This new string of Mickey Mouse cartoons has been nothing short of exciting. I get giddy every time I see that a new one has been released, and this newest one blew me away. Halloween themed for the month of October, Ghoul Friend gives us things I never expected to see in a Mickey Mouse short…  

Namely, Zombie Goofy.

It’s an image that some might have a problem with, but I can tell you right now, this is something my kids would be dying to see. I can’t wait to show them.

Star Wars: Rebels had their first moving images premiere. 

There’s not really much to reveal other than the fact that it looks visually stunning. And I do believe that’s a reasonably faithful recreation of the opening shot of A New Hope…  It seems like Disney is taking the mandate to get back to the roots of Star Wars seriously.

I’m confident this show will do well with kids, but I do think they’re underestimating how much kids love prequel era stuff.

Don’t expect any more info about Rebels until Pablo Hidalgo gives his presentation on the show at NYCC this coming weekend.

Those of you who have updated to iOS 7 in the past week have no doubt noticed a flurry of app updates. So it was with curiousity as I noticed [adult swim] sent out an update to their iOS app, renaming it to Watch [adult swim].

Then we get news today that as of immediately, Adult Swim will be live streaming their programming from adultswim.com and their mobile apps. The only catch? You have to verify your cable subscription to get all the goodies. While this move is not unprecedented (several other networks offer similar services: HBO Go, ESPN, Disney Channel, etc) this is a big deal for many of us who are [as] afficianados.

And not to worry– those of us who used [adult swim] to play games like Robot Unicorn Attack, 5 Minutes to Kill [Yourself], or my new current favorite, Giant Boulder of Death can still access those. In fact, Adult Swim will be continuing to provide online-exclusive content from the comedy geniuses most likely to give you a seizure Tim and Eric, but also folks from The Onion and elsewhere.

The only downside is if you are like many people who are Netflix and Hulu only, you can’t access every episode of The Venture Brothers at your fingertips or watch new episodes of NTSF:SD:SUV as they premiere. Time to talk to grandma who has cable but no idea what an iPad is, eh?

But we can only hope this takes us further down the inexorable path to being able to choose cable content a la carte and not necessarily tied to a cable company or set top box, but simply access to an app you run through your Smart TV at home or tablet on the go. But don’t get your hopes up– remember that [adult swim[ is still owned by Time Warner, one of whose most profitable companies is Time Warner Cable.

But a boy can dream.

Look! A press release! Read the official technical stuff straight from the horse’s mouth.

 

For Release: September 25, 2013

Adult Swim Announces Live Streaming Across All Platforms
New Watch [adult swim] Initiative Expands TV Everywhere Strategy

Adult Swim, basic cable television’s #1 network in Total Day for the past eight consecutive years among adults 18-34, 18-49 & 18-24 and men 18-34, 18-49 and 18-24, today launched live streaming functionality on AdultSwim.com and via the Watch [adult swim] app on iOS and Android devices. The launch marks yet another step in Adult Swim’s expansion across multiple platforms as it continues to be one of the industry’s most innovative comedy brands.

TV subscribers may now enjoy Adult Swim programming such as the Emmy Award-winning series Childrens Hospital and Robot Chicken in real time wherever they like on any device, adding value to the official site, which ranks among the top five video sites in the humor category, and the popular Watch [adult swim] app which has nearly four million downloads to date.  To watch the live streams, viewers will be required to log in using their TV-provider account information.

Live streaming is the newest addition to Adult Swim’s digital portfolio, joining AdultSwim.com’s original and exclusive online comedy content (which includes work from Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim and some of the original creative members from The Onion), their top-performing mobile games business that has had 22 iOS apps reaching the App Store’s top 10, a growing slate of independent games published on Steam, and more than 130 free online games.

This is the latest phase in the rollout of TV Everywhere, the industry-wide initiative that gives subscribers to cable, satellite and telco video services access to more of their favorite shows across a wide range of digital platforms.

Adult Swim Digital oversees the management and production of content for the channel’s official site, AdultSwim.com, and digital extensions. A top industry website, AdultSwim.com averages 3.6 million unique users each month in the United States and features more than 130 free-to-play original online games, including top titles such as Robot Unicorn Attack and Amateur Surgeon. Adult Swim has launched 36 apps in the iTunes store, which have ranked in the Top Free Apps, Top 5 Paid Apps and Top 5 Paid Games categories.

Adult Swim (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s network offering original and acquired animated and live-action series for young adults.  Airing nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET/PT), Adult Swim is basic cable’s #1 network with persons 18-34 and 18-49, and is seen in 99 million U.S. homes.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Perhaps one of the most surprising stories to come out of Star Wars Celebration: Europe was from Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. It wasn’t anything Episode VII related, which would have been almost expected, but it had to do with The Clone Wars.

According to The Star Wars Underworld twitter:

BREAKING: Mark reveals that he had a part in Clone Wars! Reveals it was Darth something. Doesnt know if it will be seen #StarWarsCelebration

— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) July 28, 2013

Mark Hamill was to voice “Darth something” for The Clone Wars.

Now, there were also rumblings of Filoni for an arc with Yoda and a Sith Temple and that could have proved to be the spot for this Sith Lord Hamill had voiced. But there’s also the Order 66 arc as well, and perhaps Master Sifo-dyas could have had something to do with the Sith… That whole issue hasn’t been resolved at all.

There’s still no guarantee we’ll see everything, though Pablo Hidalgo, over the Celebration weekend, gave hints that they’re looking to release as much of it as possible and thinking “outside the box” to do so, even considering releasing episodes in rough animation form. Kevin Kiner, composer for the show, told Full of Sith that he was working on scoring about 10 more episodes of bonus content, but gave no indication as to how many he’d already done.

