Animation Archives - Page 18 of 22

“Disney Prep & Landing” finally lands on ABC

December 8, 2009 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Elaine Bergstrom Originally scheduled to air last Tuesday but preempted by the presidential address, Disney Prep & Landing will finally be making its debut tonight on ABC at 8:30pm ET (following A Charlie Brown Christmas). The best holiday specials appeal to children and adults alike. With the animated Prep & Landing, all-ages appeal is achieved through a healthy dose of cynical zingers that will likely fly right over your little tykes’ radar like Santa’s sled.

Earth, Wind & Fire record “Cleveland Show” holiday song

December 7, 2009 Jeff Pfeiffer

From FOX: December 4, 2009, Los Angeles, CA – Legendary R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire has teamed up with animated character Cleveland Brown of The Cleveland Show to record a new holiday song called “Get Your Hump On This Christmas.” The song, as well as a companion music video that features animated versions of the band’s members, is currently available for purchase on iTunes and will be available as a free download exclusively on iTunes for one week beginning December 8.

FX unveils midseason schedule

December 1, 2009 StayTuned Staff

LOS ANGELES, December 1, 2009 — FX’s midseason schedule features a lineup of new and returning original series, kicking off 2010 with the final season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winning drama Nip/Tuck on Wednesday, Jan. 6; the new animated comedy Archer debuting on Thursday, Jan. 14; and the third season of the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning drama Damages on Monday, Jan. 25. FX’s new drama Justified (formerly Lawman) starring Timothy Olyphant debuts in March, and the new comedy Louie, starring Louis C.K., will launch in the spring. Nip/Tuck, The Final Season, premieres on Wednesday, Jan. […]

20 Pixar shorts air on ABC Family

December 1, 2009 Jeff Pfeiffer

Set your DVR — as part of its 25 Days of Christmas celebration, ABC Family is showing 20 of Pixar’s animated shorts in a two-hour programming special on Dec. 2 at 7pm ET, with replays Dec. 18 at 10pm ET and Dec. 19 at 6pm ET. This is the first time that the legendary animation company’s short films have been shown on television all at once. It’s wonderful to look back at how brilliantly even the older films create such vivid and expressive characters — even out of normally inanimate objects — that we quickly relate to. Highlights include: The […]

Simpsons Character Contest winner announced

November 19, 2009 Jeff Pfeiffer

Peggy Black of Orange, CT, has hit it big in yellow and been selected by producers of The Simpsons as the winner of their Character Contest, which called for submissions of new secondary character ideas for the long-running animated comedy. Black created the character Ricardo Bomba (nicknamed “La Bomba”), a smooth-talking ladies’ man from South America with a luxurious black mane, chiseled physique and silky smooth voice. By day, Ricardo works as safety inspector at the nuclear power plant, and by night works Springfield’s singles scene. Bomba will make his debut in the “Million Dollar Maybe” episode of The Simpsons, […]

SpongeBob’s 10th anniversary celebration concludes with “Truth or Square” special

October 29, 2009 Jeff Pfeiffer

On Nov. 6 at 8pm ET/PT, Nickelodeon culminates its celebration of the 10th anniversary of its pop-culture hit series SpongeBob SquarePants with a star-studded, one-hour special called Truth or Square. Celebrity guests Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, Pink, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Robin Williams will appear as themselves in live-action sequences throughout the special, which follows SpongeBob and the Bikini Bottom gang as they reminisce through a series of original flashbacks. (Flashbacks include SpongeBob’s first visit to the Krusty Krab as a baby, a vintage Krusty Krab TV commercial, how SpongeBob found his […]

Neil Patrick Harris terrorizes Batman through song

October 8, 2009 StayTuned Staff

And it will be legen — wait for it — dary, as the actor/song-and-dance man guest stars as Music Meister on the Oct. 23 episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold on Cartoon Network. While the show usually highlights an obscure, often downright silly villain from the Dark Knight’s 70-year career (Kite Man, anyone? How about Clock King?), Harris will play a wholly original character called Music Meister, who uses his booming, Broadway-ready voice to bring people under his spell. That would explain why you’ll see Aquaman slow-dancing with Gorilla Grodd. A soundtrack for “Mayhem of the Music Meister” […]

Catch a sneak preview of “Archer” Thursday on FX

September 16, 2009 StayTuned Staff

The new animated comedy Archer won’t hit airwaves until January, but FX is offering a sneak preview Thursday at 10:30pm ET/PT, immediately following the season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The network had originally scheduled Archer for a fall premiere, but production schedules have forced it to move to early next year. This will also make it possible for FX to allow another new comedy, The League, to bow in late October (time and date TBD) during football season. The League follows a group of fantasy football junkies who try to juggle their everyday lives with their gridiron […]

Five fabulous flicks (plus two!) to watch Sept. 11-17

September 11, 2009 StayTuned Staff

It’s unfortunate that for the anniversary of September 11, none of the networks is airing United 93 or anything close to it to honor the events of that day. (We did a pretty thorough combing of the schedules, just to make sure, even checking for possible late updates.) Failing a more appropriate title, recommending Tropic Thunder or something similar just didn’t seem right, so we kept tonight’s recommendation a family event before moving on to the remainder of the week’s movie highlights. Let’s proceed. As always, all times listed are ET: Sept. 11 Ratatouille (2007) One of the most delightful […]

Leggo my LEGO: Bricks headed for the movies

August 14, 2009 StayTuned Staff

The next onslaught is underway. In recent years, it could be argued that it was the desire for an omnipotent hero that led to the creation of some of the most stunningly successful comic book-based films ever made. Spider-Man, Batman, Iron Man, Fantastic 4, X-Men — these are just some of the characters that have stirred the public imagination lately, not to mention shaking up the box office and, on cable — as well as on DVRs — becoming staples of people’s home entertainment centers. All of these creations have expanded their “brands” exponentially as a result. Not long ago, […]