Warner Home Video has announced the release date and details of Halo Legends on DVD and Blu-ray. Coming to retailers on February 9, 2010, Halo Legends will contain seven original short animated films expanding on the Halo universe.

As a fan of the Halo videogames, I couldn’t be more excited about this collection. Warner Bros. has a great track record with these animated short collections. Both The Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight were a big success and very entertaining tie-in’s to their parent franchises. Of course, along with seven animated (both traditional and CG) shorts tying into the Halo universe, Warner Bros. is including several special features as well. Check out the press release from Warner Home Video below for all the details and check back often for more news and updates on this title as they become available!

Exclusive previews of Halo Legends will be available on the new Xbox LIVE experience, Halo Waypoint, starting November 7, 2009

BURBANK, CA (November 5, 2009) – Go deeper into the Halo universe than ever before with Halo Legends, an all-new, CG and traditional anime PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. Produced by 343 Industries, a part of Microsoft Game Studios, the exciting tales-beyond-the-games will be distributed February 9, 2010 by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™.

Halo Legends is a seven-story anthology – told across eight spectacular episodes – that explores the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its intriguing characters. Halo Legends has been created in the same breakthrough format as The Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight with each individual episode imagined by a cutting-edge, renowned Japanese anime director/animator, including Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii, Hideki Futamura, Tomoki Kyoda and Yasushi Muraki. The stories are inspired and produced by the creative minds of 343 Industries, including Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor and managing editor Kevin Grace.

The individual episodes fall within Halo’s 26th Century mythology as the battle between humanity and aliens rages on in an attempt to protect Earth and mankind’s expansive number of space colonies. The dramatic, action-packed stories feature characters and locales familiar to Halo fans, and episodes range in length between 10 and 17 minutes – resulting in nearly two hours of animated adventures.

The episodes are animated by some of the world’s most respected studios and directors in anime today. The studios range from Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Batman Gotham Knight), Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Fell Metal Alchemist) and Toei Animation (Dragonball Z, Digimon) to Studio 4oC (The Animatrix, Batman Gotham Knight) and Casio Entertainment. The stellar roster of animation talent on Halo Legends is highlighted by creative supervisors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell); directors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed), Hideki Futamura (The Animatrix), Daisuke Nishio (Dragonball Z), Hiroshi Yamazaki (Karas), Toshiyuki Kanno (Black Lagoon), Koichi Mashimo (Blade of the Immortal) and Koji Sawai (Patlabor); directors/action designers Tomoki Kyoda (Eureka Seven, Evangelion 1.0) and Yasushi Muraki (Macross Plus, Vampire Hunter D); and writer Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop).

Halo is a centerpiece in the world of video games, selling more than 27 million units to a devoted legion of fans – including the latest hit Halo 3:ODST. The Halo franchise has driven more than $1 billion in revenue from its award winning Xbox games, New York Times best-selling novels and comics and a wide variety of other merchandise.

Halo Legends – 2 Disc Special Edition version will have several hours of incredible bonus features, including:

• The Making of Halo Legends – An introduction to Halo Legends followed by a making-of segment for each episode.
• Halo: Gaming Evolved – Explaining the Halo phenomenon from its inception as an Xbox video game to a present day entertainment franchise.
• Audio Commentary with directors Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou
• Widescreen (1.78:1)

Halo Legends Blu-Ray versions will be loaded with bonus materials, including all the great extras from the 2-disc Special Edition as well as Halo: The Story so Far, an overview of the Halo universe up until
the end of Halo 3

“Halo Legends offers fans stunning, new creative visions of the popular video game’s expansive universe, providing added depth and perspective to these beloved characters and thrilling environments,” said Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor. “Halo Legends is a perfect complement to the game’s growing canon of ancillary entertainment options.”

“Warner Home Video is proud to partner with Microsoft to bring this video game phenomenon to fans in an altogether different entertainment medium,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands Marketing. “The great storytelling, memorable characters and truly astounding CG/Anime make Halo Legends a must-have for the fans.”

Exclusive previews of Halo Legends will be available on the new Xbox LIVE experience, Halo Waypoint, starting November 7, 2009.

HALO LEGENDS – Single Disc

Street Date: February 9, 2010
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: Estimated 119 min.

HALO LEGENDS – 2 Disc Special Edition

Street Date: February 9, 2010
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtimes: Disc 1 – Estimated 119 min.
Disc 2 – Estimated 89 minutes

HALO LEGENDS – Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def

Street Date: February 9, 2010
Languages: English and Spanish
Audio: Dolby Surround Stereo
Rating: PG-13
Runtimes: Estimated 223 min.

