The Sesame Street Gang is getting a cyberpunk retrofit. At least a family-friendly version. Warner Media announced that they are doing an animated science fiction version of the popular kids’ show with ‘Sesame Street Mecha Builders,’ set to be released on HBO Max and Cartoon Network on the latter’s Cartoonito programming block.
They say in a press release, “WarnerMedia Kids & Family and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, today announced the next phase of their growing content partnership. Sesame Street Mecha Builders, the first of many new Sesame Workshop originals for WarnerMedia’s Cartoonito preschool programming block, is set to debut on HBO Max and Cartoon Network in early May.”
They continued, “Sesame Street Mecha Builders reimagines Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby as robot heroes in training who use their STEM superpowers to solve wacky larger-than-life problems. Animated in a dynamic 3D style, this series will help older preschoolers practice foundational critical thinking skills while laughing along with their Sesame Street friends. The first five episodes will air on Cartoonito on Cartoon Network on Monday, May 9, hitting HBO Max the following day.”
This will be the first of several Sesame Street spin-offs including one that adapts ‘The Nutcracker’ with Elmo starring in the feature.
Warner Bros. Global Kids exec Tom Ascheim expressed his enthusiasm in a statement, “Our relationship with Sesame Workshop is critical in ensuring that we have an ongoing lineup of content that parents find unquestionably safe, educational, and entertaining for their kids to enjoy.”
“The new and classic properties we’re developing together have just the right multigenerational appeal to resonate with parents and children alike, with fresh music and characters offering some surprises along the way,” he added.
‘Sesame Street’ continues to air on PBS, entering its fifty-second season with over four thousand episodes airing. The show began streaming to HBO Max in 2016.
The Sesame Street Gang Goes Mecha
Sentai Filmworks Nabs ‘I’m Quitting Heroing’ For HiDive
‘Yūsha, Yamemasu’ is a 2017 book series published by Kakuyomu. It was later released as a light novel and manga from Kadokawa. It is being adapted into the anime ‘I’m Quitting Heroing’ from the Japanese animation production company EMT Squared. The show is to premiere in April 2022 with Sentai Filmwork announcing that they had acquired the North American distribution rights for the HiDIVE anime streaming service.
“Sentai announced today that it acquired exclusive rights to fantasy anime series I’m Quitting Heroing, based upon the light novel by Quantum with original character design from Hana Amano,” they said on their website. “Produced by EMT Squared (Assassin’s Pride, Love Tyrant, A Destructive God Sits Next to Me, Bokuhaka), the series is directed by Yu Nobuta and Hisashi Ishii (directors of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear) with series composition from Shigeru Murakoshi (scriptwriter for Dororo and Kakegurui, series composition for Zombieland Saga).”
The anime stars Kensho Ono as Leo Demonheart, Kaede Hondo as Echidna, Shizuka Itō as Steina, Hitomi Ōwada as Lili, Yumi Uchiyama as Melnes, Tetsu Inada as Edwald, Minori Suzuki as Dianette, and Misato Matsuoka as Jerietta.
You can watch the trailer below:
The English version of the manga is available digitally through Kadokawa’s BookWalker website.
MyAnimeList describes the synopsis as follows:
“After saving the world, the strongest hero Leo became someone who is not wanted in the peaceful human world. He was too strong. Exiled, he seeks a job at the Demon King’s Army, which he had defeated and needs to be rebuilt. The Army had many problems: too much work, financial troubles, etc. Leo starts to make things better using his power. Leo encounters Echidna again, and asks her why she invaded the human world. There was an unexpected story.”
Kōhei Munemoto handles the music for ‘I’m Quitting Heroing’ with singer Minori Suzuki performing the opening theme song “Broken Identity.”
TMNT Ultimates Wave 7 Has Punk Rock Don and Robotic Bebop
Super7‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of Ultimates action figures is now on its 7th Wave. As expected, the character selection is starting to slide into the territory of lesser-known or alternative takes on known characters. Regardless, some of these guys look awesome.
Metalhead Michelangelo, Punker Don, a Triceraton, Robotic Bebop, and Guerrilla Gorilla are priced at $55 each. You can also pick them up at the Big Bad Toy Store. The expected release date is the first quarter of 2023.
