Remember that zany cartoon about the Warner Brothers and the Warner sister? (she was the cute one). Not only do I remember it, but I still think Animaniacs is one of the greatest cartoons ever created.  I even quote it on a regular basis and occasionally sing “Yakko’s World” for my friends (whether they want me to or not.)

Since I’m such a fan of the show, you can easily imagine my delight when I recently had the opportunity to meet Rob Paulsen at his Rob Paulsen Live seminar in Atlanta, Georgia. You may not know his name or his face, but you certainly know his voice. From Animaniacs, he is Yakko Warner, Pinky, and Dr. Scratch ‘n’ Sniff. He is also Carl Wheezer from the Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, and a myriad of other characters, including some from G.I. Joe and the Snorks. A much more comprehensive list can be found at his IMDB page here.

Mr. Paulsen’s career has spanned nearly 30 years, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet him. When I arrived at the seminar, he walked right up to me and introduced himself, and he was extremely friendly and down-to-earth. He greeted everyone as they entered and referred to them by name when they asked questions. By splitting his seminar into two sessions, he was able to keep the groups small, and the result was a more intimate gathering with an open discussion and a very relaxed atmosphere.  He explained that his goal was to have a more interactive event rather than merely standing in front of the room and talking.

Mr. Paulsen began the event by recounting some of his history and how he got into voice acting. He grew up in Michigan and initially dreamed of becoming a hockey player. When he realized that hockey wasn’t in the cards, At the age of nineteen, he moved to Los Angeles to join a theater company. He lived there for about a year before moving back to Michigan and joining a rock and roll cover band. After about two years of singing, he moved back to California and returned to acting.  He found a gig on a cable access show and signed with an agent.  Commercial work followed, as well as appearances on MacGyver and St. Elsewhere.

When the voice acting jobs became more and more numerous (to the point that they conflicted with acting auditions), he made a decision to focus solely on voice acting.  He was hired for Haji on Johnny Quest and had roles on Transformers, Smurfs, Gummi Bears, Darkwing Duck, Talespin . . .  the list goes on and on.

A highlight in his career came when he won a Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program” for Pinky in Pinky and the Brain.  He spoke of how he forgot to think Maurice LaMarche (the voice of The Brain) in his speech and had to call him afterwards, and how the one and only Mr. Rogers congratulated him personally after his win.  He also added that Andrea Romano, the casting director of Animaniacs, has so many Emmys that she “dresses them in Barbie clothes.”  (I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not).

Below is some video of him saying some of Pinky’s best lines:

Without a doubt, the best moment came when I asked Mr. Paulsen how long it took him to learn the song “Yakko’s World,” in which Yakko Warner sings the names of the countries while pointing at them on a map.  He answered with some history of the song, saying that songwriter Randy Rogel was helping his child with geography and realized there was a song to be found there.  Mr. Paulsen received the song, had a week to rehearse it, and it only took two takes (and they used the first one).  He then asked if we’d like for him to perform it.

Here is the result:

One of his latest projects is to voice Donatello for the upcoming Nickelodeon version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The new version of the four turtles named after Renaissance artists will debut next year, and it will be CGI.  Sean Astin and Jason Biggs are also turtles (Raphael and Leonardo, respectively.)  Actor Greg Cipes takes on the role of Michaelangelo (the party dude!).

If you have the opportunity, I urge you to attend a Rob Paulsen Live seminar.  Go if you’re a fan, if you want to know more about the voice acting business, or if you just want to be entertained.  He was funny, genuine, and ever so willing to answer any questions.  And, everyone who attends has the opportunity to speak with Mr. Paulsen one on one and receive a signed picture.

He will be in Dallas on September 17^th, and tickets can be purchased at his website.

Batman Year One premiered at Comic Con. There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, it’s excellent. The bad news is, if you didn’t see it at Comic-Con, you’re going to have to wait until October to see it. But, better news? You can pre-order it here, it won’t break your bank, and during my interviews for the movie at Comic Con Katee Sackhoff invited me into a threesome. SPOILER ALERT: she was joking.