In the spirit of the recent iPhone app., I bring you 1994 Shiny Entertainment, Inc.’s Earthworm Jim action figure. You all owned this at one time, most of you played with it in the shower. For a really long time!

The figure stands in your standard graphic cardboard with original character drawings. The plastic surrounding displays the character, his weapons, and snotty friend.

Jim’s suit looks ordinary at best and continues with the classic big upper body and skinny legs. His hands are pre molded to hold weapons or jack off… but unless you display him-forget either! The “spring loaded real firing Jim head” is enough to make the purchase worthwhile. Who doesn’t want a head that, if lost, completely defeats the purpose?!

His weaponry, if painted right, would have been awesome! Instead we have all the accessories painted in one boring red. They hardly gave details to the “plasma gun”. “Jim’s really big crow croaking gun” is molded really well but like everything else falls far with bad coloring. As for Snott, well, see previous.

Yes, these are individually numbered for you crazy collectors and EWJ junkies alike. I just don’t know many people who would waste time & effort on collecting this very average series of toys. Oh wait, that would be uh… umm… me.

This is a comic strip that originally began in the late seventies, before I was even created, under the title “Inside Woody Allen”. The fact of the matter is despite being a huge Woody Allen fan, I had not even heard about this comic once before it was sent to us  for review.

This particular volume is a compilation of over 300 of the best strips in the series, written by Stuart Hample. The main character of the strip is of course Woody Allen, and the humor is imitating his unique self deprecating world view. Although imitating isn’t the exact right word, because Woody Allen actually helped in its creation. But only by supplying the author with notes from years of his comedy sketches. For the most part I think Stuart Hample was largely successful in replicating Woody Allen in a comic strip.

Even if you aren’t a massive fan of Woody Allen, I think it holds up as a comic strip. If Calvin and Hobbes and Liberty Meadows are on one end of the scale, this falls somewhere behind them, but clearly ahead of The Family Circus and Peanuts. The one problem I had with this as a comic strip is that it was consistently one liners. They were funny, but they were always set-up and delivery. They never took the time to tell a bigger story, which is a negative when reading a big volume like this.

In addition to being filled with the best of 8 years of a funny comic, it has an interesting introduction by Stuart Hample about how he was first introduced to Woody Allen, and got the idea for a comic strip. The introduction includes some of the sketch pages he was given by Woody Allen, which are worth a look.

The book is broken up into seven different chapters, that are separated by the type of jokes their telling. So one chapter titled “Freud’s Last Resort” are jokes themed around Woody Allen’s analyst. And the chapter titled “Every Time She Had an Orgasm, Her Nose Grew Longer” would be jokes about his relationships. I don’t think I could pick a single chapter that I liked the best, because they all had their highs and lows, but the main point is that it was an interesting way to arrange the book.

It’s a fun read, and because every single strip is completely independent it would be easy to put down and come back to. I guess this is the definition of a coffee table book, or what modern man would call a crapper. It’s a nice volume and it would look good on the shelf. A must own if your a Woody Allen fan, and I feel sorry for you if your not.

Despite the fact that it’s supposed to be released on November 1st you can already pick up a copy at Amazon for nearly half the cover price. Buy it Here!

A friend of Big Shiny Robot sent the following link to us:

I highly recommend checking these guys out. Lots of nerdy material to waste your day on.

Nickelodeon has acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand which had formally resided with Mirage for the last 25 years. Nickelodeon says then plan to release a new TMNT CG cartoon series in 2012 and still plans to see the release of a new feature film that same year with Paramount. The current TMNT cartoon will continue to air through August 2010.

While  I would like to think this is good news for the Turtles, I’m sure what will happen will be what always happens. They will premier some cool new turtles cartoon, and then after a season or two rape it in attempts at keeping it “fresh”. I don’t want “Turtles Fast Forward”, I don’t want “Ninja Tribunal”, and I don’t want “Back to the Sewer”. I want the Ninja Turtles, plain and simple, and close the source material (understanding that, yes, it needs to be geared towards kids). I actually thought the CW 4Kids series, TMNT, started off on a good foot, but soon fell victim to the same “creative re-direction” it always does. I guess we will just have to see what happens in a few years.

Official Press Release from Nickelodeon:
Furthering its mission to provide premium content to its audiences, Nickelodeon–part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc.–has acquired the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. The acquisition provides Nickelodeon, the world’s number-one entertainment brand for kids, global intellectual property rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the hit television, film and video game property that has delighted kids around the world for the last 25 years. The aggregate purchase price for the transactions is approximately $60 million.

