Category Peeks

Peeks: Dawn of the Croods Trailer

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Let me preface this by saying that, in spite of today’s date, the following is not an April Fool’s joke. This is real.

This morning I came across the first trailer for the new animated series based on Dreamworks’ 2013 animated movie The Croods, currently being titled Dawn of the Croods.

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Let’s rock ‘n’ roll!

The series airs on Netflix and takes place “many years” before the events of the movie , so no Guy  here (but Sandy’s been born already?). Here’s a look at the trailer:

The first thing that I noticed about the series is that it’s hand drawn (or 2D animated) rather in in CGI, and it’s evident that this takes place before the film due to the presence of other cave people. For those who don’t know, the movie begins with the Croods themselves being the last cave family, as all of the others have died horribly. Try not to think too much about that when watching the show.

 

Not surprisingly, none of the actors from the movie reprise their roles for the series. Instead there’s Dan Milano (Grug), Cree Summer (Ugga), Stephanie Lemelin (Eep), A.J. Locasclo (Thunk), Grey Griffin (Sandy) and Laraine Newman (Gran). I wasn’t expecting Dreamworks to get Nicholas Cage or Emma Stone to reprise their roles, as they’re movie actors and they’d want money, but it’s perhaps somewhat surprising that Chloris Leachman didn’t come, seeing how she’s primarily a television actress. The main role that put Ms. Leachman on the map was her portrayal of Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Warning Sign

Obscure reference alert! Losing your audience! Keep it current!

Sorry about that. In any case, after doing some research, I discovered that Dawn of the Croods has already premiered on Netflix on December 24, 2015, so once again, I’m late to the party. Looks like the April Fool’s joke was on me!

Homer Simpson D'oh!

 

Peeks: DC Super Hero High Special Trailer

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For weeks now, we’ve been watching the webtoons of DC Super Hero Girls and have been asking “When the heck is Supergirl going to show up? And when is Barbara Gordon going to put on the suit and become Batgirl?!?” Well, it looks like our requests will finally be answered. Warner Brothers Animation and DC have produced an hour long TV special which will is set to premiere on Boomerang on March 19 at 10 AM (I’m assuming that it will be 10 AM since the 19th is on a Saturday). Here’s the trailer. Have a look:

THE HIGHLIGHTS (aside from the obvious two):

  • Wildcat makes his debut in this series (voiced by John DiMaggio), making him among the few “normals” working at Super Hero High.
  • This will be Gorilla Grodd’s first speaking appearance in DC Super Hero Girls (also voiced by John DiMaggio). Also, this will only be the 2nd time that we’ve seen him since “Welcome to Super Hero High”.
  • The special’s plot involves Granny Goodness and the Furies (Hearing Granny being voiced by an actual woman will take some getting used to. I guess that I’ve just been spoiled by Ed Asner doing the voice).
  • I’m pretty sure that the girl in the red outfit is Lady Shiva (I’m embarrassed to say that I thought that was Wonder Woman wearing a different outfit the first time I saw the trailer), although I have to wonder if having both Katana and Lady Shiva on the same show isn’t just a tad redundant. I know that the characters aren’t exactly the same, but they’re sort of similar.
  • There were more characters besides the main 6 girls in the cast shot just before the usual title card; on the left, Frost, Cheetah, Hawkgirl and Starfire. On the right, Miss Martian, Star Sapphire, Catwoman and Lady Shiva. I don’t know if this is a permanent change or just something for the special.

OUR THOUGHTS:

