This past weekend Cartoon Network aired a one-hour special showcasing their next DC animated series, Green Lantern. Cartoon Network has a long history of eclectic and generally fantastic shows based on DC characters, and 2012 looks to be a banner year for Warner’s Super Hero stable.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series begins with this new special, setting up a  plot that sees Hal and Kilowog in deep “frontier space” fighting against the Red Lanterns. The show itself will air regularly in 2012 as a marquee show in Carton Network’s new DC Nation programming. It joins Young Justice and a slew of shorts, news and other fun DC tidbits next year.

The most interesting thing about this series is that for the first time ever a Bruce Timm produced show is animated in full CG. Timm’s artistic style is clearly the inspiration for the designs and despite the full CG animation there is clearly an effort to make this show fit alongside the others in the pantheon of Timm-verse shows.

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While New York Comic Con had tons of scoops and news hit over the weekend, one bit of news that both fans of comics AND animation were eager to hear about was more on Cartoon Network’s upcoming Green Lantern: The Animated Series.

Unlike the rest of the DC animated series to cross paths with Cartoon Network, this one is a bit different, as it’s animated using CG, rather than cell animation. Here’s info from the official release.

As Earth’s Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is used to being in dangerous situations — but he’s never faced anything like this! Set at the farthest reaches of deep space, Green Lantern: The Animated Series finds Hal on the Guardian Frontier, where he must face down an invasion by the Red Lantern Corps.

Powered by pure rage, the evil Red Lanterns have sworn to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and everything they stand for. Dispatched on the experimental spacecraft The Interceptor, Hal is soon joined by an all-new group of heroes on a mission to protect Guardian Space — and the Green Lantern Corps itself!

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For the past year, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has been branching into less of the animated comedy and more into live action spoofs. It started by bringing Rob Corddry’s Childrens Hospital from the web to the TV, and continuing with Paul Scheer’s NTSF:SD:SUV::. With Hospital into its third season, it looks like the network’s second spoof is getting some love too.

NTSF has been picked up for a second season, and will continue to rip on shows like 24 and every CSI show on the air. Here’s the official press release for more:

The ratings have consistently built throughout the first season and we love what we’re seeing from the show,” said Mike Lazzo, head of Adult Swim, “and how can you not love SUVs?”

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• Robots are badass, and that’s just what we get from Paul Oakenfold’s newest music video for “Beautiful Machine“.

• Who doesn’t love profanity? That’s why this collection of 100 best uses of the word F*ck from films is right down our dirty alley.

• The internet may just be popular, as Cartoon Network’s MAD managed to cram tons of memes into this spoof titled ThunderLOLcats.

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A few weeks ago, we brought you our exclusive interview with both Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick, the creators of The Venture Bros., in which they told us about their upcoming special, From The Ladle To The Grave—The Shallow Gravy Story.

The special is set to hit on Adult Swim this Sunday, and we’ve got one of the stars, Dr. Venture himself, James Urbaniak, to tell us a bit more. Before we go in-depth, here’s a breakdown of what you can expect in the special.

Follow the meteoric rise, the equally meteoric fall, and the decidedly un-meteor-like second coming of the most important band Hank Venture, Dermott Fictel and H.E.L.P.eR. robot have ever been in: Shallow Gravy.  If you’re hungry for rock, then open wide, because here comes a ladle of heavy metal fire and metaphoric meat drippings.

Urbaniak was able to give us more of a scoop on the special, as well as some details on what he’d like to see in the upcoming fifth season of the show. Take a look at the interview after the jump, catch the special this Sunday at Midnight on Adult Swim, and grab an official digital download of the songs featured in the special over at AdultSwim.com. Go Team Venture!

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Good news everyone. Well, good news for those of you who are fans of Children’s Hospital. Good, I see some hands there.

As you can probably discern from the title of this post, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has decided to renew Rob Corddry’s comedy series Childrens Hospital for a fourth season. Thr show will get a 14-episode order for that new season.

This is good news, at least to us, as we’re big fans of the show. It’s been steadily funny this entire season so far and, according to reports, is doing well in the ratings.

I guess that’s one of the reasons Cartoon Network decided to bring it back for another season. Smart of them, I say. Production will begin later this year for a 2012 premiere.

In addition to Corddry, the series co-stars Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, Megan Mullally and Henry Winkler. It airs Thursday nights at midnight on Cartoon Network.

Whatever your feelings about Star Wars, and in particular the second trilogy, Cartoon Network is doing a pretty good job with their animated series The Clone Wars. The show has already been on the air for three seasons and is very popular with fans new and old.

With season four about to get underway, Cartoon Network has revealed today the premiere date for that season and also sent us a cool trailer to help get you ready for it. And this new season promises to deliver even more thrills and excitement for fans.

Here’s the scoop for season four directly from the network:

As the heroic Jedi Knights and their clone army fight to preserve order, their efforts continue to be met with strong resistance from the massive Separatist droid army. Escalating and expanding into uncharted corners of the galaxy, the scope and scale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars continue to grow – with exotic adventures and enhanced animation strengthening ties to the Star Wars saga.

