by Matt Raub, Feb 7 2012 // 9:00 AM
There are very few things Pixar could do that would get me more excited to see one of their films. Between the overall popularity of Toy Story, Up, The Incredibles and tons more, there is very little the animation studio can do that would be considered a bad move (Owen Wilson vehicles not included).
With that said, it’s hard to believe they’ve found a way to speak to their audience even more with their upcoming video game parody film, Wreck-It Ralph, but it looks like they just might. Here’s the official synopsis of the film. Consider it Donkey Kong from the gorilla’s perspective.
Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan—win a medal—but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade.
Ralph’s only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman), a young troublemaking “glitch” from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?
As if the concept of several video and board games being parodied in a Pixar film isn’t enough to guarantee your $10, the studio has recently released some images that will give us an idea of how this video game-based world will look. Take a look after the jump, and catch Wreck-It Ralph in theaters this November.
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Posted in: 3-D · Action · Animation · Comedy · Disney · Fantasy · Movies · News · Pixar · Video Games
Tagged: Disney, Jack McBrayer, John C. Reilly, Pixar, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, The Incredibles, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wreck-It Ralph
by Kara Grimoire, Jan 26 2012 // 12:00 PM
With the recent resurgence of fairy tale themed shows such as NBC’s Grimm and ABC’s own Once Upon a Time, the Disney-owned company is now prepared to launch their second fabled show in the form of a live-action retelling of the children’s classic Beauty and the Beast, originally written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.
The pilot will be written by Jonathan E. Steinberg (Human Target, Jericho with Steinberg acting as executive producer with Gary Fleder and Mary Beth Basile. It is also speculated that the series, if picked up, will air after the networks already highly successful Once Upon A Time. This version of the tale is intended as a period piece and will feature a hardboiled princess who develops a connection with a wild beast. No word yet on casting.
As if one Beauty and the Beast show wasn’t enough, the CW has also ordered a reboot of the CBS-produced version which ran on the network from 1987-1989. It starred Ron Pearlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) as Vincent, a lion-faced creature who wanders the New York sewers and occasionally quotes Shakespeare.
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Posted in: ABC · Adaptation · Announcements · CBS · CW · Disney · News · Period Piece · Reboots and Remakes · TV
Tagged: ABC, Adaptations, Announcments, Beauty and the Beast, CBS, CW, Fantasy, News, Pilot, Reboots and Remakes, TV, tv show
by Matt Blackwood, Jan 10 2012 // 12:00 PM

Disney XD will premiere its new animated series Ultimate Spider-Man on Sunday, April 1 as part of its new Marvel Universe line. The show was developed by Marvel Head of Television Jeph Loeb, Marvel CCO Joe Quesada, Paul Dini (“Batman: The Animated Series”), Man of Action Studios, and long-time Ultimate Spider-man scribe Brian Michael Bendis.
Ultimate Spider-Man stars Drake Bell (“Drake and Josh”) as a teenage Peter Parker trying to fit in at high school while secretly working with other heroes at S.H.I.E.L.D. Fans of Marvel’s film canon will recognize the voices of JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson.
Enjoying success with Marvel Animation’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Disney XD is planning on launching an entire Marvel Universe programming block with Ultimate Spider-Man as its keystone.
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Posted in: Action · Animation · Comics · Disney · Marvel · News · TV
Tagged: Brian Michael Bendis, Disney XD, Jeph Loeb, Marvel, Marvel Animation, Paul Dini, Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man
by Cortney Zamm, Jan 6 2012 // 11:15 AM
The rumor mill has been spinning on a sequel to Disney’s Epic Mickey since not long after the first game’s release, and now it’s looking less like speculation and more like confirmation.
After some marketing materials back in August spilled the beans on a potential sequel, a Disney newsletter was spotted detailing the new title and dating it at a December 2012 release.
Players will have the choice in Epic Mickey 2 to play as Mickey, or cooperatively in two-player mode with Mickey and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit “with the power to fly like a helicopter and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges”.
Even more exciting is the news that Epic Mickey 2 will be released for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. A bit strange that the Wii-U isn’t a listed title, but since we don’t have a release date for the console quite yet it’s not surprising.
I’m very excited at the prospect of Epic Mickey 2 on multiple consoles. While Epic Mickey wasn’t a bad game by any means, it suffered from a terrible camera glitch as well as the Wii’s poor graphics. But such a strong concept with one of the most iconic characters in all of cartoon history combined with the capabilities of these other consoles AND multiplayer? Sounds very epic indeed.