Nickelodeon also announced plans to develop a new CG-animated television series based on the popular superhero franchise, anticipated to premiere in 2012. Additionally, in partnership with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, a new release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film is also planned for 2012. Nickelodeon has also acquired all merchandising rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and will continue to work with its original and long-standing toy partner, Playmates Toys, which has been the creative force behind the successful TMNT master toy program over the last two decades.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids.”

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie, and is exactly the right property for us to work together with Nickelodeon,” said Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Pictures.

“Mirage has been the proud keeper of the Turtles’ brand since 1984, and in 2009 we celebrated their 25th anniversary with our legions of fans,” said Gary Richardson, CEO, Mirage Studios. “Nickelodeon is a powerhouse global brand, and we are confident that the company will be a wonderful steward for Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and all the other TMNT characters and take them in all kinds of exciting and new creative directions.”

“We enjoyed our eight-year partnership with Mirage during which 4Kids and Mirage re-launched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for a new generation of kids around the world,” said Alfred Kahn, Chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. “We will also work with Mirage and Viacom so that our Turtles’ licensees can be assured of a seamless transition.”

Considered one of the most popular kids’ television programs of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a classic, global property created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It first debuted as a successful comic book series and then became a hit animated TV show, a live-action television series, and later spawned four blockbuster theatrical releases. The property also has translated into a significant consumer products business–with DVDs, video games, toys and more–that has generated billions of dollars at retail.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on four mutant turtles–trained in the art of Ninjitsu–who battle evil from the New York sewers. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series–jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios–will continue to air on “TheCW4Kids” Saturday morning programming block on The CW network through Aug. 31, 2010.

Lucasfilm has been kind enough to give us a sneak preview of this weeks new episode of Clone Wars.  I must have been right on the mark of my assesment that it looks like a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, as the press release below indicates that director Dave Filoni had Catherine Taber, the voice of Padme, watch the film before they recorded it.

Here’s the press release:

Against Anakin’s vehement wishes, Padmé is recruited to investigate a fellow Senator – and former love interest – suspected of conspiring with the nefarious Banking Clan. A conflict as divisive as the Clone Wars has a way of turning hearts and minds, and she finds that even old friends may have new agendas. Meanwhile, Anakin must watch powerlessly from the shadows as his lady love willingly and deliberately courts the affections of another man….

While a relationship forged in the heat of war may be a crucible of heightened emotions, according to Catherine Taber – voice of Padmé Amidala – it is this fiery dynamic between two strong personalities that fuels the series’ heart and keeps THE CLONE WARS interesting.

“I think the relationship is just fun to watch,” says Taber. “We try to incorporate some of the things that are inherent to all deep love relationships – like jealousy and the little struggles for power, as well as those inside jokes that can only really exist between two people who know and trust one another. I want people to feel that when Anakin is in the mix, it is the only time when Padmé loses focus. In fact, I think it makes her uncomfortable, and she feels she has to prove – to herself – that her top priority is the Republic. I personally believe that, underneath it all, her primary allegiance would be to Anakin – but I don’t think she’d ever admit it.”

A departure from the epic battles and fierce fighting which has become a hallmark of THE CLONE WARS, “Senate Spy” explores an altogether different side of the conflict, focusing instead on the delicate political machinations as they play out behind the scenes of the swashbuckling space opera.

“Dave [Filoni] and the team have said from the beginning that they wanted to show the Star Wars Saga from different perspectives, and this episode is a great example of that,” says Taber. “I love the epic battles, of course, but here we have a chance to follow the mystery, the politics and the intrigue. These slow-burn political ‘battles’ are really driving the whole war effort. Dave actually had me watch [Alfred Hitchcock’s] Notorious before we started working on ‘Senate Spy.’ He wanted me to see the way the pressure builds – especially when love is involved. It’s a very different kind of danger than what we’ve seen in THE CLONE WARS. I really love that about the series; we are trying to give the Star Wars audience – old and new – something special.”

For the most up to date Star Wars info, be sure to follow Swank over at The Examiner.

It took long enough, but at long last we have a feature length trailer for the highly anticipated Toy Story 3 which hits theaters on June 18, 2010! I know people get nervous when sequels are made to great movies, but with Pixar at the helm, is anyone that concerned? Check out the trailer in full HD over at Apple!

Woody and Buzz had accepted that their owner Andy would grow up someday, but what happens when that day arrives? In the third installment, Andy is preparing to depart for college, leaving his loyal toys troubled about their uncertain future. Lee Unkrich (co-director of “Toy Story 2” and “Finding Nemo”) directs this highly anticipated film, and Michael Arndt, the Academy Award®-winning screenwriter of “Little Miss Sunshine,” brings his unique talents and comedic sensibilities to the proceedings. TOY STORY 3 will be presented in Disney Digital 3D^TM in select theaters.

