MEGA CARTOON CHARACTER CHALLENGE!

Today's challenge is four times the challenge! I have selected four cartoon characters for you to guess. If you know any of all of them then leave me a comment! I'll reveal answers on Monday!

TRANSFORMERS AND SPIDER-MAN POSTERS!

First of all, I want to state how sorry I am for neglecting this blog. Work has gotten busier and I have been spending more time preparing for my switch over to Animated Views.

However, I have come across two posters for a few new shows next year and I want to share them with you.

Click to see full image.

Transformers: Animated is set to air spring 2008 on Cartoon Network and looks like an amalgamation of all the different series and the movie. Some of the new movies designs, like Bumblebee, have been borrowed but Optimus Prime is a Fire Truck as he was in Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

Over the years, the various different versions of Transformers have had some pretty ugly character designs. Most of the reasons for ugliness were becasue they were too busy. CG shows like Beast Wars, Transformers: Cybertron and the new movie used character designs that were overcomplicated (they used the "it's CG, so why not?" mindset). They were so detailed that it made it hard to watch since characters would get lost in background or each other.

Other shows like Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Energon were Japanese-made, and you know how the Japanese are about their robots. Super detailed and probably a pain to animate.

This new show is heading in the right direction by keeping their characters neat and clean but still distinct and with style. Too bad I don't like this style at all! Transformers are supposed to be hard and tough. These designs make them look too organic. It's like the characters are wearing foam robot outfits. I hope the storytelling holds up.


Click to see full image.

The Spectacular Spider-Man is set to air in spring 2008 on the WB! Network. This series is to compliment Spider-Man 3 but is not related like the MTV Spider-Man series. It is being developed by Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman.

According to this poster, we should see Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Electro and Vulture in the series and Weisman has said that Venom and Green Goblin will also show up. The series will revolve around a 16-year old Peter parker and his friends Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant and Liz Allan.

Some concept art has made its way online and while these are not the final designs, you can get a feel for what they are going for. Sort of X-Men: Evolution. I can't wait to see this one.

NEW TRANSFORMERS MOVIE THEME SONG!

Transformers Soundtrack

With the Transformers movie just around the corner I thought it would be fun to post a bunch of the various verisions of the theme song the I have found.

The Transformers theme song is one of the most recognizable cartoon themes. If you ask a random person on the street most likely they would be able to sing a line or two.

The other day I was picking up some kids from their school and one kid saw the Autobots pin I wear on my jacket. He asked me if I liked the show. I said yes and then he asked me if I knew the song. I said I did and I started singing. "Transformers! Robots in disguise!"

"That's not how it goes!" he shouted at me! "It goes, Transformers ENERGON! Robots in Disguise!" I felt so old.

Here are three versions of the theme song from the three seasons of the generation one show.

Transformers - Season One

Transformers - Season Two

Transformers - Season Three

If you are a fan of Transformers: the Movie you should know this one. It is by 80's metal band Lion and it was recorded for the film.

Transformers - Lion

This one is a cover of the Lion version of the theme by a band called Black Lab. www.myspace.com/blacklabband

Transformers - Black Lab UPDATE: I got in trouble for posting this mp3 so I have taken it down. You can hear it on their myspace page if you want to hear it.

All the fans were wondering if a new recording of the theme would be made for the new film. Fans were overjoyed when this song was leaked onto the net a few months ago. But their smiles turned to frowns when they heard the new verision by Deceptibot.

Transformers - Deceptibot

It was later revealed that this song was a big joke and now the real theme has been revealed and it by a band called Mute Math. Check out their site: www.myspace.com/mutemath

Transformers - Mute Math

I like this version by Mute Math and am excited to hear it in the movie! Can't wait until July 7!

WALL*E TEASER TRAILER

Pixar's Wall*E

A teaser trailer for the new Pixar/Disney Wall*E has just been added to apple.com. It gives a little taste of the animation and story but also gives a short interview with Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton about the history of the film. I suggest you watch it now. Wall*E is scheduled for release June 27, 2008.

COMPLETELY CRAZY CARTOON CHARACTER CHALLENGE #21

Here we are once again for another round of the Completely Crazy Cartoon Character Challenge! Do you know who this is? Leave me a comment and I'll let you know on Monday if there is a winner!

UPDATE: Congratulations to eagle-man who correctly identified this character as John Jameson from Spider-Man: Unlimited!

Da Points:

athena: 1
ben: 2
coolb: 6
coolshades: 1
eagle-man: 5
katie: 1
starlac: 5

FIVE WORST SIDEKICKS OF ALL TIME

Every so often, television executives feel the need to boost ratings. They think that a good way to boost ratings in a show is to add a new character. This new character is small and cute, usually furry, and is used as comic relief. While there are exceptions to this rule, I''m sure you will find that most of these annoying cartoon sidekick follow this criteria.

I hate these characters.

I have compiled a list of my all time least-favourite sidekick ratings grabbers. Do you agree? How much do you hate these creatures? Are there any that I missed? Leave me a comment or two!

H.E.R.B.I.E.

5: H.E.R.B.I.E. from Fantastic Four 1978

The second Fantastic Four television series was produced by DePatie-Freleng in 1978. The popular rumour was that the producers didn't want children to mimic the Human Torch's ability to light himself on fire so they cut him from the show. The real reason was that Marvel optioned his character out to another film company to do a solo movie. The Torch's replacement was a robot created by Mr. Fantastic called H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics). He went along on all the mission as was a vast source of information and handy tools.

The character was designed by comic legend Jack Kirby and was voiced by Frank Welker. Many fans hated this character not only because he replaced the Human Torch, but also because he was played up as a "cute" character that turned out to be me more annoying than anything else. HERBIE has since gone on to appear many times in the comicbooks.