  • One viewer on YouTube commented “Finally, some action in this!” Is it wrong that I wasn’t missing the action? Sure, this is an hour long special, so it’s no surprise that the story is going to more plot driven than the average webisode, which is usually about 3 minutes long on average, but I actually preferred the simple plots and the lack of villains and good vs evil hero/villain battles. I’m hoping that WB/DC will reserve the action driven plots for the half hour specials and that the webisodes will remain self contained slice of life comedy focused stories.
  • Side note: Could fans stop asking to see a teenage Bruce Wayne or a teenage Clark Kent on this show? Listen, I like Superman and Batman. They’re THE heaviest hitters in the DC universe, but I personally have no need or desire for either character to appear on DC Super Hero Girls, and the reason why I don’t need or want to see them here is because they’re so iconic. Those guys are such major players in the DC universe that if Clark or Bruce ever were to enter the picture, the show would immediately become all about them and the other characters would instantly be reduced to sidekick status. That especially wouldn’t be fair to Wonder Woman, the intended main character of this franchise. It’s like how Luke Skywalker’s appearance was saved for the very end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the promise that he’d play a larger role in the next film; it’s impossible to have Luke in a Star Wars project and him not be the main character. Supes and Bats are the same way, and having Batman and/or Superman (two guys) stealing the spotlight wouldn’t the smartest strategy for this particular project. What’s the last word of this series’ name? There ya go.
  • From a design standpoint, I have to say that Martha Kent looks pretty good for an older lady.

I’ll definitely be checking this one out. I personally have no desire to see “villain of the week invading bad guy battles” on DC Super Hero Girls, but I’m going to watch anyway because we’ll finally be seeing freakin’ Supergirl and Batgirl on the show! Sign me up!

 

 

 

Peeks: Early Thoughts on Big Hero 6 Animated Series and DuckTales Reboot

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Recently, it’s been announced that Disney will be launching 2 new animated shows: a reboot of DuckTales (which was announced previously) and a series adaptation of Big Hero 6, both due out in 2017. I decided to give Twinsanity’s early thoughts, impressions and ramblings on each series in the same article, since both shows are coming to us from the same studio and in the case of each we only have a single image to go on. We are lazy, keep in mind. I’ll address them in alphabetical order.

BIG HERO 6: THE SERIES

BIG HERO 6

BIG HERO 6 – “Big Hero 6,” an animated television series for kids, tweens and families based on Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Academy Award-winning feature film inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, has begun production for a 2017 premiere on Disney X-D platforms around the world. (Disney X-D)

Disney has announced a new series based on the Academy Award-winning film set to premiere in 2017 on Disney X-D platforms.

The show picks up where the movie left off, focusing on 14-year-old genius Hiro, his personal healthcare companion Baymax, and the rest of the team, including Wasabi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, and Fred.

According to Disney, Hiro will face “daunting academic challenges” and “social trials” on campus at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. The team will also protect San Fransokyo from “an array of scientifically enhanced villains.”

“Our colleagues at Walt Disney Animation Studios have created a brilliant new world, inspired by Marvel, with vivid, unique characters. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to further develop these characters into a world class animated series…” Disney Channels Worldwide President Gary Marsh said in a statement.

Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, who collaborated on Kim Possible, will executive produce the Big Hero 6 Animated Series.

Last year, Stan Lee dropped hinted at the possibility of a Big Hero 6 sequel in an interview. It remains to be seen if a sequel film happens now that an animated series is coming.

OUR THOUGHTS:

