Talk about an exciting news week! After Monday’s iPhone 4.0 leak and Tuesday’s MVC3 announcement, any day would be a tough act to follow. It appears Cartoon Network was up for the challenge, God bless them.
The biggest news of the day was the Cartoon Network 2010 Upfront in New York City. Toonzone was there to bring the complete coverage of the network’s new shows. Along with the news of some of our favorites returning for another season – Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Batman: The Brave and The Bold first and foremost in our minds - here are some of the noteworthy additions to the CN lineup:
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
Seriously, it’s been 40 years since the Scooby-Doo TV series first premiered, and as timeless as it has become, Casey Casem isn’t getting any younger. Enter Matthew Lillard, who did more than a fine job in the live-action adaptions to provide the voice of Shaggy in the new series. From the press release:
“With the animated Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their talking dog Scooby-Doo are back, solving mysteries in the spooky town of Crystal Cove, a sleepy coastal village that boasts a long history of ghostly sightings, werewolves and glowing deep sea divers. From Warner Bros. Animation, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated features the voices of Frank Welker (What’s New, Scooby-Doo?) as Fred/Scooby-Doo, Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) as Velma, Grey DeLisle (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) as Daphne and Matthew Lillard (the Scooby-Doo films) as Shaggy. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer. Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone (both credited for Duck Dodgers, Back at the Barnyard, Space Jam) are the supervising producers.”
Any mention of Scooby-Doo in the same sentence as Batman: The Brave and the Bold gets us excited. Too bad CN already aired the pilot episode last week without telling any of us, but Wired’s GeekDad caught it in the wild before it disappeared. You know what would be cool? If this Scooby reboot took on a tone similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sure reads like it could.
The Looney Tunes Show
If there’s one thing that breaks our hearts, it’s that Bugs and the gang just haven’t been able to hold a new generation of fans. The last ongoing series featuring the popular WB characters that folks remember was Tiny Tunes - maybe because that was the last good series – but this new premise sounds interesting:
“A new half-hour animated comedy series starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. No longer confined to 7-minute shorts, Bugs and Daffy are out of the woods and living in the suburbs among such colorful neighbors as Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester. In addition to each episode’s main story, The Looney Tunes Show also features “cartoons within a cartoon.” The Tasmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian and other classic characters sing original songs in two-minute music videos called Merrie Melodies and the Road Runner and Coyote are featured in 2-1/2 minute CG shorts. This all new series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer. Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone (both Duck Dodgers, Back at the Barnyard, Space Jam) are the supervising producers.”
With cel-shaded CG nowadays like Handy Manny, we think they can do some cool things with Road Runner, Marvin and Taz. But Bugs in the ‘burbs? If only it were like The ‘burbs, we’d be all over this one.
Young Justice
The JLA meets Runaways in this new take on DC Comics’ popular band of heroes. Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad are joined by Miss Martian and Artemis. We looked, but no sign of Urkel in this one. Sorry.
“In Young Justice, being a teenager means proving yourself over and over—to peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself. But what if you’re not just a normal teenager? What if you’re a teenage super hero? Are you ready to join the ranks of the great heroes and prove you’re worthy of the Justice League? That’s exactly what the members of Young Justice—Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis—will found out, whether they have what it takes to be a proven hero. This all-new series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based upon characters from DC Comics. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer. Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, Superman Doomsday, The Batman) and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, The Spectacular Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H.) are the producers.”
It does have Gargoyles pedigree, in addition to the tried-and-true DC animation producers, but we think the make-or-break for this series will be the animation. Give us good action sequences and we’re on board; deliver teen angst exposition from Artemis…uh, yeah.
Firebreather
Firebreather is not a new series, but rather the network’s first CG animated feature premiering next season. The premise sounds like Avatar (The Last Airbender) meets Teen Wolf, and involves a high-schooler who finds out he has a “hot” lineage:
“Cartoon Network’s first original all-CG animation adventure presents Duncan Rosenblatt, a rather typical, awkward high school kid, except that his dad is a fire-breathing monster who tells Duncan that he is destined to protect the earth. Firebreather is created and co-executive-produced by Phil Hester (The Wretch), co-executive-produced by Andy Kuhn (Freedom Ring) and executive-produced by Julia Pistor (Lemony Snicket). Jim Krieg (Ben 10: Alien Force) joins as writer with Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) directing.”
This one would be a footnote if it weren’t for the mention of Peter Chung. A franchise in the making? We’ll see.
Sym-Bionic Titan
Okay, this is the one that has us most excited. “Giant robot battles”? Check. “High school comedy”? Check. Genndy Tartakovsky? HOLY CHECK.
“From creator Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack) comes an exciting hybrid of giant robot battles and high school comedy. Sym-Bionic Titan follows the lives of three alien teenagers who crash-land on Earth and must protect their new home from alien invaders while navigating the perils of high school life. Sym-Bionic Titan is being produced at Cartoon Network Studios and will premiere on Cartoon Network this summer.”
We’ll be glued to our TV sets this summer for this one for certain.
The full press release can be found here. Below are some of the other top stories of the day:
Sam Jackson Weighs In On Joss Whedon Directing ‘Avengers’ And Chris Evans Playing Captain America [MTV Splash Page]
How To Select Fighting Game Characters The MARVEL Way [Kotaku]
LEGO Harry Potter Collector’s Edition Announced [Gameinformer]