I know that HERBIE doesn't fit the criteria. He wasn't created to boost ratings. But, gosh darn it, he's annoying.

Godzooky

4: Godzooky from The Godzilla Power Hour 1978

It's a bad sign when a studio feels the need to create a new character because the title character doesn't have enough character. The Godzilla franchise was going strong and Hanna-Barbera wanted to cash in on the success by bring their animated spin on the monstrous legend. But the stories were too serious. The Godzilla Power Hour needed something to lighten to mood.

Enter: Godzooky, Godzilla's nephew. Godzooky was just slightly bigger than the humans and had wings that allowed him to fly. Don Messik provided the dog-like noises he made. He was a useless character and often got in the way or caused the episode's problem in the first place. He was way to cute for his own good and if I were Godzilla, I'd use my laser eyes to send him back to the middle of the Atlantic.

Bat-Mite

3: Bat-Mite from The New Adventures of Batman & Robin 1977

Bat-Mite first appeared in Batman comicbook in 1959 but disappeared in 1964. People realized early on that Bat-Mite was overly annoying and totally stupid. Unfortunately, Filmation thought that he could boost ratings on their second Batman animated series, The New Adventures of Batman & Robin.

In this series, Bat-Mite, voiced by Filmation Executive Producer Lou Scheimer, is a magical imp who happens to be Batman's biggest fan. He even makes his own 'Batsuit' and wears it all the time. While he meant well and really wanted to help the Caped Crusader, he really only got in the way and caused more problems for the duo. I always wondered why the three of them seemed to have a good chuckle at the end of the episodes. I'm sure Batman could figure out a way to get rid of him for good.

The Great Gazoo

2: The Great Gazoo from The Flintstones 1965

At the beginning of The Flintstones' sixth season, ratings were so low that the Hanna-Barbera producers and writers felt that something needed to be changed. They created an alien being from the future called the Great Gazoo, voiced by Harvey Korman, who was exiled to Earth for inventing a doomsday weapon. Gazoo is only visible to Fred and Barney (and their children) which causes many problems as he pops up at the most inappropriate moments when other are around. He often tries to help but usually ends up making matters worse.

I see the Great Gazoo as one of the very first sidekick ratings boosters. The show was cancelled at the end of that season and many say that it was the fault of the Not-So-Great Gazoo but the ratings were so low before he appeared that it's hard to say whether Gazoo made any difference at all. But what is for certain is that Gazoo is ultra-annoying and didn't make any sense in the show what so ever.

Scrappy-Doo

1: Scrappy-Doo from Scooby-Doo & Scrappy-Doo 1978

If you ask any fan of Scooby-Doo I'm sure you will also hear them say how much they hate Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo.

In 1978, rating were getting low and ABC was threatening to cancel Scooby-Doo. Hanna-Barbera was already trying new things to keep the show alive, such as having the gang fight real supernatural monsters rather than just people in costumes. But when they created the super obnoxious Scrappy-Doo ratings actually went up! So they retooled the show to focus more on Scrappy and less on Scooby. Bad move.

The reason people watched Scooby-Doo is because they wanted to see Scooby-Doo. When the screen time is filled this loud-talking lame-brain it's no wonder people think of Scrappy-Doo as the downfall of the Scooby-Doo franchise.

24 HOURS? 24 FRAMES PER SECOND!

It thrills me to no end that one of my favourite shows has been turned into a cartoon! The popular action series 24 made its internet debut a few weeks ago on degreemen.com.



Produced by the producers of the show, 24: Day Zero is nine Flash animated vignettes that tell a story of Jack Bauer and CTU before the events of season one. Fans will be happy to know that they will be able to see the return of some of their favourite characters, including Nina Meyers, Tony Almeida and George Mason.

Icebox, the animators of these shorts, chose to create a very comicbook-like style for their show which works very well. The constant split-screens seem more like comicbook panels now. However, some of the characters don't translate too well, the animation is very limited and the writing is nowhere near as good as the show. But it is still 24 fun and Keifer Sutherland even voices Jack Bauer!

This isn't the first time we've seen an animated version of 24. One week before these hit the internet The Simpsons aired an excellent 24 parody as part of their 400th episode season finale! Sutherland lent his voice to that show too.

Three episodes are availible on degreemen.com with another coming in a couple of days.

CHANGE IS COMING...

Looking to the future

Hello everyone!

It's been over a week! Where have I been? Well, I got a week off work so I decided to take a week of everything and make it a real vacation.

There will be a few changes to Animated Toast over the next little while. The main change is that I have been invited to be a contributing writer to Animated-Views. I'm not sure how that will affect this page. I may shut it down or it may be radically changed. We'll see.

The other change will be to the Cartoon Character Challenge. It has been over a week and no one has guess the answer to the June 1st Challenge! I have decided that I am not gonna tell you the answer! I am going to still post a new Challenge every Friday but the old,un-guessed Challenge will still be there and worth an extra point for every consecutive week that it remains un-guessed. So keep trying!

I hope that all of you enjoy your time here and I would love to hear your input!

Stay frosty!

COMPLETELY CRAZY CARTOON CHARACTER CHALLENGE #20

Welcome to June everyone and welcome to the twentieth edition of the Completely Crazy Cartoon Character Challenge!

Leave me a comment if you know who this is. Please state the name and where this character has appeared. I'll let you know who wins on Monday!

UPDATE: It took two weeks to find a winner but it finally happened! Ben correctly identified this character as Edward, Wendy's husband and Jane's father from Peter Pan: Return to Neverland!

Great job, Ben! You get two points for this one! Good to have you on board!

Da Points:

athena: 1
ben: 2
coolb: 6
coolshades: 1
eagle-man: 4
katie: 1
starlac: 5