- 2 Interchangeable heads
- Smiling head
- Screaming head
- 10 Interchangeable hands
- 2 Fists
- 2 Open hands
- 2 Grip hands
- 2 Trigger hands
- 2 Gorilla-walk hands
- 3 Grenades
- Monkey Machine Gun
- Banana Bazooka with Coconut Ammo
- Banandolier with 7 bananas
- Removable Helmet
- Combat Knife
- Dog Tags
- Pair of Ape-iator Sunglasses
- 3 Interchangeable heads
- Neutral head
- Smiling head
- Alternate head (light piping)
- 7 Interchangeable hands
- 2 Grip hands
- 2 Fist hands
- 2 Open hands
- Finger Whip hand
- 4 Grenades
- 2 Real metal chain nunchuks
- 2 Radical Robo-Chuks
- Portable Party Pack
- Radar/Foot Blaster
- Utility belt
- Punker Don figure
- 3 Interchangeable heads
- Punk mohawk head
- Punk goggles head
- Tongue-out spiked hair head
- 8 Interchangeable hands
- Two fists
- 2 Grip hands
- 2 Keytar playing hands
- 2 Pointing hands
- Record Flyin’ Disk
- Kickin’ Keytar with strap
- Punk-Funk Flute Bo Staff
- Mic Stand
- Tuning Fork
- Steel Chain
- Chain Necklace
- 3 Interchangeable heads
- 9 Interchangeable hands
- 2 Fists
- 2 Gripping Hands
- 2 Open Hands
- Drill Hand
- Battle Damaged Hand
- Mechanical Mutant Claw
- Laser Luger/Flame Thrower Combo
- Stained Steel Cutter
- Cyber Sewer Shield
- 2 Shoulder Cannon Muzzle Flashes
- 6 Interchangeable hands
- 2 Fists
- 2 Grip hands
- 2 Open hands
- Grenade
- Neutron Neutralizer
- Laser Phaser
- Unearthly Utility Belt
- Rat Snack
- Arm Blade
- Breathing Apparatus
- Wrist Communicator
What do you think of this 7th series of TMNT Ultimates figures? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
[Source: Super7]
[Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
Iron Studios Art Scale The Batman Statue Is The Collectible You Need
The Caped Crusader’s new armor is looking pretty sweet. But, for all the complaining I’ve heard about Robert Pattinson in the film, I will concede that the Batsuit is head and shoulders above the one we saw in the Justice League.
Now you can take home a small representation of The Batman thanks to the artists over at Iron Studios for $159.99. The Batman stands at 10.2″ tall, 4.7″ wide, and 5.1″ deep. The statue should be released during the fourth quarter of 2022. Pre-orders are open now.
Iron Studios
Over the cold skyscrapers in the gloomy city of Gotham, the dark image of the Dark Knight watches the alleys, the most obscure corners, imposing fear in the hearts of the wicked on his crusade for justice and revenge. Facing the most insane criminals, corrupt public workers, and powerful mobsters, he makes use of his long training, his deductive skills, and his unshakable will to bring hope to the citizens of the city he has sworn to protect. Using a black tactical suit filled with gadgets reflecting the appearance of a big bat that represents his identity, Iron Studios proudly present the statue “The Batman – The Batman – Art Scale 1/10”, with the newest representation of the character in the movies, on a pedestal that reminds Gotham City’s concrete buildings with Batman’s symbol in the front.
Matt Reeves’s take on the legendary Dark Knight is currently in theatres. The film has been receiving all sorts of conflicting reviews. Some reviewers praise the increased focus on Batman’s detective skills and giving us the refreshingly unique Gotham city, while the dreary take on Bruce Wayne soured others.
Personally, I’m going to wait until this thing is on VOD. Batman is one of my top two all-time favorite comic book heroes, but I’ve never felt that Bruce Wayne has been well represented on the big screen yet. We came very close with The Mask of the Phantasm, though.
What are your thoughts on the new Batman, suit, and film? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.
[Source: Iron Studios]
‘The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt’ Gets A Dub
‘The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?)’ started as a light novel written by Toru Toba and illustrated by fal_maro for SB Creative before getting picked up by Square Enix for a manga version featuring artwork from Emuda. The Japanese production company Yokohama Animation Laboratory picked it up for an anime adaption in January 2022 with Funimation announcing they were handling the English dub.
“We’re back from a diplomatic mission to Natra with another one of the crown prince’s schemes—this time, it’s an English dub of ‘The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt.'” Funimation said on their website. “Will it finally be enough to grant Wein the freedom he craves? Dallas Reid (SSSS.DYNAZENON) will find out as he takes responsibility for the role of Wein Salema Arbalest, with the capable Michelle Rojas (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation) as Ninym by his side to assist him at every turn.”
The rest of the cast includes Amber Lee Connors, Kimberly Grace, Brian Mathis, Elizabeth Maxwell, Ben Phillips, Gabe Kunda, and Alexis Tipton. Jad Saxton will serve as ADR director.