Within the galactic battle, fearsome foes from the past return to settle the score. As unexpected alliances are formed on both sides of the battle, the action explodes and the course of the war takes an unforeseen turn!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars premieres on Cartoon Network, Friday, September 16 at 8PM (E/P). Click through to check out the trailer for the new season.

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With Comic-Con in San Diego kicking off today Warner Bros. Animation took the opportunity to release a little preview for their upcoming show Green Lantern: The Animated Series.

The preview, courtesy of AOL TV, gives us a look at the Bruce Timm-produced show which follows the continuing adventures of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps as they continue their mission to defend the galaxy, and especially Earth, from a host of threats bent on its destruction.

“Set at the farthest reaches of deep space, Hal must face down an invasion from the Red Lantern Corps. Hal is soon joined by an all-new group of heroes on a mission to protect Guardian Space — and the Green Lantern Corps itself.”

The series stars the voices of Josh Keaton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Richard Green and Robert Englund. It’s set to launch on Cartoon Network next year.

In the meantime, check out the preview after the jump.

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This one comes directly from what we like to call the “Meh” department. Sure, some people may be huge fans of the Captain Planet and the Planeteers cartoon show, believe in its positive message and think it should be made into a live action feature film. And really, that’s fine. Positive messages are good.

However, some others, and a few around The Flickcast offices, see this news as yet another in a series of developments where it just seems like Hollywood has compleely run out of ideas and is now grasping at anything that even remotely seems to have the smallest chance of being made into a film. Yes, that’s a long sentence but you get the idea.

I supoose it could have something to do with the producer of the proposed live action Captain Planet adaptation: Don Murphy. In case you’re not familiar with his work he produced, most recently, Transformers: Turn off the Dark (or whatever its called). Obviously, the fact that his last movie made a butload of cash probably has something to do with his being able to get most anything (even a Captain Planet movie) greenlit.

Says Mr. Murphy: “We are extremely excited about bringing the good captain back to life. [The Captain's] adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations.”

Ah hell, what do I know? I’m sure it will turn out to be the greatest movie since, well, the last Transformers. Although, that’s not much to live up to.

That’s right ThunderCats fans, you’re happiest day of days is almost here. The brand new, updated ThunderCats series is set to hit CartoonNetwork next month.

The series begins with an hour-long premiere on Friday, July 29, at 8PM E/P. Following the premiere, the show will air regularly on Cartoon Network Friday nights at 8:30PM E/P beginning August 5.

Here’s the scoop on the show, direct from Cartoon Network:

On Third Earth, the kingdom of Thundera is being threatened by the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra, and Lion-O, the young heir to the throne, embarks on a great quest to take his rightful place as king. The unlikely champion must work with his faithful comrades Tygra, Cheetara, Panthro, WilyKit, WilyKat, and his loyal pet, Snarf, who join him on his journey to save their world from darkness.

As someone who loved this series when he was a kid, I’m looking forward to checking out the new one. Of course, it’s probably not meant for me so i hope it attracts a whole new generation of fans.

Expect more on this show during Comic-Con in San Diego. Meantime, for more deets, check out the full press release from Cartoon Network after the break.

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You know we’re getting towards the end of the year because of two main reasons: There’s an upcoming Family Guy Star Wars special and an upcoming Robot Chicken Star Wars special. Seth McFarlane’s Family Guy special is making its way to DVD and digital download on the 21st. But before that, we’re getting Seth Green’s third installment of the Robot Chicken: Star Wars specials.

Here’s the official release:

In the hour-long special, four very different characters–Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Gary the Stormtrooper–reveal untold stories that weave and interconnect throughout all six Star Wars films.  Robot Chicken: Star wars Episode III also features Zac Efron as Anakin Skywalker, Anthony Daniels (from the original Star Wars films) as C3PO, Mike Henry (The Cleveland Show) and Donald Glover (Community), all making their first appearance in RCSW.

Also returning from the previous specials are Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian and Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks along with returning favorites Green, Senreich, Breckin Meyer, Seth MacFarlane, Dan Milano, Abe Benrubi, Donald Faison, Rachael Leigh Cook, Adrianne Pallicki, Eden Espinosa, Hugh Davidson, Bob Bergen, Keith Ferguson, Tom Kane and Zeb Wells.

We’ve got some great new pictures from the special that you can check out after the jump. Be sure to catch Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III on Adult Swim Sunday, December 19th at 11:30 PM E/P.

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Cartoon Network has been branching outside of their namesake for months now with all-new original live action programming from things like Tower Prep to the series of live action Ben 10 films. Now, they’re finding the happy medium with their first ever full-length CG film, titled Firebreather.

The premise is about a boy coming into his own after learning that he is the offspring of a human mother and a dragon father (awkward!). Here’s the breakdown from Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network’s first-ever CGI original movie event, Firebreather, premieres on Wednesday, November 24 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).  Directed by Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) and based on the comic book series by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn, Firebreather delivers fierce action in the clash of two worlds where monsters roam the Earth and past secrets are exposed. At the center of it all, a teenage boy named Duncan struggles to find his place as half-Kaiju and half-human.

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