The full text from Disney’s newsletter is available after the jump.
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Posted in: Disney · Games · Geek · News · Nintendo · Playstation 3 · Prequels and Sequels · Rumor · Video Games · Wii · Xbox 360
Tagged: Disney, Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Mickey, Multiplayer, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
by Matt Raub, Dec 7 2011 // 7:30 AM
Fans of the Marvel franchise had a pretty big feast this year with Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger hitting theaters back to back this year. Now that those stories have been established, it’s time to look forward and see what the sequels have in store for us.
The first getting ready for production is Thor 2, which has already lost original director Kenneth Branagh before the film even went into pre-production. Now we’re getting word from THR that the film is losing its second director in Patty Jenkins (The Killing).
The filmmaker was to have been the first female director of a Marvel Studios movie.
Alas, “creative differences” are being blamed.
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Posted in: Action · Announcements · Comics · Directors · Disney · Marvel · Marvel Studios · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: Chris Hemsworth, Kenneth Branagh, Marvel Studios, Monster, Patty Jenkins, Thor, Thor 2
by Matt Raub, Dec 6 2011 // 10:00 AM
That’s right. You heard it here last. It seems that the newest film featuring our favorite Henson classics The Muppets is yet another “plan for the left to bad mouth affluent businessmen” as the film’s main antagonist is an evil oil baron.
According to a report (yes, they felt the need to do an entire segment on this) from Fox Business, Jason Segal’s Muppet film is guilty of negatively portraying a simple business owner in the form of Chris Cooper’s “Tex Richman”, an evil baron who’s set on destroying the Muppet studios to drill for oil.
The fact that Fox, or anyone for that matter, would think that it’s news that The Muppets, a creation of Jim Henson, is just now taking aim at the aptly labeled 1%, is just preposterous.
Note that the news report barely mentions the existence of Statler and Woldof, who were doing the “old, rich, white antagonist” act before this reporter was able to walk. Take a look at the downfall of modern journalism in true form after the jump, and catch The Muppets in theaters now, or the oil barons of the world win.
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Posted in: Business · Celebrities · Comedy · Disney · Drama · Editorial · Editorial and Opinion · Kids · Movies · News
Tagged: Chris Cooper, Fox Business, Jason Segal, Jim Henson, Muppets, Statler, Tex Richman, The Muppets, Woldorf
by Chris Ullrich, Dec 1 2011 // 7:30 AM
We’ve had some tidbits from this film already including some stills and a poster and the first trailer. Now, Disney has released a new trailer for John Carter, the science-fiction epic based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In case you’ve forgotten (or never knew in the first place) here’s a synopsis of the film:
“John Carter tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom (Mars) and its people rests in his hands.”
Well, does the trailer live up to the hype and your expectations? Check it out after the jump. Disney’s John Carter arrives in theaters on March 9.
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Posted in: Disney · Movies · News · Trailers
Tagged: Action, Andrew Stanton, Disney, Drama, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Trailers, Willem Dafoe
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Nov 29 2011 // 1:30 PM

Over the next five months, two of the best American animation directors are making the leap to live-action adventure films. Brad Bird has the much anticipated Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol coming this Christmas and Andrew Stanton brings John Carter to life next March. Both directors have previously been making movies with PIXAR, creating such classics as The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and Wall-E.
In anticipation of a soon to be released full trailer for next spring’s epic, Disney has released a new poster and a set of stills for John Carter. The pictures showcase some of the more interesting elements of the upcoming movie, including the four-armed Tars Tarkas, played by Willem Defoe, and the adorable Woola who might just steal this movie. The other stills give us clear glimpses of some of the production design of the movie, and hints to its scope.
The poster, on the other hand, is a really classy minimalist design that really sells the Martian setting. This is a striking design that should look sharp in movie theater hallways this holiday season.
Check out all the stills and the full poster after the jump.
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Posted in: Action · Disney · Movies · News · Photos · Pixar · Posters · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Andrew Stanton, Disney, John Carter, Mars, Movies, News, Photos, Posters, Taylor Kitsch
by Matt Raub, Nov 28 2011 // 7:30 AM
It turns out even decades of laughter through the form of hundreds of felt puppets can’t beat the Kristen Stewart pregnancy movie. After having one of the most intense marketing campaigns that Disney has ever executed for The Muppets, Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 still managed to beat the film in the box office by over $10 million during the holiday weekend.