You can watch the trailer below:
MyAnimeList describes the synopsis as follows,
“The King of Natra has fallen ill, leaving the only hope for his kingdom to his son, Prince Wein Salema Arbalest. Known to be capable and wise, he is the perfect candidate to become the prince regent. However, if the prince has anything to say about the matter, he would rather sell off the Kingdom of Natra to the highest bidder!
Since he wields the authority of the throne, no one can stop Wein from auctioning off the country and using the profits to retire in comfort. All he needs to do is raise the value of the small kingdom to maximize his gains. But whether Wein’s grand plan will succeed remains to be seen, as his wit often surpasses even his own expectations—much to the benefit of the oblivious citizens of Natra.”
The manga was first published in the Square Enix magazine ‘Manga UP!’ The light novels have been published in North America by Yen Press.
Richard Linklater Drops Trailer For Sci-Fi Film ‘Apollo 10 1/2’
‘Boyhood’ director Richard Linklater drops the trailer for his next film ‘Apollo 10 1/2’ that covers the topic of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, but with the animated style that was featured in his movie ‘A Scanner Darkly.’
Linklater directed, wrote, and co-produced the film which stars Glen Powell, Jack Black, Zachary Levi, and Josh Wiggins. The movie will have a small release at the SXSW convention on March 13, 2022 before going to Netflix on April 1, 2022.
You can watch the trailer below:
Linklater spoke with IndieWire about the film saying, “It was two years well-spent. We had to edit, then do the animation. It was so good to be so focused. No one was working on anything else, and this was such a fun thing to be working on.”
“It’s not point-by-point autobiographical, but parts of it. My dad didn’t work at NASA, but I had friends whose parents did. I just thought it would be funny — a job at NASA that just wasn’t glamorous. But the numbers are staggering: 400,000 people worked on the program. It’s the largest non-military undertaking in world history. There were 20-something thousand businesses contracted by NASA. Then 600 million people watched the moon landing on TV,” he said.
“My big idea here was while we have a lot of movies about astronauts and their big missions, what about a film that really captures what it was like to be alive,” Linklater continued. “What was it like to be adjacent to all that? Being a kid, that’s the autobiographical part. I was between second and third grade when they walked on the moon. For the movie, I kicked it up to fourth grade, because I wanted to work with slightly more mature kids. But fourth grade is still kid-like. It’s all over in fifth grade. There’s a big change that happens there. But the kid, Stanley, has a fantasy of walking on the moon in the movie. That was a fantasy I had.”
The film is co-produced with Netflix animation.
Batman Beyond and Deathstroke Are PX Previews’ New Mego Exclusives
Previews has announced two exclusive MEGO action figures! Deathstroke and Batman (Terry McGinnis) are getting the retro treatment. Relive your 1970s or early 1980s childhood with these 8″ tall limited edition figures.
This MEGO Deathstroke is modeled after his appearance in the Teen Titans cartoon (the good one). Batman is, well, Batman from Batman Beyond. Simple designs lend themselves well to the MEGO toys. The more complex the outfits, the more silly they start to look.
Each figure is limited to just 5,000 pieces. Pre-orders are expected to ship in May 2022. Each MEGO figure will come on a fully illustrated blister card inspired by the classic MEGO line from the ’70s.
Both figures should start showing up in comic book shops around the end of April 2022. They can be pre-ordered at Previews or over at the Big Bad Toy Store.
Mercenary and assassin for hire, Deathstroke, joins the Mego heroes line as an 8″ figure! Officially licensed and fully poseable, this Deathstroke figure features 26 points of articulation for a variety of posing options! Outfitted in a real cloth classic costume is seen in The New Teen Titans comic series.
MEGO
Having taken over the mantle, Batman of the future Terry McGinnis, joins the Mego Heroes line as an 8″ figure! Officially licensed and fully poseable, this Batman Beyond figure features 26 points of articulation for a variety of posing options! Outfitted in a real cloth batsuit with utility belt and gliders based on his appearance in the fan-favorite animated series Batman Beyond.
Since Topps took over the MEGO brand, we’ve seen an increased number of franchises join the toy line. Hasbro announced MEGO Ghostbusters, along with G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Even the Killer Klowns From Outer Space got on board the retro train.
What do you think of MEGOs? Is it a line that has outstayed its welcome, or is it a refreshing change to the collector’s market? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Previews]
Halo Infinite’s Long Awaited Campaign Co-Op Delayed Further
Oh, Halo. What happened to you? Oh, right, Bungie is no longer your developer. And your upcoming Paramount+ series is shaping up to be another experiment in what fans hate the most: subversion. Oh, and the Halo Infinite store is full of overpriced baubles.
So, are you ready for more good news? You know that main campaign co-op everyone has wanted since the game launched late last year? Well, it’s still not here, and the Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is about to enter Season Two (Lone Wolves).