  • Judging by the above image (which again I’d like to emphasize is all we have to go on thus far, so if I’m wrong about any of this, don’t rake me over hot coals), it would appear that this series will be hand-drawn rather than CGI. Now unlike most people I don’t hate CGI; it would be nice if every animated movie weren’t rendered in CGI by default, but I’m OK with CG if it’s good and professionally done, however this would seem to be another case like the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command animated series (anyone remember that?): the Mouse House probably figured that producing a TV series with the film’s level of animation would be expensive and time consuming. If the animation is decent, then that’s fine; I hope it’ll be a step up from the Marvel Universe shows.
  • Speaking of, I wonder if this series will be part of the Marvel Universe block, or will it air separately? And if it’s the former, will BH6: The Series be part of the Marvel Animated Universe? I personally kind of hope not; I wouldn’t want every other episode to be some crossover with a Marvel superhero and for whenever anything out-of-the-ordinary happens in San Fransokyo, the Avengers and Spider-Man fly in to see what’s going on. That might help the show sell better, but IMO it would be more constrictive on the stories. I’d rather BH6 take place in its’ own separate universe and continuity.
  • The article I read states that the show will be divided along the lines of Hiro and company’s adventures at the Institute mixed with superhero capers. I hope this means that the gang won’t be saving the world in every episode, just some of the time. I see this series as sort of a Dexter’s Laboratory meets Ultraman. The part about “social trials” kind of troubles me, though; I hope this doesn’t mean the show will degenerate into Saved by the Bell territory.
  • To make me a happy fan, the shows needs to do 2 things: One, don’t give Hiro a FRI (Forced Romantic Interest). The last thing the character needs is some unnecessary girlfriend/love interest character hanging around. Hiro isn’t Ben 10, and he doesn’t need a Julie. Two, producers, I beg you: KEEP TADASHI DEAD. I can’t tell you how many cheesy fanfics I’ve read in which Tadashi miraculously comes back to life or it’s revealed that he wasn’t actually dead. Bringing Tadashi back would not only be pointless and unnecessary, but it would negate the events and tribulations of the movie. I can’t believe the number of people who became emotionally attached to that character; these people have obviously never read a comic in their lives; you guys realize that Tadashi is nothing, right? He was created by Disney for the sole purpose of becoming a martyr for the sake of getting the plot going because that’s what Disney does. So the Powers That Be bring Tadashi back, and then what? He joins the team and it becomes Big Hero 7? Lame. He starts dating one of the female team members? Doubly lame. I can’t over-emphasize this: keep the realtionships between the individual team members strictly platonic. DO NOT under any circumstances, turn this show into The O.C. If that happens, I’m out.
  • OK, there’s actually a 3rd thing I’d like to see happen on this show: I’d like for Go-Go, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi and Aunt Cass to get more screen time and maybe an episode or 2 devoted to them once in a while, since the movie largely focused on Hiro and Baymax.

DUCKTALES REBOOT

ducktales 2017

It’s a Duck-Blur!

OUR THOUGHTS:

  • Again, going by the above image, it would appear that the new DuckTales series will likewise be hand–drawn rather than CG. No doubt that decision was fueled at least partially by the success of the new Mickey Mouse shorts, which have been doing quite well with audiences and are actually quite good, if you haven’t seen them, I’d suggest you rectify that problem. This also puts the series closer to the legendary Carl Barks Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck comics, which inspired DuckTales in the first place.
  • You’ll notice that Huey, Dewey and Louie are sporting more disparate and distinctive looks and outfits here; note that Huey’s the only one wearing a cap, Dewey’s wearing a 2-colored T-shirt and Louie’s wearing what appears to be a hoodie. Fans may recall that Disney attempted to give each nephew their own look once before in Quack Pack; a lot of fans objected to that, but honestly that was the least of that show’s problems. The Mouse House has already designated that each brother will wear a distinctive color (here’s how to remember: the brightest hue of the 3 is red, the color of dew is blue and that leaves Louie, and leaves are green), so giving each one their own outfit only seems like the next logical step. I wonder if the characters will each have different personalities like they did in Quack Pack (those who remember that series will recall that there Huey was a like a teenage Johnny Bravo who tried to put the moves on anything with long eyelashes, Dewey was the smart one who was into tech and believed in aliens and the like, and Louie was the most playful and outgoing but a little slow on the uptake) and whether they’ll each have different voices this time around.
  • Webby’s clearly a little older this time around; again I have no problem with the character and hope she can carve a niche for herself as an active character and not just be an annoyingly cutesy tag-along.
  • Perhaps THE most notable change this time around is that it appears that Donald Duck himself may be joining the adventures full-time (otherwise, why bother putting him in the publicity picture?); in the 1987 series, Don appeared in the pilot and only made occasionally appearances from then on, the producers had him join the Navy for some reason, perhaps they felt at the time that the classic shorts characters such as Mickey, Donald and Goofy were considered too iconic to be used for a ‘lowly’ syndicated TV series, though Disney later reneged on that decision with Goof Troop and Quack Pack. I’m a fan of Donald Duck and so I’m totally fine with him being around full-time if that’s the case.
  • Speaking of, some fans have stated that they want to see the characters of Launchpad McQuack and Fenton Crackshell/Gizmoduck make their returns; while I wouldn’t be against them coming back and would be fine with them being there, idly I have to wonder how necessary they’d be now that Donald’s apparently going to be a regular. Keep in mind that many of the DuckTales episodes were just TV adaptations of the Carl Barks comics’ stories, and in several of them Donald’s part would have to be given to somebody else due to his not being a full-time regular. For example, in “The Land of Tra-La-La”, the character who gives one of the citizens of Tra-La-La a bottle cap, thus introducing them to the concept of money, was Donald in the original comics story, on TV that role was given to Fenton. Also, in “The Golden Fleecing”, the character who first encounters the Harpies in the comics version of the story was Donald, but in the TV episode it was Launchpad. So given how in many cases Launchpad and Fenton were more-or-less stand-ins for Donald, I’m not sure how much this new series will require them, however, I’d still be OK with them showing up.

