*gasp* A POST!!!

Just to put in a post this month, after a long absence, I want to make some things known...

1. I'll try to put up a Animation News post this week, which also involves some news about the long delayed Random! Cartoons show from Nickelodeon.
2. Reviews of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and of the new Foster's movie (Destination Imagination) with all be up before the end of the month...I seriously promise. 
3. For the time being, enjoy the Adventure Time short. In case you aren't in the know, Adventure Time is to premiere as an animated series in Fall 2009 on Cartoon Network. The initial order is for 13 half-hours (26x11 minutes).
   

Cartoon Review - The Secret Saturdays

It was the year 2007. I was surfing the internet as I always do when I stumbled upon the official website for Cartoon Network's 2007 Upfront. Happily, I went to check out the 'Upcoming Shows' section, which showed five shows which would premiere. Well, Cartoon Network's try at live-action programming, Out of Jimmy's Head, failed and was cancelled back in June. Santo is currently somewhere in development hell. And Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack became hits. But on that day, one show stood out for me the most...The Secret Saturdays. Upon reading the plot and watching the Sizzle Reel, I went to Wikipedia and created the TSS Wikipedia page. I had the feeling that this show would be awesome beyond words and would be one of the greatest American action shows ever. And, upon watching it TWICE last night and once today, I have to say I was pretty close to right.

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Name: The Secret Saturdays

Creator(s): Jay Stephens

Network: Cartoon Network

Rating: A

Premiere: October 3rd, 2008

Yesterday was my birthday, and of course, The Secret Saturdays and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (review on that on Tuesday) were the shows I wanted, no, needed to watch. So after grabbing some birthday cake, and sitting through the last three minutes of Johnny Test, I watched the greatness that was TSS (The Secret Saturdays). Oh, and one of these days, I have to do something on the "You Are Here" block, since that was one great intro. I'm going to like that King Nood...anyway, let me start this thing...

The Secret Saturdays is about the adventures of the Saturday family and their exotic cryptid pets. Traveling the world, it's up to them to keep the existence of cryptids (creatures undiscovered by science) secret, to protect both mankind and the cryptids themselves. And along the way, they have to tangle with twisted villains like V.V. Argost (host of the show Weird World; which was at the center of Cartoon Network's viral campaign for the show) and Van Rook (a rival cryptozoologist whose just in the cryptid biz just for the money). And the basic plot for the first 26 episodes (2 seasons) is that:

Now that V.V. Argost has gained the gotten Kur Stone, the Saturdays have to find him and try and stop him from using it to find the ancient Sumerian cryptid Kur, and take over the world.

Now, it may sound a bit cliche (with the whole 'good-guys-must-stop-bad-guy-from-taking-over the-world' plot), but I really like it. An animated series about cryptids a truly a new idea, and the execution is pretty great. Globe-trotting and stopping the bad guys...it has a real Johnny Quest-vibe, which is a GOOD thing. How can you not love it!? Also, in case you're wondering, there are going to be quite a few stand-alone episodes in these 26 episodes, so you can jump on in at any time (though you might have to watch "The Kur Stone" is get some things).

At times, the show can get a bit dull. The writing can be cheesy and awkward at times, and the timing is sometimes a bit off when it comes to dialogue. But I think that the timing problem will get fixed over time. I won't really comment on the sometimes stiff animation, due to the fact that since this is the pilot, it's the first animation that was done for the show. So I'm sure that it will get better over time too. But I must say that the art is fantastic. In fact, Jay Stephens actually based the art design on Hanna-Barbera's 60s animated action series (aka The Herculoids, Johnny Quest, etc.) and Alex Toth's art style. This really helps give the show a nice old-school Saturday morning feel that adds to the show's greatness.

Now the characters a pretty good too. I like Zak's energy and personality. I can understand his need to prove himself to his parents, but sometimes he just doesn't do it the right way. Seeing as nearly killed himself half-way during the pilot episode and was the cause of the airship crashing in the Amazon Rainforest, I see why his mom is worried for his safety. Doc and Drew are also pretty good characters. An interracial relationship isn't new in animation, but it certainly is pretty rare. And I also like how it isn't the "stupid dad-smart mom" thing that has started to become common in animation these days. They are both strong, competent characters that are pretty interesting. And they balance each other out: Doc is the calm, slightly-skeptic scientist while Drew is the impulsive, believing-before-seeing mystic. And V.V. Argost...he just has to be one of the best villains in recent animation history. He's harsh, creepy, secretive, and shows no mercy. He's just one of those villains who just seem to be evil for no reason, and it really works here. And the cryptids are pretty funny at times, while also being able to be threatening at others. It's great.