The latest Halo game had already been delayed from launching with the XBOX Series X in 2020. Finally, with over a year of additional development, Infinite arrived, missing critical features that 343 Industries is still attempting to implement very slowly.
According to GameSpot, 343 is looking at possibly adding the primary campaign’s online co-op late in Lone Wolves‘ life cycle. This could mean another three or four months’ worth of waiting.
The Forge is still missing, too. As a result, players looking to customize and share maps will have to wait until the Third Season of Infinite‘s multiplayer hits. That could be sometime in the Summer of 2022.
On Halo Waypoint, 343’s Joseph Staten laid the delay’s blame on the complexity of implementing four-player co-op on a massive map:
“But the reality is that it’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience in the massive, wide-open world of Halo Infinite. We’re also committed to a great 2-player split-screen co-op experience on all Xbox consoles, from the original Xbox One through Xbox Series X—and the non-linear, wide-open sections of the Campaign present some big challenges for split-screen that have taken us more time to solve.”
With the multiplayer modes being stripped down and the single-player campaign is pretty short, if not anticlimactic, I’ve had no reason to pick the game back up since maxing out my level cap in Season One. How about you?
Let us know your thoughts on the state of Halo Infinite in the comments section below.
[Source: GameSpot]
Activision Blizzard Being Taken To Court In Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Activision Blizzard has been on the receiving end of a legal pummeling for a few years now. What used to be two iconic video game studios responsible for some of the best PC games over the past thirty years has turned into something sickening. It has fostered a work environment so toxic, allegedly, that it may have driven one of its employees to suicide, according to a new lawsuit.
Kerri Moynihan had been a finance manager for the company, and her parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, reports The Washington Post. Moynihan had passed away due to what was ruled a suicide in 2017 while attending a company event. Following her passing, the games company and Moynihan’s boss, Greg Restituito, may have performed several suspicious, if not unlawful, actions.
It is alleged that Restituito, who was at that time AB’s senior finance director, attempted to sweep his sexual relationship with Kerri under the rug by lying to the Anaheim PD. The company itself is also being scrutinized for its actions regarding Moynihan’s mobile phone and laptop, stating that AB removed data from the phone and outright refused to surrender the laptop.
It is not clear just what drove Kerri Moynihan to commit suicide at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. The speculation appears to point to sexual harassment and possibly a company holiday party event. A complaint filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July 2021 references an incident where an intimate photo of Moynihan has circulated to her male co-workers.
I know what it is like to be pushed to the breaking point by your employer. If you are feeling the hopelessness that comes with depression and believe that suicide may be your only option, please get in touch with the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
[Source: The Washington Post]
This Batman VS Joker Statue Has Multiple Versions of the Clown Prince
Locked in an eternal struggle of good VS evil, the Batman almost needs the Joker to validate the vigilante’s existence. No matter how many years past, the Dark Knight is never free from the grinning malignancy that is the Joker. Now you can own a massive statue of the two DC Comics legends from Sideshow Collectibles and Prime 1 Studio.
We’re focusing on the Deluxe Bonus Version of the Batman VS The Joker statue because it comes with three different heads for the green-haired fiend. Two of them are pretty standard fare as far as the Joker goes, but the one that’s exclusive for this $2,770 statue is pretty horrifying. I think it’s the tiny irises that do it.
Sideshow CollectiblesLook at that thing! When can we finally get a Joker on the big screen that looks like the embodiment of violent insanity?
Sideshow is currently taking pre-orders for the statue, and it is limited to only 500 pieces. This 33″ tall by 43″ side diorama is set to ship sometime between February and July of next year.
Our talented and dedicated artists have devoted their time and efforts to create this legendary match-up. Batman’s iconic look has been recreated and no detail of his costume has been left to chance. His perfect physique has been rendered with anatomical precision. His cowl, cape, gloves, and boots have been imbued with a leather-like texture. His eyes and facial expression exhibit a deep, but focused rage. His scalloped cape billows with the rushing wind as damage has been strategically added to elicit a battle-worn look. His fabled suit is completed by his finned gloves and famed utility belt.
Here is what you’ll get with the Deluxe statue:
- Chemical Factory-themed base
- Two (2) Swappable Heads for Batman
- Two (2) Swappable Heads for The Joker
- One (1) Swappable Bonus Head for The Joker (exclusive to the Deluxe Edition)
If you go for the standard release of this 33″ tall work of art, you’ll save $265, putting it at $2,505. That’s one expensive extra Joker head.
What do you think of the Caped Crusader’s toxic showdown with the Clown Prince of Crime? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Sideshow Collectibles]