-Honestly, I’m OK with any character coming back, as long as Bubba Duck stays buried.

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Bubba was basically Waluigi, only without the fan base.

 

 

Peeks: Early Thoughts on “Justice League Action”

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Hey, have ya heard the news? There’s a new Justice League show coming to Cartoon Network. A little something called Justice League Action.

Justice League Action

For the uninformed, Justice League Action is a brand new, quarter-hour series from Warner Bros. Animation that will be coming soon to Cartoon Network.

Featuring the return of Kevin Conroy as Batman, the Dark Knight will join with Superman and Wonder Woman and the rest of DC’s iconic team of heroes in a series that promises to put the action back in heroics. Whether defending the Earth, facing invaders from space, or battling the bizarre forces of magic, the always-rotating team of Justice League heroes, are up to any challenge. Episodes will be eleven minutes in length, meaning that the action will be tightly-paced and exciting. And awesome!

Along with Conroy, Cartoon Network have announced that several other beloved DC Animated voice actors will be contributing to the series, including Mark Hamill as the Joker (!!!), James Woods as Lex Luthor, Diedrich Bader as Booster Gold and much more. Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) will serve as executive producer with Butch Lukic (Justice League, Batman Beyond), Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series) and Jim Krieg (Green Lantern: The Animated Series) serving as producers.

-So after a decade’s wait, we’re finally getting a new Justice League show. Now you’d think folks would be happy about this news….

Belushi But No

But NOOOOOOOOOOO!

We of course have to get the usual barrage of fanboy wanking and complaints about JLA, mostly from 90’s Brats who are doing their usual yammering on about how this series is raping their memories or whatever. Before I give my own initial thoughts on this upcoming series, I’d like to address some these so-called talking points.

nerd

“Once again, it’s dumbed down for pre-teens. Another show made for 7-year-olds.”

Uh Duh Stoopid

Seriously, no shit, Sherlock. Cartoon Network is a KIDS’ programming channel. What did you expect? I honestly don’t get why so many people are so shocked and appalled to learn that a CHILDREN’S TV network puts out shows tailored for CHILDREN.

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“It’s only 11 minutes, so it’s gonna be kiddie. You can’t tell a good action story in just 11 minutes.”

And you know this, how? Do you have a source to verify this info, other than the ass you pulled it from? How do you know what the show’s gonna be like when we haven’t seen a single frame of animation from it yet? Anyway, CN has been employing the 11-minute story format for YEARS now, so why is this such a shock to you? Sure, JLA probably won’t be as plot heavy as a half-hour show would be, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; it could mean that the show will cut to the chase and just show balls-to-the-wall action, which can be entertaining when executed correctly. By the by, you know those shows Adventure Time, Steven Universe and Over the Garden Wall that fans keep telling me (and telling me and telling me and telling me and telling me) are so great and wonderful and deep and compelling and layered and blah dee blah? They follow the 11-minute format as well, so I’m failing to see your smegging point, aside from the one on your head.

And even if Justice League Action does turn out to be kiddie, so what? Again, the show is for KIDS. It should only matter if the cartoon is GOOD. You’ve got the movies, the comic books, the CW shows, the graphic novels and the DTVs for more mature DC fare; let the kids have their fun kids’ shows.

chum_chum1_zpszs9pozuq

“They should just make it like the 90’s Justice League show. Or just bring back Young Justice. That show was great. That those shows are gone is just not fair to us fans.”