All in all, The Secret Saturdays is now one of my favorite shows. Two scientists, their son, and a few of goofy pets appear to be the winning combination for Cartoon Network. And with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ben 10: Alien Force, it will dominate Friday nights. The Secret Saturdays get an ever-loving A from me. Great work, Jay! Oh, and Brandon Sawyer and Scott Jeralds too.

Even More Animation News

Cartoon Network Airing Action Movies In Toonami's Place

For possibly the rest of the year, in place of the now defunct Toonami block, Cartoon Network will now be airing an animated action movie each week, with new Naruto episodes airing bi-weekly. The film roster includes Batman: Gotham Knight (October 4th; 9pm), Justice League: The New Frontier (October 18th; 9pm), and Dr. Strange (November 1st; 9pm). Here is the schedule:

• OCTOBER 4TH - Batman: Gotham Knight (9pm)*; Naruto (10:30pm)
• OCTOBER 11TH - Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (9pm)
• OCTOBER 18TH - Justice League: The New Frontier (9pm)*; Naruto (10:30pm)
• OCTOBER 25TH - The Batamn vs. Dracula (9pm)
• NOVEMBER 1TH - Dr. Strange (9pm)*; Naruto (10:30pm)

It is rumored that Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom* will air on Saturday, November 8th at 9pm.

*Network Premiere

"Underfist" Premieres on October 12th

On Sunday, October 12th at 7pm, a new Halloween special from Billy and Mandy creator Maxwell Atoms will appear. Entitled Underfist, the hour-long special is spin-off from his previous series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and features the characters Irwin, Jeff the Spider, Hoss Delgado, Fred Fredburger, and General Skarr. When an evil witch makes an evil army of "Trick-or-Treater Eaters" with plans to take over Endsville, it's up to Underfist to take her down. The special is to air after a 5-hour GAoBaM marathon.

"Batman: The Brave and the Bold" Premieres This November

On Friday, November 14th, the newest Batman animated series (The Brave and the Bold) is to premiere on Cartoon Network. The series, unlike the currently popular Nolan films starring a dark Batman universe, this show returns to a more light-hearted Batman. That doesn't mean Batman is going soft however. It's just going to be the overall tone of the show. In this show, instead of seeing Bat's regular rouge gallery, they're going old-school and showing off some of the Gotham Knight's lesser-known adversaries (such as Clock King). Most episodes will have Batman outside of Gotham City and teaming-up with several other heroes (such as Plastic Man). Oh, yeah, and Diedrich Baker is voicing Batman this time around.

Yeah, only three news items this time. Hey, I was going to add a fourth, but I decided it would be better to say that one in November.

Toonami Finale

Last night, I watched most of the Toonami block. I didn't want to miss a second of it. Toonami was a great and amazing block. Even though it died, it had a great run. It lasted way longer than most shows and blocks do. 11 years is a pretty long time. They went through several hosts (I started watching Toonami around the time of TOM2). I must have been the only one who actually liked TOM4 a bit. He was the perfect version of TOM to close the Toonami block. "So, until we meet again, stay gold..." A perfect end to such a perfect block.

Bang.

More Random Animation News

"Secret Saturdays" and "Clone Wars" Start This October

On October 3rd, both The Secret Saturdays and Star Wars: The Clone Wars have their premieres on Cartoon Network. At 8pm, get ready to see the amazing hour-long premiere ("The Kur Stone") of The Secret Saturdays, the first ever animated series about cryptids. From the mind of Jay Stephens, 26 episodes have been produced so far at Porchlight Entertainment. And at 9pm, get ready to go to a place far, far away, with two back-to-back episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (produced at Lucasfilm Animation). And lucky for you, I have the episode synopsis for both of them:

9:00 p.m. “AMBUSH”: Jedi Master Yoda is on a secret mission to forge a treaty with the King of the strategic system of Toydaria when his ship is ambushed by Count Dooku. Yoda and three clone troopers must face off against Count Dooku’s dreaded assassin Ventress and her massive droid army to prove the Jedi are strong enough to protect the king and his people from the forces of the war. 

9:30 p.m. “RISING MALEVOLENCE”: Creating panic throughout the galaxy, a devastating Separatist mystery weapon terrorizes the clone Starfleet. Anakin and Ahsoka race to save Jedi Master Plo Koon and his clone troopers in time.