If you’re a fan of comics, you probably recognize that Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One is one of the most important comic books/graphic novels ever. If you haven’t read it yet, stop reading this review right now, click on this link and buy yourself a copy, then come back.

Just like with Watchmen, which was one of my first reviews for BSR, the main question is always going to be in how faithful the adaptation was to the source material.

“We really wanted this to be a very faithful adaptation of the graphic novel,” Lauren Montgomery, one of the directors, told me in an interview at Comic-Con. “We wanted to make it good enough for the fans. Obviously this book has a following. The greatest challenge is living up to their expectations.”

In terms of the look, given the somewhat minimalist leanings of the source material’s art, they had to add some more in, but also they wanted to keep the spirit of the original art. “We absolutely tried to follow it as closely as we could, from the colors to the characters. We tried to make it as dirty and ugly as we could… when you color things digitally things end up looking relatively clean, so we had to go in and add that extra bit of detail,” explained Montgomery.  “The city kind of had to be a character in itself,” she added, explaining that we, the audience, needed to feel the corruption, the dirt, the edge of the city- sort of an oppressive feeling as it closed in on Gordon and Batman.  In this, they completely delivered. The art was exactly as I’d pictured it. And they delivered on the character.

And as for the characters themselves, the voice talent was brilliant. We have Bryan Cranston as a pitch-perfect, world-weary Lt. Gordon. As voice director Andrea Romano put it in our interview, “Thank God he’s good at this.” Eliza Dushku puts in double duty as Selena Kyle/Catwoman (and yes in this version they retain her origin as a prostitute, just like in the book) and also in an animated Catwoman short that will be packaged with Year One. A little more about Catwoman- some have mentioned the similarity between the character design in this and the leaked pictures of Anne Hathaway in the upcoming Nolan Dark Knight Rises. Executive Producer (and superhero himself) Bruce Timm said it’s purely coincidental.  “I’m in awe of them,” talking about his admiration for the Nolan films. But? “I don’t think I’m even on their radar.”  So modest.

And then there’s Katee Sackhoff, who plays Det. Sarah Essen, who (SPOILER ALERT) has an affair with Jim Gordon. Sackhoff admits she has an obsession with Batman dating to back when she used to steal her brother’s comic books.  “And here I am… not quite playing a villain.” Sackhoff did take her role as that of the villain, saying she’s “basically a homewrecker.” She relishes being the bad guy, or girl in this case, comparing it to the unfortunately short run of the Bionic Woman reboot (on which she did amazing work, imho). Roles like Sarah Essen are particularly good, according to Sackhoff, because when you play the villain they’re so much more complicated and fun to play.   She wants to make the audience like you and “then you’ve done your job.”  And, Katee revealed she did a lot of research for the role of a homewrecker, propositioning any available married male.  Then this happened:

Me: “I’m a married man.”
KS: something like (I stopped typing) “Well do you want to get your wife on the phone, see if she wants to get in on this?”

So, that’s how Katee Sackhoff sorta propositioned me into a threesome.

Anyway, the movie is awesome.  Preorder it and get ready to enjoy. It’s probably my favorite so far of the DC direct to dvd movies. Another classic from WB Animation and Bruce Timm.

Pop culture mall retailer Hot Topic has thrilled Sailor Moon fans everywhere with the recent introduction of four new T-shirts based on the classic anime series.

Though the show last aired an original episode in 1997, the tale about a klutzy pony-tailed girl destined to grow up to become the Queen of Crystal Tokyo still proves to be incredibly popular.  If you have any doubts about its lasting impression, my last Sailor Moon article demonstrates the loyalty still found in fans, both young and old.

The Hot Topic T-shirts appear to be online exclusives, and they are available in sizes XS to 3X. That’s quite a size range, so they’re sure to fit any Sailor Scout perfectly.  Prices range from $22.50 to $26.50, depending on which size you choose.