There are a number of story arcs we know about and a number that we know exists but we know little about.

There’s been no indication whatsoever about when we might see any of these arcs.

But Mark Hamill on The Clone Wars is an idea that thrills me. Not just because he’s Luke Skywalker, but because his voice-over work is legendary and anything he’d do in the animated world, particularly under the guidance of Filoni, would be masterful.

Let’s just cross our fingers and hope we’re able to see it.

Perhaps the biggest reason I wish I could have been at Celebration: Europe in Germany is the panel for Rebels. Since it’s replacing a show as good as The Clone Wars as the television representation of a galaxy far, far away.

I’ve talked many times to Dave Filoni and had a moment to talk to Greg Weisman at Denver Comic-Con and I have no doubt that they are the right team to be putting this together. With Simon Kinberg consulting and a genius like Joel Aron behind them, there’s really no way I can see that this show won’t blow us all away.

They released to the public a logo and some more images about the show.

I can’t say that I’m anything but excited. And it looks like they’re working to perfectly capture the feeling of Ralph McQuarrie.

Here’s the official press release:

Star Wars Rebels Executive Producer Dave Filoni pulled back the curtain on Lucasfilm’s highly anticipated animated series for Star Wars Celebration Europe attendees today, discussing the huge influence of original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie on the look and feel of the show, and revealing the series’ unique logo and select designs. Filoni talked at length about the use of McQuarrie art as a springboard for the series, showcasing many works from the original trilogy, including landscapes and characters, and detailing how they inform the visual identity of Star Wars Rebels.

While unable to attend in person, Executive Producers Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman shared their excitement for the series in a video message recorded specifically for Celebration attendees.

Star Wars Rebels is scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, and will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

For more information about the Star Wars Rebels panel at Celebration Europe 2, visit www.starwars.com

Be sure to listen to Full of Sith for the best in Star Wars news and discussions.

Buried in the Latino Review Star Wars casting report was the news that Leonardo DiCaprio was in talks to join the newest Star Wars movie.

That would have been amazing.

DiCaprio is an incredible talent and I’ve been hoping we could get him into the saga for a long time now.

But, according to Latino Review, he turned it down. For the live action Robotech film.

Which is just as amazing to me.

He’s at the right age that he would make a perfect Roy Focker, to be honest, I don’t think there’s anyone else on the show he could play if they were doing first generation. I will say though, I interviewed many of the Robotech guys at Comic-Con (listen to my interview with Tommy Yune here) and they said it was too early to discuss what was going on and which generation would be making it to the big screen.

They did confirm this report about who would be directing, though, and they did say that Lawrence Kasdan has worked on the screenplay, which makes me so happy it’s sick.

So what say you? Could you see DiCaprio as Roy Focker? If not, who could you see him playing?

If you haven’t, stop everything and watch this cartoon:

This was the first of a series of new Mickey Mouse shorts from Disney. They’re stunning and fun, and bring Mickey Mouse into a new era, with a look that feels old, but is fresh and brand new.

They’ve released two more shorts you need to watch… like right now…

What I’m really waiting for is new Donald Duck and Chip and Dale cartoons, setting them off against each other just like the old days.

These are just perfect.

I think they nailed who Deadpool was. Now I’m interested to see how he interacts with Spider-Man himself.

Here’s the text of the press release for this episode:

Ultimate Heroes. Ultimate Villains. Ultimate Responsibility.

Spider-Man must lead his team of teen heroes against the greatest assembly of super villains the world has ever seen! Season Two of the hit series ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN continues as Spider-Man comes face to face with the Marvel Universe’s most unhinged hero – Deadpool! Spider-Man envies Deadpool’s free-spirited life, but that all may change after one day in Deadpool’s madcap world!

Don’t miss the next amazing episode of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN debuts this Sunday at 11a/10c inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD.

A friend of the site who regularly trolls through DeviantArt found some artistic deviations from a user named ENGELHA5T that I thought would be of interest to Star Wars fans. As far as I’m aware, these aren’t from the show in any way, they’re fan made mockups. But they are very cool fan made mockups and I think we’d all be happy with some of the possibilities implied with this art. We do know, though, that the show is going to have a Ralph McQuarrie vibe, and these are all still in the mode of The Clone Wars.

It’s a nice dream, though. I love the idea of older versions of characters like Bail Organa, Obi-wan Kenobi, and, definitely, Ahsoka. But it makes you wonder, will we see characters like Thrawn and Mara Jade on Rebels? I’m not so sure there’s any chance to see them on the big screen, but if they have a chance anywhere, it’s on a Dave Filoni run animated series.

Troll through the gallery and write down your thoughts in the comments. Also, you can check out ENGELHA5T’s DeviantArt page, but I’d warn you away from it if you’re easily offended. While he’s done a great job with these, there are some more… interesting Star Wars deviations there. Some involve nudity. Some are exactly what Ashley Eckstein warned you about on Full of Sith. And be sure to listen to the Full of Sith podcast for the best Star Wars discussions in the galaxy.  

There’s a new Robotech movie and a re-release of the Shadow Chronicles and I couldn’t be more excited. Robotech is one of my most favorite guilty pleasures and more of it is always a good thing. I’ll take that back… It’s not a guilty pleasure. I don’t feel bad about it at all. In fact, it’s one of my professional goals to write Robotech professionally at some point. We’ll see how that works out.

Shadow Chronicles was a wonderful theatrical experience (despite a marked lack of Minmei music) and Love Live Alive looks fantastic.

The Robotech: 2-Movie Collection comes out on DVD July, 23, 2013. You can preorder it now on Amazon.