Straight out of the 70’s we have The Superfriends Season 1, Volume 1 coming to DVD on January 5, 2010! Warner Home Video has announced that the two-disc Collector’s Edition will feature the first eight episodes of the series:

1. “The Power Pirate”
2. “The Baffles Puzzle”
3. “Professor Goodfellow’s G.E.E.C.”
4. “The Weather Maker”
5. “Dr. Pelagian’s War”
6. “The Shamon ‘U'”
7. “Too Hot to Handle”
8. “The Androids”

Unfortunately no special features -if there even will be any- have been announced. Watch for this to become available for pre-order on Amazon.com soon!

The series featured the adventures of DC Comics book heroes Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. These five superheroes along with superheroes in training Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog focused their abilities on putting away criminals, saving lives, and stopping terrible disasters. Each episode of the SuperFriends was geared to present, not only action, but also some lesson of educational value. A number of other famous DC comic book heroes appeared: Plastic Man, The Flash, and Green Arrow Eight 1-hour timeless adventures in a Deluxe 2-Disc Collector’s Edition showcase the universe’s greatest heroes paving the way for a brighter future.

Coming to DVD later this year is a great animated mini-series that aired on Cartoon Network’s [adult swim], G.I. Joe Resolute. This PG-13 version of a G.I. Joe cartoon is geared towards an older audience and I must say, it’s incredibly exciting and fun to watch. Originally airing in ten five-minute episodes and an eleventh ten-minute episode, this series added a slightly more reality based feel to the G.I. Joe cartoon. I definitely recommend any G.I. Joe fan to check this one out on November 3 when it hits DVD, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Paramount is including on this disc all eleven episodes along with a few special features:

• Storyboards
• Interviews with Filmmakers
• “Now You Know” Featurette
• Joe Files

G.I. Joe is a highly trained, classified special operations unit composed of men and women from around the globe. Officially, these warriors don’t even exist. Few know the truth – that G.I. Joe fights a secret war, as the first and last line of defense against forces that seek to plunge our world into chaos. Wherever there’s trouble, G.I. Joe is there. In G.I. Joe: Resolute, the raging battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra Commander has never been more intense. Every life is at stake… and even the good guys can die. All games end today…Now you know… and knowing is half the battle.

You can pre-order G.I. Joe Resolute on Amazon now!

Lucasfilm has been kind enough to provide us with a preview clip of this Friday’s episode of Clone Wars.

From their press release:

After outwitting his Jedi foes and escaping with the Holocron, bounty hunter Cad Bane sets into motion the next stage of his nefarious assignment: to find Force-sensitive younglings and take them to Mustafar for Sith training.

But Bane is merely the instrument of evil, a deadly distraction to occupy the Jedi while the true source continues to plot from the shadows. While he has been glimpsed in previous episodes – and in his seemingly benevolent double-role as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic – Darth Sidious emerges in “Children of the Force” as a direct threat to the galaxy’s future.

“He’s all the hidden secrets most of us have,” says Ian Abercrombie, who provides the smooth and silvery voice of the Janus-faced Sith Lord. “Palpatine is the face, and Sidious is the dark soul. When people are that bad, they cannot change. Somewhere in the back of my head, I know that Sidious is always there and that he will take over. Evil often does.”

For Abercrombie – perhaps best known for comedy roles such as Seinfeld’s doddering Mr. Pitt – providing the voice of THE CLONE WARS’ central villain has been a delicious departure – and a unique career challenge.

“Somebody told me once that when you play a villain, you must try to find a redeemable quality,” says Abercrombie. “I haven’t found it. He’s cold and completely shut down. So, in my head, it’s stillness; he’s very precise. He’s authoritative, he knows everything that’s going on, and so often he’s pulling the strings. It’s difficult to play, but it’s also interesting, because you can’t predict what he’ll do. I love it.

While embodying the evil of such an iconic character may be new to the venerable British actor, the Star Wars universe itself was not – though he could not have predicted that he’d be portraying the subversive driving force of that “galaxy far, far away.”

“It’s quite something, as they say. I was at the very first screening in May 1977 at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The first Star Wars movie ever! I can’t even believe it, because I never stand in line like that,” he recalls. “But someone sold me on it, and that’s why I did. I never imagined I’d be a part of it. It’s an actor’s dream, playing something bigger and larger than yourself. You can have a field day.”

And with the outcome of the Clone Wars a foregone conclusion and his character’s triumph inevitable, Abercrombie can let his dark side run rampant and have a field day, indeed.

Here we have an interview with Dee Bradley Baker and Dave Filoni, among others about the improved quality of animation in Star Wars: Clone Wars Season 2.

The series premieres on October 2, 2009 on Cartoon Network.