One design features a solo Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon’s love interest) with the phrase “I Need A Hero” written across the top with white letters on a black shirt.  No sign of his
trademark red rose, though.

Another black shirt has the phrase “We’re Purrrfect Together” and features Luna and Artemis, Sailor Moon’s guides as she learns how to be a fighter for love and justice.

A white t-shirt shows has Sailor Moon with her crescent moon wand and the words “Sailor Moon” written across the top.  I think I like this one the best; it’s fairly simple in design but colorful.

The final design is another black shirt with the five original Sailor Senshi:  Sailor Mercury,Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Venus.

It’s too bad none of the other gals have their own T-shirt; I’ve always been a fan of Sailor Mercury and her love of reading and learning.  And where is a shirt with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask together?  Instead, the only romantic shirt is the one with the two cats on it! I’d like to recommend a shirt from the Moon Kingdom era, or perhaps Crystal Tokyo.  Those eras are always under-represented on Sailor Moon merchandise.

Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and there has been a distinct lack of any new Sailor Moon merchandise in recent years.  I’ve been to a few anime conventions, and it’s disappointing to see how little is available.  Of course, I became a fan of the show while new episodes still aired in Japan, and the merchandising and fan frenzy was at its height at that time.

Hopefully the shirts will sell well, and this is only the beginning of what Hot Topic (and even other retailers) will have to offer.

Shout! Factory (the same company behind the M.A.S.K. DVDs) is releasing JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS: THE TRULY OUTRAGEOUS COMPLETE SERIES on DVD on October 11^th.

The 11-DVD boxed set will contain all 65 episodes and all-new special bonus content.  OUTRAGEOUS! (Ok, that will be the last time I say that.  Maybe).

For those not interested in the complete series, a 4-DVD set of just Season One will be available on the same day.

Jem, the pink-haired lead singer of a rock band, was a favorite with little girls who grew up in the 1980’s.  Each episode of the show featured a dramatic conflict with The Misfits (a rival band), the inner turmoils of Jem and her alter ego Jerrica Benton, a tempestuous romance with boyfriend Rio, original songs set against music-video-like montages, and enough wardrobe changes to make Barbie jealous.  The jet-setting group also visited exotic locations like Hawaii, Venice, and Paris.

The press release states:

The series “JEM and The Holograms” ran from 1985-’88 in first-run syndication and still boasts a loyal and vocal fan base. It is frequently credited with influencing fashion in the late 1980s and beyond, and launching the careers of female pop-rock stars and music groups. The series follows Jerrica Benton, whose discovery of Synergy, a powerful computer companion, allows her to transform from co-owner of Starlight Music into rock star Jem. Teaming with her sister and best friends who form The Holograms, Jem sets out to make their musical dreams come true, even as she battles against the ruthless Eric Raymond and his musical protégés.

All that has been stated about the bonus content is that it’s ”archival material rarely seen by fans.”  Interviews with voice actors would be great to see, or perhaps the person/people responsible for designing the wild fashions seen in each episode.  I can surmise that there may be some deleted scenes, but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess.

Whatever the content is, this looks like a great set to purchase if you’re a fan of the series.  Don’t even try to tell me that you didn’t start singing the song as soon as you read the headline to this article.  OUTRAGEOUS!  (Okay, sorry.  Last time I’ll do that).  Or, if you’re new to the series, this will be an easy way to watch them all at your leisure.

Just be prepared for a nostalgic trip to the 80’s and tunes that will stay in your head for days.

Show’s over, Synergy!

I’m not even sure where to start with this evening’s Clone Wars panel. There was so much talked about and so much shown that it’s a little intimidating to figure out just what exactly it is you’d want to read about first.

I suppose I’ll take the advice of the Mad Hatter and just start at the beginning and when I get to the end I’ll stop. I’m sorry if it skips around a bit, that’s just how the panel was.

