquiring the license in 1987, it would take two years to search, find and piece together the English dub of Astro Boy. The English dubs were found scattered all around the world by fellow fans who shared the loved of the series. Reels turned up as far as Australia, Zimbabwe, and Tibet.
Also in 1987, they decided to change the name of the company into something that would stand out a bit more in the business world: The Right Stuf, now with only one f. The idea was that the misspelling would help the new company be more memorable, with spellcheck always there to remind you, and thus making you never forget the company with the purposely misspelled word.
Right Stuf’s very first anime to be made available for purchase by fans in 1989 was a VHS tape that had two episodes of Astro Boy. Since then, they’ve continued to learn and grow and help change the anime industry in America into what it has become today.
Shawne Kleckner made two tweets hinting at how leaving Right Stuf was not an easy thing to do:
By far, one of the hardest things I have ever done.
Thank you to Shawne Kleckner for helping to grow the love of anime and manga in America. Your excitement and honesty as a fellow fan of anime was felt in the way products were shipped and special Ultra and Collector’s Editions were created for the fans, by the fans. We wish you well as you journey into the next adventure in your life after dedicating 35 years in the anime and manga industry.
What do you think about Shawne Kleckner leaving? Does this make you more concerned about the future of Right Stuf? If you would like to read more into the history of how Right Stuf grew to be what it is today, check out a two-part post created on the 20th anniversary in 2007 on the history of Right Stuf Anime: Part 1Part 2
The Christmas 2022 season is in full swing and along with that comes with bringing out the DVDs and Blu-rays of our favorite classic Christmas movies and specials, whether they are animated or not. Or maybe you are the type of person to go to your preferred streaming services to watch your yearly favorites instead. On top of re-watching our favorites, it’s also a great time to watch new things too. On this page I have gathered a list of new animated specials and movies that have come out since December 1st, or will be coming out up to almost Christmas. I am sticking with animation just because it’s what I personally love watching more of instead of live action (though I do enjoy live action, animation is my first love in terms of watching shows and movies). There’s something for everyone to enjoy on this list. I have also included a few non-holiday specials and movies at the end, as it could be a fun new movie or show to enjoy during the Christmas season.
The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute
The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute is a new re-imagining of two classic stories in one. This Russian animated film is available to watch digitally for rent or buy from Amazon Prime, Apple+, and Google/Youtube Movies. It will be available on DVD next year.
In this thrilling twist on the beloved musical fairy tale, Marie follows her toy Nutcracker into the enchanted Land of Flowers to conquer a rat queen and break an evil curse.
Wrap Party Pups/Fixing Santa’s Sleigh
As part of the 5th season of the Puppy Dog Pals TV series, Disney Junior aired this special episode on Disney Junior on December 1st. It is now available to watch on Disney+ through PuppyDog Pals 5th season show listing.
When Playcare hosts a wrap party, Grace accidentally drops her homemade present into a box that gets shipped out. When the sleigh breaks down mid-delivery, the pets fix it.
LEGO Friends: Holiday Special
Lego Friends: Holiday Special originally premiered on Lego’s official YouTube channel, but as of December 1st it is now available to watch on Netflix, under the title of Lego Friends: Heartlake Stories (2021).
Sesame Street’s The Nutcracker
Sesame Street’s The Nutcracker is now available to watch on HBO Max as of December 1st.
It’s Tango’s first Christmas and Elmo is so excited to show him all of the fun and festive things him and his family and friends get to do every year!
Batwheels Holiday Special: Holidays on Ice
Batwheels Holiday Special: Holidays on Ice became available to watch on HBO Max as of December 1st.
Sesame Street Mecha Builders Holiday Special: Yip Yip Tree Tree/The Snowman Scarecrow
Season one of Sesame Street Mecha Builders holiday episode is available to watch on HBO Max as of December 1st.
Bugs Bunny Builders Holiday Special
Bugs Bunny Builders Holiday Special: Looneyburg Lights is available on HBO Max as of December 1st.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol became available to watch on Netflix as of December 2nd. See the trailer here:
The Boss Baby
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus is available to watch on Netflix as of December 6th.
Christmas Eve takes a twisty turn when the Boss Baby accidentally swaps places with one of Santa’s elves and gets stranded at the North Pole!
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
Based on the internationally best-selling book of the same name by Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, in partnership with BBC, will be available to watch on Apple+ on December 25th. The art style will mimic the distinct style from the book.
A story of kindness, friendship, courage and hope for viewers of all ages, the poignant and heartfelt journey follows the unlikely friendship of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse traveling together in the boy’s search for home.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
The long-anticipated stop-motion animated movie is finally coming to Netflix tomorrow, December 9th on Netflix.
People are sometimes afraid of what they don’t know… From the mind of Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and award-winning stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson, Guillermo del Toro‘s Pinocchio is a story you think you may know… but you don’t.
Sonic Prime
The Sonic Prime animated series is available to watch on Netflix on December 15th. See the trailer below.
The adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog go into overdrive when a run-in with Dr. Eggman results in a literal universe-shattering event. Sonic races through the Shatter-verse, discovering strange worlds and enlisting new friends in the epic adventure of a lifetime! Sonic Prime is dashing.
Puss In Boots
After the first 2011 movie, the daring outlaw feline returns in the newest movie Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, which will be in theaters nationwide on Wednesday December 21. The film showcases a similar animation style that animators for Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and The Bad Guys (2022) used, deciding to move away from the realistic side of animation. The filmmakers used the 1966 Western film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspiration for the new Puss in Boots movie. Producer Mark Swift stated this is, “at the end of the day, also the story of outlaws circling one another in search for the same pot of gold. They’re going after this ultimate fairy tale prize, because there’s one wish that can be granted when you reach that wishing star. There’s a great momentum because everybody feels like they have to have this wish, which really just leads to a great kind of action adventure.”
Daring outlaw Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. See the trailer here:
Will you be watching any of these movies or specials? Or maybe sharing them with your kids? Or another family member or friend? Let us know what you think!
Mezco‘s One:12 Collective has finally added a long-awaited pair of characters to the toy line: Dick Tracy and Flattop. Coming straight out of the newspaper comic, the square-jawed detective and the gangster with a landing strip for a head are bundled together in a pricy but awesome-looking box set. Each 6″ tall character comes with multiple head portraits, soft goods clothing, and loads of accessories, including guns, knives, Tracy’s two-way wristwatch, effects pieces, and several pairs of interchangeable hands. Not a bad deal for $195; however, don’t expect this to ship any time soon. Dick Tracy and Flattop won’t arrive until the latter part of 2023.
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Photo Credit: Mezco
Here’s a breakdown of what accessories and parts each character come with:
Dick Tracy:
Three (3) head portraits
Twelve (12) interchangeable hands
One (1) pair of fists (L&R)
One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R)
One (1) pair of badge holding hands (L&R)
One (1) pair of holding hands (L&R)
One (1) pointing hand (L)
One (1) open hand (L)
One (1) trigger finger hand (R)
One (1) grabbing hand (R)
Fedora
Trench coat
Tailored 3-piece suit
Shoulder holster
Tie
Belt
Dress shoes
One (1) pair of handcuffs
One (1) flashlight
One (1) coffee mug
One (1) police badge
One (1) two-way radio wristwatch
One (1) wristwatch signal FX
One (1) submachine gun with two (2) removable magazines
One (1) handgun
One (1) revolver
Four (4) gun firing FX
One (1) One:12 Collective display base with logo
One (1) One:12 Collective adjustable display post
Flattop:
Four (4) head portraits
Ten (10) interchangeable hands
One (1) pair of fists (L&R)
One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R)
One (1) pair of holding hands (L&R)
Two (2) pairs of gun holding hands (L&R)
One (1) gun case
One (1) crowbar
One (1) foldable knife
One (1) blackjack
One (1) tommy gun with two (2) removable drum magazines
Taylor Swift walked away with three awards at the 48th People’s Choice Awards in the music category. The Marvel Studios feature film ‘Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness’ also walked away with three awards in the film category.
Held on December 6, 2022, and streamed on NBC and the E! Network, the People’s Icon Award was given to ‘Deadpool’ star Ryan Reynolds with singer Shania Twain winning the Music Icon Award.
Film distributors GKids and Shout Factory are releasing the Japanese historical fiction film ‘Giovanni’s Island’ for home video release and digital streaming platforms. The 2014 animated movie was a huge hit at the box office in Japan and would go on to win Best Animation Film at the 2014 69th Mainichi Film Awards.
“From Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell and The Deer King, and director Mizuho Nishikubo comes the award-winning historical drama Giovanni’s Island,” GKids said on their website.
They added, “The beautiful, hand-drawn film will bow on Blu-ray™ and all major digital platforms on February 21, 2023 from GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Factory. The 2014 feature garnered fourteen recognitions worldwide, including the Jury distinction at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, both Children’s and Adult Jury Prizes at the 31st Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and the Satoshi Kon Award for best animated feature at the Fantasia Film Festival.”
The Blu-Ray boxset will include several bonus features including a music video from the film’s “Troika” song and an art gallery from the movie. It will also include an interview with voice actress Polina Ilyushenko who performs the role of Tanya.
You can take a look at the DVD box art below:
From Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell, and director Mizuho Nishikubo comes the award-winning historical drama GIOVANNI'S ISLAND, available on Blu-ray & Digital February 21, 2023.
“Brothers Junpei and Kanta live in Shikotan, a tiny fishing island that has been spared from the devastations of World War II. The two children are named after Giovanni and Campanella from their late mother’s favorite book, Night on the Galactic Railroad, which becomes a source of solace in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat. When Soviet forces arrive with their families to settle in the island, Junpei meets Tanya, the daughter of the commander. Despite their language barrier and growing tension, the children soon form an unlikely friendship.”
The film’s story was conceived by Shigemichi Sugita who co-wrote the screenplay with Yoshiki Sakurai.
