animated
Latest
Dead Space Aftermath coming to DVD and Blu-ray on January 25
EA has announced a release date for the upcoming Dead Space Aftermath animated movie. The film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 24 in Europe, and January 25 in the US. MSRP is $34.99, but some outlets (including Amazon at the moment) are selling it for even cheaper than that already. The film will also come bundled in a double pack with 2008's animated tie-in, Dead Space Downfall. The film will supposedly serve as a prequel to Dead Space 2, about a group sent by the Government to the Aegis VII disaster from the first animated film, in order to "test" the "effects" of Marker shards. Sounds like a recipe for "trouble" (and some gory scares). Between this release next month and the demo later on this month, the Dead Space franchise is about to get a whole lot livelier.
Animated wallpaper running on a jailbroken iPad
In case you needed even more distraction and less battery life from your iPad, MacStories wants you to know about the ultimate hack just for you. For jailbroken iPads, a new app allows for having animated backgrounds just like Android devices. Called vWallpaper, it enables a video resized for the device's screen to be used an animated background, even while browsing and viewing apps. Of course, you could just run Android on your iPad and skip the hack, but that's more than some people are willing to do. My buddy runs an animated background on his Android phone (which makes it impossible for me to find the app I want, personally), but he seems to like the look of it. His battery life definitely suffers though, and while the iPad definitely has decent battery life, I would think this hack would cut it down significantly. If you want to do it anyway (and have a jailbroken iPad), you can get vWallpaper from the danstaface repo. Click Read More to check out a video of vWallpaper in action.
Family Guy celebrates the jump to widescreen, shows viewers what they've been missing
While Family Guy's first widescreen 720p episode was the premiere over a week ago, this week's episode was the first to show off the new widescreen intro sequence, but not before kicking things by poking fun at an old classic. Just like Joe Buck and Curt Menefee did for Fox's new 16x9 football broadcast, they highlighted how much extra you can see in the new widescreen format with a revisionist look at the Brady Bunch. Check the episode we mentioned during this week's podcast on Hulu (embedded after the break) for the clip and a quick laugh.
Beauty and the Beast coming to Blu-ray October 5
We should all be familiar with Disney's system of scheduling releases from its valuable archive of animated hits by now, and it's staying on path with Beauty and the Beast, arriving on Blu-ray for the first time on October 5, a year after the first Diamond Edition release, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.All that means is to expect another Blu-ray + DVD combo pack (with standalone DVD to follow later, on November 23) with carefully restored imagery, 7.1 surround audio and plenty of extras. The trailer is embedded after the break, but we suspect the decision to buy this one has already been made.
Tales of Vesperia to become anime movie
1UP took note of a tiny blurb in Japanese magazine Kinema Jumpo, which indicates that Namco Bandai is preparing a Tales of Vesperia movie. The animated film will allegedly be the first in the series to hit the the big screen. Tales of Phantasia, Eternia, Symphonia and Aneurismia (not real) have all received linear animated media releases, but not in theaters. The Japanese version will feature voice talent from the game, but there's no word if the same is planned for an international version. 1UP speculates that the film could be used to cross-promote a PS3 version of Vesperia. We don't know about that, but Namco Bandai did eventually take its Xbox 360 exclusive, Eternal Sonata, to the PS3.
WoW Moviewatch: Nef vs. Rai: A machinimated cartoon
The author says up front that he considered this movie to be an experiment. Nef vs. Rai was intended to help explore the animation possibilities in World of Warcraft. It is a very short animation example, that pretty much can be summed up as "A dragon steps foot in Darnassus, an anime hero charges his lasers, and kills the dragon." The story wasn't complex, but probably wasn't meant to be. While the opening shot of a dragon landing is created using modified WoW graphics, the rest seems to be hand drawn.The opening credit with the animated cat-form druid (Night Elf) was pretty neat. I liked the hand-drawn overlay in Darnassus, and what it did for the environment there. I'm not sure the animation of "Rai" did much for me. Something about the way Rai's face was drawn kind of put me off, and made it very difficult for me to understand what emotion the character was experiencing. But, I guess, the anime style can be kind of like that, with a lot of it being an acquired taste."Nef vs. Rai" isn't the worst freshman effort we've ever seen, but any follow-up would definitely need some story embellishment.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars gets box art, November 11th release date
Let's face it -- whenever a new Star Wars flick comes out, it's a massive deal. Granted, The Clone Wars didn't make nearly as big of a splash as any of the other non-animated versions, but true fanatics will likely be grappling for this one, regardless. We've just learned that said title will be making its Blu-ray debut day-and-date with the DVD release, and as expected, it'll be presented in 1080p with a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. Also of note, "The Hologram Memory Challenge" and a "creative conversation" with those instrumental in making the film will appear as BD exclusive bonus features, and a Digital Copy will be included for those who care. Look for this one to crowd shelves on November 11th for $34.99 (MSRP).