The vampy melodrama got the #1 spot for the second weekend in a row with $42 million this weekend, while Muppets (which made $42 in total since it opened on Wednesday) was only able to pull in an estimated $29 million. It looks like vampires really are more popular than singing frogs and pigs. Shame.
Also hitting theaters this weekend, Sony’s Arthur Christmas fell flat with an estimated $12.7 opening weekend. Speaking of falling flat, Scorsese’s Hugo had an even weaker opening, as it came in 5th place with just over $11 million.
These films could very well do better as we draw closer to the holidays, but don’t expect to see much in the form of sequels for these family classics. Those films may not have performed as well as they could have, but what did was the Weinstein’s My Week with Marilyn which pulled off just over $2 million for its first weekend.
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Posted in: Box Office · Comedy · Disney · Holiday · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Arthur Christmas, Box Office, Breaking Dawn, Disney, Hugo, Martin Scorsese, My Week with Marilyn, The Muppets, Twilight, Weinstein Company
by Matt Raub, Nov 22 2011 // 8:30 AM
Some of our favorite heroes from yesteryear have their opposites. Whether it’s Captain Planet and Captain Pollution, He-Man and Faker or even Superman and Bizarro, our favorites always had an antithesis to their heroicism.
That’s exactly what we’re going to get this Thursday when The Muppets hits theaters. While our favorite gang of singing frogs, bears, pigs, and the such are forced out of the entertainment industry, it’s time for a new gang to take form. That gang? They’re called “The Moopets.”
Consisting of Miss Poogy, Foozie the Bear, Roowlf, and a Janice and Kermit look-alike, the team wanted to pick up the slack where that other musical act left off in the 90s.
We’ve got a brand new clip for you today in which Miss Piggy and her Muppets take on Miss Poogy and her Moopets. As you can imagine, sparks fly.
Check out the clip after the jump, and make it back here every day for more Muppets clips leading up to the film’s release on Thursday.
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Posted in: Comedy · Disney · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Amy Adams, Disney, Foozie the Bear, Jason Segal, Miss Poogy, Moopets, Muppets, Roowlf, The Muppets
by Matt Raub, Nov 21 2011 // 1:30 PM
Billions of grown up kids will get to relive on of their childhood favorites this week as Jason Segel brings The Muppets back to the silver screen for the first time in over a decade. We can’t tell you how excited we are around the office for this flick to arrive, so we’re getting you all more prepared with clips all this week.
Today’s clip has a special treat: a retro-style cleaning montage in the tune of Jefferson Starship’s “We Built This City”. As you can see, this one will be full of meta, classic movie spoofs, and tons of celebrity cameos.
The film stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams, along with Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and just about every Muppet that you can name (and then some!). Take a look at our exclusive clip after the jump, and make it back here every day this week as we lead up to the film’s release with a new clip daily!
The Muppets is set to hit theaters on Thursday, November 23rd.
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Posted in: Action · Comedy · Disney · Kids · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Disney, Fozzie Bear, Jason Segel, Jefferson Starship, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Muppet movie, Muppets, Rashida Jones
by Matt Raub, Nov 19 2011 // 9:00 AM
Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.
• While things aren’t going so well for the Uncharted or Assassin’s Creed film adaptations, that hasn’t stopped a studio from moving forward on a film based on the classic monster game Rampage.
• The heads of action fans everywhere may just explode when they see the very first poster for The Expendables 2 featuring Norris, Van Damme, and the whole cast.
• Take a jump in a depressing time machine as you see young Tim Burton acting as normal as ever in this footage from Disney Studios circa 1980.
• It looks like the internet is seeping into mainstream media again, as The Annoying Orange was just announced to have a show coming up on Cartoon Network.
• Exactly how many times did The Force get brought up in all 6 Star Wars films? We have no idea, but here they all are.
• You may know the prime Muppets, but here is a list of the best known Muppets from around the world that you may have never heard of. Like Oscar the Grouch’s Israeli cousin.
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Posted in: Announcements · Cartoon Network · Celebrities · Disney · Movies · News · Posters · Trailers
Tagged: Chuck Norris, Disney, Expendables 2, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Muppets, Rampage, Star Wars, The Annoying Orange, The Force, Tim Burton