Right off the bat we were screened the trailer for Season 4 we’d all seen before. There is a battle between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren and the Jedi are helping end the conflict. The panel was introduced and we were shown a new clip, including a new character named Riff Tamson (sp?). He’s a shark looking villian, biting at people and things. He’s part of a new race called Carcadons. (Cue Jaws music and Richard Dreyfuss – “It’s a carcaradon carcharias. It’s a Great White.”)

It was also confirmed that the Mon Calamari seen so prominently in the trailer is indeed Admiral Ackbar as a young Captain. Dave Filoni related a story about how he wanted to have Anakin introduce the concept of a “trap” to Ackbar in order to make his line in Return of the Jedi even funnier, but it ended up on the cutting room floor. This entire Mon Calamari arc is going to be opening the season and it is, indeed, a multi-part arc.

When asked about something special for Kit Fisto (who was in the clip) and his appearance, Filoni remarked, “Kit doesn’t wear his shirt, so I guess that’s like a Twilight reference for you.”

We also saw planet Umbara, which is something new. We’ve seen a couple of Umbarans in Star Wars, but never their home planet. It’s a dark, dreary, misty place and fighting there doesn’t look as though it would be much fun. All indications are that this is a 4 episode arc that shows the clones fighting the Umbarans themselves, a non-Droid, humanoid enemy. This marks the first time that has happened on the show.

Next, as they talked of upgrading the character models over the course of the show, it was revealed that moving forward the clones will have all converted to the Type 2 Clone Armour, bringing them one step closer to Order 66.

The next tasty morsel dropped at the panel was about General Krell. General Krell is a Besalisk Jedi Master whom Dave Filoni described as very powerful and unconventional. You caught a glimpse of him in the trailer, he has four arms and two double-bladed lightsabers and looks exactly like Dexter Jettster. It was said that he gives the clones a lot of things to chew on, challenging their ideas.

Another clip was shown this time and it was very Artoo and Threepio-centric. In fact, this could have been the opening battle scene of A New Hope. There they are, aboard a Star Destroyer, laser blasts going off all around them, but instead of rebels defending their position, it’s stormtroopers. The role reversal was astounding. They even go looking for an escape pod. When Artoo doesn’t find one, he orchestrates for the pair of them to hijack a Y-Wing. It was a really hilarious, incredibly well-animated scene.

Another pair of scenes were shown at this point. The first was a look at the space battle over Umbara, very reminiscent of the space battle of Revenge of the Sith. It followed a pair of clones through this tremendous battle and my breath was taken.

The penultimate clip shown was Katee Sackhoff’s clip from yesterday, but Filoni added onto it by confirming that Jon Favreau was reprising his role as the leader of Deathwatch. Sackhoff plays his lieutenant. As they talked about Favreau, there was a slide show playing that clicked by totally unacknowledged, but went on as though no one noticed. It was production art, to be sure. What was interesting about it were two things in specific: 1) the imply that General Grievous is going to take Naboo apart. And, 2) Savage Oppress might very well find Darth Maul.

At this point, Team Unicorn arrived on the panel dressed as Dathomiri Nightsisters. Apropos of nothing, here they are with Ray Wise (aka Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks)

But, Filoni then showed one last clip that featured the Nightsisters. It was very rough animation and had no lighting or textures, but it seemed to be a very cool battle sequence between the Nightsisters and… The Separatist battle droids? Apparently, Count Dooku wasn’t pleased with the betrayal of his apprentice. How dare she live after he ordered her death?

During the Q and A portion of the panel, there was some pretty succint information given:

• Cad Bane will be back, along with Bossk and Boba Fett
• Joining them is Dengar!
• Han Solo will not be on The Clone Wars
• When asked if Mortis was the home of the Force, Filoni said that he had agreed not to talk about it because there are more episodes concerning the mysticism of the mythology coming
• Durge will not be on the show.

And the last thing that I found interesting was a question asked about Ahsoka.  She’s a very clever student, what would happen if she discovered Anakin’s secret marriage to Padme?  Dave Filoni seemed to think that Ahsoka (and Obi-wan) both trust Anakin enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. And that Ahsoka, even if she did find out, wouldn’t be likely to tell anyone because she likes them both too much.