PBS Kids Sprout nabs HD cartoon Dive Olly Dive
PBS Kids Sprout has announced it's obtained the U.S. broadcast rights for Dive Olly Dive, a CGI-animated kids show produced in high definition. The network's focused on growing its preschool audience via digital cable/satellite, VOD and online offerings over the last few years, although it's not clear where or if we'll ever get to see the underwater escapades pf research subs-in-training Olly and Beth. Hopefully this turns into a situation like the recently launched Disney Channel HD, with a stockpile of ready to go HD content, already delivering a surprising number of HD 'toons each morning -- you're not still letting the kids watch SD, are you? Dive Olly Dive joins the Let's Go Show weekend morning programming block June 7.
Dofus' Wakfu - the TV series
As stated, Dofus is an MMO with an outstanding and appealing aesthetic; one that I've often wished were available to just watch, like a cartoon. Well, apparently Ankama Games and I were on the same wavelength, because sure enough, there's an animated show being produced as we speak!Wakfu - the TV series follows the adventures of Yugo, a young boy with a strong sense of justice, and his four adventurous friends, each one of them a different warrior type from the world of Dofus. Take a gander at the trailer -- it's a fantastic mix of European and Asian animation styles and perfectly captures the sometimes alien, sometimes whimsical World of Twelve. No release date has been offered, but I'm keeping all channels open for the announcement!
Where in the world is Image of Archmage Vargoth?
This might take a little bit of effort, but if you're as big an Archmage Vargoth fan as I am, you'll appreciate it. Groovy on the forums links to a Tripod page (sorry) with a blaring midi file (sorry again-- mute before clicking), that shows some low resolution screenshots of Archmage Vargoth everywhere in the world! I tried to mirror the .gif on our site here so you wouldn't have to brave your way through the midi, but unfortunately, animated .gifs don't play well with our system.It amuses me, anyway-- when I first posted about Archmage Vargoth, I imagined exactly this happening. It's too bad it's such low quality-- hopefully someone out there will take the idea and run with it, so we can have a "where the hell is Matt," Archmage Vargoth style. And considering he emotes as well, maybe something even more complicated can be done with him.
Heavenly Sword animated series: Part V
In this episode of the Heavenly Sword animated series we discover that the return of the Heavenly Warrior is met with disbelief as it turns out the baby has a va-jay-jay. Yup, she's born a -- wait for it -- "worthless girl." Ouch, the clan initially decides to kill her, but they seem to settle on letting her live as an outcast.The series is starting to wrap up in preparation for Heavenly Sword's Sept. 12 launch. We really do hope that the crumb of a demo isn't indicative of the whole experience. At this point, it's sad to think we'd prefer having three-minute animated shorts tell the story of the game each week than actually play the thing. We'll find out in a week.See also: Part I, Part II, Part III & IV
Heavenly Sword animated series: Part III & IV
It's a double feature with parts three and four of the Heavenly Sword animated series. Part three tells the tale of a son's betrayal and his desire to become a god. This animated series has been a great way to get exposition and background out of the way before the game releases Sept 12 -- we're still fence-sitting in angst after the PSN demo if these shorts will end up being cooler than the game.Part four can be found after the break, in it the clan protecting the sword prepares for the rebirth of the Heavenly Warrior ... a boy savior. Then there's a shocking cliffhanger during the birth. Um, not to ruin anything, but most should be able to guess what the revelation was if you've been paying attention to Heavenly Sword at all.See also: Part I, Part II
Heavenly Sword animated series: Part II
In the second part of the Heavenly Sword animated series we discover that the sword wielded by the Heavenly Warrior in the first part became a burden on man. Eventually, to save the power obsessed people from themselves it ends up in the hands of a tribe that would protect it. Yup, we're definitely enjoying these little shorts. At least we can respect this type of marketing, and the art behind it, compared to Nintendo's mind-numbing Smash Bros. info drip. Maybe Heavenly Sword will reveal Sonic as a secret character in Part III of the animated series?See also: Part I
Cryptic G4 ads promote animated game design comedy
If you've been watching G4 lately (and if so, may we ask why?) you've probably seen a couple thousand 30-second spots promoting a mysterious, retro-stylized game company called GameAVision. The viral marketing got even weirder yesterday with an e-mailed press release that touts the two advertised games, Crosswalk and Bar Fight, as "featur[ing] movable character, sound, and several exciting colors." The ads and the release both direct players to the GameAVision web site, which includes some unplayable, Atari 2600-style Flash games and some amusing help wanted ads, among other things.What's going on here? Turns out the cryptic campaign is for an upcoming animated series that G4 commissioned last year. According to the October 2006 press release, the show will feature "Dave and Jerry, two video-game programmers whose lives are turned upside down when GameAVision, the freewheeling company at which they've spent their whole careers, is purchased by Bob Larrity, a crazed Texan businessman who knows nothing about video games except that they 'sell good.'"The premise actually sounds interesting, and the involvement of Minoriteam creator Adam de La Pena is encouraging. It's also nice to see G4 filling its schedule with some new, vaguely game-related programming instead of more reruns of Cops or something. Here's hoping the show lives up to its promise.
