While both superhero comic companies have had success with TV shows based on their characters, when it comes to direct-to-DVD animated films, DC’s lineup has gotten the bulk of the attention with such titles as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman, and the upcoming Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
Marvel’s lineup, [...]

It may be heresy to say this, given the popularity of Rudolph and all, but The Year Without a Santa Claus is my favorite Rankin-Bass Christmas special. (You know, they’re the ones from the 70s done with the cute little stop-motion figures.)
The Year Without a Santa Claus features Mickey Rooney voicing a Santa who’s [...]

Review by KC Carlson
This time, it’s personal!
Yes, I’m a little biased when it comes to the WB-produced Superman: The Animated Series (TAS), spearheaded by Bruce Timm and much of the Batman: TAS crew following that groundbreaking animated series. While I have no direct link to the show itself, I do have a (tenuous) connection — [...]

Rerun, Linus and Lucy’s younger brother, is the star of this 40-minute-long holiday special from 2003. I had no idea that they were making new Peanuts cartoons that late, but the timing explains the subtle, lovely colors of the watercolor-look backgrounds. Even though it was created after Charles Schulz passed, it’s based on original strips [...]

Naoki Urasawa’s MonsterBuy this DVD
The first box set of the anime version of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster will be released on Tuesday, December 8.
It’s the story of a world-famous neurosurgeon who saves the life of a little boy who turns out to be a conscienceless murderer, the monster of the title. The doctor gives up [...]

Alvin And The Chipmunks: The SqueakquelBuy this album
The original motion picture soundtrack for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is available for MP3 download at Amazon for $4 today only.
I’m not suggesting you buy this, because who can stand listening to a whole album of that squeaky stuff?, but it is kind of amusing [...]

To promote the recent DVD release of Up, Pixar has posted this related cartoon to YouTube. It follows George and AJ, the two Shady Oaks Retirement Village workers who come to pick up Carl, and how they react to seeing his house lift off in front of them. It’s slight, in terms of content, and [...]

Warner has announced their next DC direct-to-DVD animated movie. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths will be released on February 23, 2010.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, written by Dwayne McDuffie, is an alternate Earth story in which Lex Luthor asks the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate. The [...]

Tomorrow at 7:30 PM Eastern, the Defenders guest-star on The Super Hero Squad Show. This reworking of Marvel superhero characters for kids airs on the Cartoon Network. Here’s the plot description:
Baron Mordo transforms Iron Man into the evil “Iron Menace”, a deadly threat who overcomes both the Lethal Legion and the Squad! But when [...]

To promote Up coming out on DVD last week, the publicity group sent this set of images showing how the movie was put together. I thought you might be interested in seeing how a scene developed. Click the images (and then wait) to see really large versions.
Update: Here’s some more Up-related art, process work [...]

I loved Up when I first saw it in theaters this summer, so I knew that I wanted to own it when it was released on DVD. I just wish Disney didn’t make it so difficult.
Up (Blu-Ray)Buy this DVD
As is typical of their recent releases, they’re strongly pushing the Blu-Ray edition, which comes with [...]

Review by KC Carlson
I was very pleased to see another go-round of Warner’s Saturday Morning Cartoons compilations. They make very interesting samplers of what was happening in kid-vid in both the 1960s and 1970s, so they’re prime fare for baby boomers like me. Although you have to keep in mind that it’s not a complete [...]

Review by KC Carlson
Out today is Justice League: The Complete Series, and I can’t think of a better gift for any superheroic animation fan — even if it’s a gift that you give yourself. The set features all 91 episodes of both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited on 14 DVDs, plus ALL the Special [...]

Last week, the 13 episodes of the Superman cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears in 1988 came to DVD on a two-disc set. Comic fans may be interested due to the involvement of Marv Wolfman as story editor and Gil Kane as production designer, but the short series didn’t really live up to its pedigree.
Ruby-Spears SupermanBuy [...]

Review by KC Carlson
As promised a couple of weeks past (unfortunately delayed by illness), here’s my rundown of the latest Peanuts collection, just in time for holiday gift-giving (or turkey stuffing!).
Peanuts 1970’s CollectionBuy this DVD
Play It Again, Charlie Brown, the 7th Peanuts special, originally aired on March 28, 1971. This may be the most [...]

Review by KC Carlson
I was happily surprised by Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, a new Disney holiday DVD obviously aimed at kids. I found plenty of fun stuff here as well, due to a cool concept, some great voice work, and some heads-up joke writing. But before I jump into [...]

I find it fascinating that there’s this video game property, Halo, that I’ve never seen and don’t know anything about. Yet it has all kinds of spinoffs, including books and comics. (Maybe I should check out the Halo Encyclopedia to learn more.) The latest tie-in comes from Warner Home Video, which is releasing the animation [...]

Review by KC Carlson
The Character’s Comic Origin
Plastic Man was one of the greatest conceptual characters ever created in comic books, especially during his Golden Age career where his adventures were chronicled by his creator, the amazing Jack Cole. Primarily a humorist, Cole’s Plastic Man adventures (beginning in the pages of Police Comics in 1941) were [...]

Just a quick update on something being released on October 20 that you might want to watch for. We’re rushing out the door for a much-needed vacation, and I’ll be back with a full-scale review upon our return.

Review by KC Carlson
Disney is reissuing some of their great Christmas cartoons in new editions this year, just in time for the holidays.
Disney Animation Collection: Mickey’s Christmas Carol
Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a new entry in the Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films series that I reviewed earlier this year. The lead feature is an [...]