That’s pretty much all the news that’s fit to print from the Clone Wars panel. I’ll be back soon with interviews with Joel Aron, Dave Filoni, and Dee Bradley Baker, and more Star Wars stuff tomorrow.

Pick up Bryan’s books Lost at the Con and Man Against the Future.

Another weekend has come and gone. I’m still playing LEGO Star Wars III, still crying my way through Mass Effect 2 on Insanity, and I’ve somehow decided it’s a good idea to start yet another game, inFAMOUS 2. All three are fantastic by the way. But Gamefly just sent me Portal 2 as well. That will probably have to wait until I finish at least one of the others. But it’s so pretty and tempting. Can I reasonably be playing four games at once (not counting downloadables) and still enjoy all of them? Especially during summer when I usually only get an hour or two a day and maybe four hours all weekend? Not to mention still keep a biweekly column about gaming news running? Speaking of which:

Is it not enough that new game releases all seem to need a collector’s edition, sometimes two or three? Now it seems game of the year editions are coming out for more games than can reasonably be called “game of the year.” Seriously, has a single publication actually given top honors to Two Worlds II? Not that it’s necessarily a bad game. I’m just wondering why we can’t call it like it is, the “we didn’t sell as much as we think we could so we’re packaging it again with more pretty stuff” edition. And please, don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of pretty stuff. The Velvet Game of the Year Edition (yes, that’s the name) includes the Pirates of the Flying Fortress Expansion pack, two PvP maps, real world double-sided map, real and in-game pirate head pins that boost attributes (no guarantees of real world attribute boosting), and the standard bonus disc with wallpapers, art, music, etc. All of it comes packaged in a fancy red or black velvet box on PC or consoles, respectively. Hence the name. If you’re interested in picking up this version, it goes on sale October 18.

Speaking of Collector’s Editions, Batman: Arkham City‘s has been revealed. The premium edition will retail for $100 and includes a Kotobukiya statue (worth it already), standard fare artbook, early access to DLC (possibly even the Best Buy “exclusive” Robin add-on), Gotham Knight animated content, “and more.” Normally these announcements come with pictures, but this one didn’t. So, how about an awesome new picture of Two-Face instead. He’s reportedly building an army in Arkham City. Batman will be swooping in to stop him, in collector’s or standard editions, October 18.

In recent editions of VGQH we’ve seen more of the SSX roster being revealed for the game’s January reboot. The more I’ve seen, the more I’ve had to admit I’m actually a little intrigued by a game I wrote off the day it was announced. It appears EA is confident they can change my mind, as they have plans for releasing a demo before the game’s release. For a title with this much trepidation, this is either brilliant or foolish. If the demo is good, they’ll win over plenty of people like me. If it’s bad, all of your questionable sales get answered with a resounding “NO!” No word on what or when the demo will be, but the game is scheduled for January 2012.

Last week the rumors started flying about Ubisoft’s pending release of Uplay Passport, their attempt to recoup some of the loss from sale of used games. Ubisoft has since confirmed that this new offering goes into effect with the August 30th release of Driver: San Francisco. All of Ubisoft’s core titles bearing the Uplay logo in the future will utilize the plan. The Passport will provide access to any exclusive content and online play. New copies will use a one-time use code to download the Passport for free. If you don’t buy the game new, you’ll be paying $9.99 to get it from your device’s online service. For good or ill, it appears these online passes are here to stay. Any major publishers who haven’t announced one will certainly be getting it out there soon.

In the cross-media world, the latest announcement is a book based on the upcoming Battlefield 3. The novel, written by Andy McNab, will hit shelves the same day as the game, October 25th.