22 episodes have been produced for the first season, and reruns will be airing on TNT. The name of the new Friday night action block is still unknown, but the tagline is "YOU. ARE. HERE."

An Important Message About Toonami

Tonight, between 10:30pm and 11:00pm (Samurai Jack's time-slot), there will be a very important announcement that  involves Toonami.  What could it be: a Toonami channel? Extended block? New shows? No real info on whether the news is good or bad, but I really recommend you watch Toonami tonight for it. EDIT: The announcement is about the death of the Toonami block. 1997-2008: R.I.P. Toonami

"The Mighty B!" For A Mighty Second Season

Nickelodeon's newest hit animated series, The Mighty B!, has just been picked up for a 20-episode second season. The series is about a 9 and 3/4 year old Honeybee scout who aims to collect every single badge there is in order to become a superhero called The Mighty B. The series premiered on April 26th and has since become one of the channel's top rated series. Created by Amy Poehler (of SNL fame), Cynthia True (former FOP writer), and Erik Weise (former Spongebob writer and storyboarder).

Powerpuffs Get Complete Series Set

On January 20th, 2009, Warner Home Video and Cartoon Network will release The Complete Powerpuff Girls Anniversary Collector’s Set to celebrate the show's 10 year anniversary. The six-DVD boxed set includes all 78 episodes of the series (including the never-aired in the US series finale) and new bonus features such as a documentary on show creator Craig McCracken, commentaries, a music video and more. In addition to this, there will be an all-day marathon paying tribute to the series, ending with the TV premiere of a brand new PPG special from McCracken himself.

George Pipes and Bone (unrelated characters)

Yeah, it's another artwork post. That's pretty much all you guys will be getting for the rest of the month. In fact, I plan to make these posts daily. I may not be able to do the follow-up reviews. But don't worry, I'll go back to my Cartoon Reviews next month, and you can expect more Animation News by the end of the week. So for now, enjoy these posts. And just so you guys know, these characters have nothing to do with each other.

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Okay I made this character way back in 8th grade, a few weeks before summer vacation. He was just a little scribble that I ended up liking a lot. In the beginning, he was just a character I liked drawing. A useless guy to draw when bored. But then I came up with a bunch of ideas for him. A run-of-the-mill guy in a a crazy town, a plumber battling monsters in the sewers, the list goes on. I still don't really know what to do with him, but all I know is that he's a plumber in an Anywhere, U.S.A town...

Picture A is a drawing of the guy as he looks normally. He's pretty calm most of the time, taking all of life problems and troubles with ease. Of course sometimes he goes crazy or insane, as seen in Picture B, and has no clue what to do in the face of extreme danger. In fact, I'm starting to like the "plumber who fights sewer monsters" idea now. It has this certain...tinge to it. It just seems to make sense for the character. Picture C is just George staring at something, somewhat confused. Probably confused by some weird painting done by a neighbor a local art show. Picture D is just George smiling. Like the drawings I made yesterday, the ones in pencil are just roughs that I did, and the ones outlined in pen are the ones I really liked.

Yes, I realize that there is a comic book character with the name of Bone, but I just came up with the name, and it seemed to fit this character. This character started as a bedtime character a few days ago, in that I first created him when I was in bed and drawing. And in case you couldn't notice, he's actually a dog. No joke. He just feels like a dog to me.

Picture A is Bone half-heartedly reaching his hand out to someone and telling him/her his name. Picture B is Bone being either shocked or surprised by something...I just don't really know what. You see, because I created this character such a short time ago, I never really had time to truly develop the character yet. Picture C has Bone smiling, being very happy, while in contrast, Picture D has Bone angry with a frown. The picture in pencil (Picture 1) was my first attempt at actually drawing Bone from the front. Pictures 2 and 3 were just drawn to take up space. That's all for today! 

Johnny Labrat

This is my newest character, Johnny Labrat. Picture A is actually a 'copy' of the first drawing I ever did of him. I first drew him in Honors Biology yesterday. And an idea I came up for the guy yesterday during the same class was that maybe he was the often used test subject of some crazy mad scientist, and he was about to be subject to another experiment. Thus came the name Johnny Labrat.   

Picture B is one I made today, and it was the outcome of one of the experiments...a lot of his hair falling out. Picture C is another drawing I made of him today, which was the outcome of a different experiment: making Johnny smile. I decided, that like Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Johnny should almost never smile. And if he does...well, the results aren't too pretty.   

The pictures in pencil are some roughs I made of him today, and the pen drawings are basically roughs that I decided I really liked. And, since I'm scared of people taking my characters, I decided that I should copyright it.