Today's hand-drawn video: Super Smash Bros.
It's cute, it's simple, and it's better than a slew of video games we've been playing lately. We give you Super Smash Bros., in hand-drawn animation. A sweeping cinematic score only underlines the awesomeness of this fine video.Nintendo, if you want to save some money, get someone on this project, pronto. Release it, rake in the dough, and we'll have something to tide us over until the real game comes out. Trust us. Make sure you watch until the very ... end?
First HD DVD/DVD Twin disc hits U.S. in June, along with new HDi features
Add one more dual format disc type to the pile, as Bandai Visual will bring the HD DVD/DVD Twin disc to the U.S. June 26, with the release of its bestselling OVA Freedom, and will also be one of the first releases to include HDi network capabilities. As opposed to the combo releases so far that have HD DVD on one side, and DVD on the other, the Twin disc allows up to three layers of either HD DVD or DVD content on the same side of the disc, no flipping necessary. Your old-school DVD player might have trouble with the disc, so its been limited to Japan-only releases so far. Bandai's been working with Microsoft and Memory-Tech to tweak the VC-1 codec for Japanese anime, and the company says after this they will start releasing other HD DVD and Blu-ray titles in Japan and overseas. The SRP for Freedom Vol.1 (of 6) is $39.99 and while we don't know much about the series beyond its mix of CGI and 2D animation, it does heavily represent that most holiest of foods, ramen.
Building a better video game anime
With similar, heavily Japanese influences behind both video games and anime, it's no surprise that there's heavy overlap between fans of both art forms. But what happens when the two worlds actually meet? Anime blogger Azure Flame finds out with a look at what makes a good video-game inspired anime.The short essay is a little less than comprehensive -- it doesn't even mention the near-ubiquitous Pokemon anime, but the advice for making a good game-based cartoon is still useful. In short: a good game-based anime builds on the world and the story established in the game without being limited by the source material. We agree, and we're still waiting for the Super Mario Bros. anime that explores the plumbers' super-secret outer space battles between giant robots with enormous swords. Don't pretend you haven't pictured it yourself.
Matinee at the Bijou to bring classic cartoons to PBS-HD
Those glorious Saturday mornings filled with cartoons and a complete lack of responsibility will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we're thrilled to hear that some faithful classics are about to get reborn on PBS-HD. According to Bijou Bob's official weblog, PBS has given "the green light" to producers to revive some of the greatest 'toons of the past, and just as soon as sufficient sponsors are found, you can expect to see the renditions in stunning HD, which will likely prove that Betty Boop actually is forever young. The 12-episode season is slated to air sometime in 2007, with "Betty Boop, Tom & Jerry, and the Fleischer Superman cartoons being named as potential candidates for the show." Additionally, you can expect to see see "a short subject, a serial chapter, and a feature film" to go along with the newly-rendered cartoons, all of which will be hosted by Debbie Reynolds. So if you're looking to relive a bit of your past, and don't mind the HD makeover, the Matinee at the Bijou should be right up your alley.[Via ToonZone]
RIP Voice Actor Tony Jay (1935 - 2006)
WorldofWar.net is reporting that actor Tony Jay has passed away. The name might not sound so familiar, but we're sure the voice does. Jay had his voice appear in a number of Disney movies, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and animated series-- he showed up in The Tick, TMNT, Savage Dragon, Gargoyles, and one of my favorite cartoon TV voices ever, Shere Khan in Disney's Talespin series.But Jay was also well known for his videogame work-- he started way back in Kings Quest VI, voiced the Soul Reaver series, Planescape Torment (one of the best RPGs of all time), the Icewind Dale series, Fallout, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, X-Men Legends, The Bard's Tale (which was voiced extremely well), and Jay even did a little game you might know of called World of Warcraft. Every time you start a new character, it's Tony's voice retelling the story of the race you'll be playing.Jay will be both missed and remembered. His voice was definitely a distinctive one, and there probably isn't one of us videogame fans that hasn't been pulled into a great story by it at one point or another. RIP.
ProCare promo video inspired by South Park, created by Apple Store employees
We don't know how legit this is, or whether there's an Apple Store out there actually using this, but it appears as though some Apple Store employees have created a ProCare promotional video in the spirit of South Park. It features short, animated kids in a few quick scenarios of customers entering the store and requesting Procare support, as well as another customer pimping some of the various features that ProCare offers, such as personalized support and training. It probably won't make the Apple.com homepage any time soon, but it's an interesting effort from some enthusiastic employees (who probably didn't even get paid for their efforts).