I’m not sure how much this qualifies as news, but any excuse to talk about Mass Effect 3 is good enough for me. This picture of James Vega was tweeted by Casey Hudson of Bioware to celebrate getting 10,000 followers. Vega is a new character to the series. Like the new players who will just be jumping into the franchise with this game, Vega doesn’t know much about galactic politics. He appears to be the champion of the new player, and that’s a good thing. Veterans may not use him much, not if Garrus, Jacob, or other long time characters are available, but he’ll definitely have his place. But, like Jacob was in ME2, he also strikes me as the sort of new character that could be available for romance.

If you’re one of the many die hard fans of the series, you want any news you can find about when you’ll be playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. An exact date is still pending, but the North American release has been narrowed down to January 2012 (formerly “early 2012”).

I’m trying to decide if this is the first I’ve heard of this one, or if I just filed it under bad “1980s rehash” and forgot about it. Voltron: Defender of the Universe is coming to PSN and XBLA this October. The game will weave clips from the ’80s cartoon into the game as cutscenes, putting players right into the conflict with King Zarkon of Arus they remember from their youth. You can choose any of the five lions, or team with up to four other players online (two player offline) to control them all. I’m not sure how you work five player co-op once you turn into Voltron and start swinging that blazing sword, but for gamers of a certain age that’s not going to matter. Being Voltron has been a lifelong goal for millions of ’80s children. Of course, now we’ll all be reminded of whether Voltron was actually a good show, or we were just too young to realize it sucked and have been blinded by nostalgia for 25 years.

And now that I’ve just angered every reader of a similar age to myself, I’ll just end the news here. Actually, it’s because I don’t have any more at the moment. But I will for Friday’s edition, so check back then.

Our friends over at the HUB network have sent us an exclusive clip to share with you from this week’s episode of Transformer’s Prime. If you haven’t had the chance to check Prime out yet, watch this clip and head on over to the Hub’s website! It’s a really fun show and definitely in the spirit of the classic Transformers.

**TUNE-IN ALERT**

All original episodes of TRANSFORMERS PRIME now air on Saturdays at 7:00PM EST.

An epic battle between Ratchet and Megatron

WHAT: “Metal Attraction”: The Autobots and Deceptions race to claim a magnetic weapon. In the ensuing battle, the Bots are forced to fight while stuck together!

WHERE: The Hub cable TV network. To find the channel in your area, please visit www.hubworld.com and check the Channel Locator at the top of the page.

WHEN: July 9, 2011 –  7:00PM EST.

BSR recently got the chance to interview the voice of Starscream from Transformers Prime – legendary anime, video game and all-around awesome voice actor Steve Blum. You can check out the interview here.

For more exclusive clips, sneak-peeks, announcements, and geek news from around the world, keep surfing on BSR!

When I heard they were making a Lego Star Wars Special for Cartoon Network I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. Seeing the images and the plotline, however, I’m not sure why I worried.

It will air multiple times during the weekend of Friday, July 22. So, I’ll most likely be at Comic-Con and unable to see it until afterwards.

From the press release:

Premiering Friday July 22, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace™
Will Feature Signature Family-Friendly Fun, Spirited Action and Irreverent Humor

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (July 7, 2011) – After the runaway success of their wildly popular building sets, video game collaborations and animated shorts, The LEGO Group and Lucasfilm will join forces once again for an all-new adventure – their first-ever original television special. Premiering on Cartoon Network on Friday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. (ET, PT) in high-definition computer animation, the 30-minute original standalone special – LEGO® Star Wars: The Padawan Menace – will feature the charm, action and irreverent humor that have become the signature style of LEGO Star Wars animation collaborations.

Featuring situations, characters and locations from throughout the entire Star Wars Saga, the original adventure is written by Emmy® Award winner Michael Price (The Simpsons) and produced by Academy Award-winning Animal Logic, the production company behind Happy Feet.

“We’re certain that fans of LEGO play and the Star Wars universe will be as excited by this new original animated LEGO Star Wars episode as we are,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president of licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. “Developing original animated content leveraging the LEGO and Star Wars brands is incredibly rewarding for us because it not only engages and entertains fans in original stories and adventures that further their imaginative play, it authentically delivers on the inherent values and fun that LEGO play brings to the partnership.”

To date, Star Wars is the first and most successful LEGO licensed product collection in the company’s history, generating more than 200 LEGO models and approximately 275 LEGO minifigures inspired by the Saga, which has also spurred a blockbuster collection of videogames, selling 25 million units to date worldwide. In addition to its popularity among younger fans, a significant portion of the LEGO Star Wars consumer fan base is made up of nostalgic adults and franchise collectors.

LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace is scheduled to air multiple times on Cartoon Network during the weekend including: Friday, July 22 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), Saturday, July 23 at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT) and Sunday, July 24 at 4:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

A routine Jedi Academy field trip is turned into a rip-roaring comic adventure in LEGO Star WarsTM: The Padawan MenaceTM. Tour guide Master Yoda leads a group of rambunctious Jedi younglings through Senate chambers when he senses a disturbance in the Force. Summoned to help save the Republic, he discovers that one of the younglings secretly boarded his ship…and has a taste for adventure! Meanwhile, C-3PO and R2-D2 are put in charge of the boisterous group and find themselves in over their heads. As the evil Sith prepare to wreak havoc, it’s up to Yoda and the droids to ensure that their young charges aren’t torn to bricks!

You’ll have to excuse the punny headline, but it is very apt. To honor both the Rocketeer’s 20th Anniversary and Dave Stevens, its creator, John Banana whipped up this great little animated short. Check it out below.

While the tone isn’t exactly like the original source material, the Pixar-like adventures of the Rocketeer are something I’d watch in a heartbeat. A fine tribute indeed. You can see Mr. Banana’s other work at Digital Banana Studios.

Transformers: Beast Wars. A show which started airing 15 years ago was just released by the great company Shout Factory in a complete series box set and available to buy in separate season sets. ShoutFactoryStore.com is the place to go to order the complete series for $49.99 or the first season dvd set for $24.98. Shout Factory is one of my favorite companies because they take shows which are basically impossible to find and put them on dvd, because of them I’ve been able to snag three of my favorite shows ever in The Larry Sanders Show, The Job and Captain N: The Game Master.

Shout Factory sent me The Complete Series of Beast Wars of which I just now finished. I remember watching probably two or three episodes when I was a kid so being as how I’ve always been a big Transformers fan I knew I had to give this series a full chance. The nice thing about the complete series set is it comes with a mini comic book which is a good lead in between the Transformers series and Beast Wars. Transformers Beast Wars follows the lives of the descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons known now as the Maximals and Predacons respectively as they go through a time and space warp and land on an unknown planet. They find the planet to have a strange atmosphere which forces them to take forms of the local wild life. The Maximals finds local animals such as Gorillas, Cheetahs and Rats where as the Predacons find fossils of dinosaurs and insects like Spiders and Bees. Each of them adopt names related to their animal and they are all in search of powerful fuel known as Energon which the planet is rich in.

The series actually turned out better then I expected, at first it seemed to follow many early teen shows at the time and just have one off episodes but after a couple of episodes it seemed both the writers and the animators figured out what they wanted to do and things began to pick up. The second and third seasons especially really follow a set story line and that is where I think the show is at it’s strongest. The ending was especially good and wrapped up the series very nicely. The show has a darker feel to it including allowing characters to be killed which you don’t find often in shows around that time, and so as far as a kids show goes it’s not really recommended for the younger viewers but I think late kids into early teens might really like the show as it follows coherent story lines and has good character development. Of course I think the people who will buy this the most are those who grew up on the series and those wanting to give it another chance. It’s a good series and if you’re already a fan of Transformers it may be a no brainer. You might even see one or two of your old favorite autobots as well.

Again you can order the complete series from shoutfactorystore.com or for the direct link click on The Complete Series or Season One.

Do you have any memories of this show? Do you think you’ll be picking up a copy?