Yeah, about that. I just have one message to impart to those who still need grief counseling because the DCAU went away and those who are still mourning the loss of Young Justice:

get-over-it

Frankly, I think it’s a special shade of sad how some fans try to make the loss of a few kids’ cartoons out to be some sort of dire moral issue, when in reality there is none. You can bad mouth CN’s shows all you want, but the fact of the matter is that times change, eras change and audiences change, and most importantly, kids’ interests change over time. Right now kids enjoy the shows on CN, Nick and Disney. Why should CN cater to you and not to them? Why is it such a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad thing that networks like CN air what their audience wants them to? They are a network and a business; it’s their job to cater to what they think their biggest audience wants most, and that’s what’s airing on there right now. In the future, it’ll be something else. Justice League ran its’ course and kids didn’t glom onto Young Justice; the toys weren’t flying off the shelves (to the point where Mattel, the the company producing the YJ toys, eventually withdrew their support of YJ; not a good thing, considering how action cartoons rely heavily on toy and merchandise sales for survival) and it had a bigger following among adults than it did with kids, whose ratings and viewership are the ones which matter to CN; when that happens, the show’s gotta go. That’s how TV works, that’s how it’s always worked. (This is also an important lesson for those who are overly nostalgic and want everything to return to the 90’s: just because it worked then doesn’t mean that it’d work now.)

You 90’s kids had your time to be catered to by CN, and those pining for Justice League, Young Justice and the like, those shows are available on DVD now, it’s not like the appearance of a new Justice League cartoon has caused those other shows to blink out of existence. Buy ’em, rent ’em, stream ’em and enjoy.

But by far THE most frequent complaint I’ve been hearing about JLA is this:

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“This is just gonna be like Teen Titans GO!. FAIL.”

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“So this is just Teen Tians GO! with JL characters.”

nerd

“Bah! This is just gonna be Justice League GO!: another stupid cartoon that’s Justice League in name only that thinks barf and fart jokes are funny!”

If I may put in my 2 cents here, I’d just like to say:

Zip It

By Odin’s beard, will you guys STOP saying this show is going to be a clone of Teen Titans GO!? You don’t know that. All we’ve seen of this show so far is one poster. One. Frelling. Poster. You’ve all learned all this stuff about the show’s style and content and exactly what it’ll be like just by glancing at a single image?? Wow! The internet is full of precogs!

carnac-the-magnificent

Carnac: “A job, a date and a life.”

Ed: “A job, a date and a life.”

Carnac: “Name 3 things that rabid fanboys and girls who bad a mouth a show before seeing it are in desperate need of.”

Ed: HEEEEYYY-YOOOOOO!

-Also, side note: on the subject of Teen Titans, I’d like to quickly address the following:

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“Teen Titans GO! is a disgrace. It’s too goofy and silly. The original Teen Titans show was serious.”

This statement is erroneous on 3 counts:

  1. The 2003 Cartoon Network Teen Titans: TAS was NOT “the original Teen Titans show”. The very first TV adaptation of Teen Titans was the series of animated shorts produced by Filmation studios, starring Speedy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and Aqualad. Yeah, I know a lot of younger people didn’t see those cartoons, but this is history, people. 5 minutes on Wikipedia could tell you that.
  2. Teen Titans: TAS was NOT super-serious. At all. It had some intense, dramatic moments, but for the most part, it was goofy, very simplistic and very much watered down for younger viewers. Teen Titans: TAS was a silly show that was occasionally intense, not an intense show that was occasionally silly. I think some folks’ nostalgia tends to cloud some folks’ memories.
  3. My problem with Teen Titans GO! isn’t that it’s a comedy or even that it’s silly. It’s that it’s base and unfunny, the plots make no sense, it rambles and falters, rarely coming to any logical conclusions and its’ characters act like sociopathic, amoral douche-nozzles. But at the end of the day, it does its’ job: keeping kids entertained, so it’s ultimately not worth raising a big stink about. TTGO! is swill, but it’s easy to ignore. Just change the channel or leave the room when it comes on.

Now that we’ve heard from the fan-wankers, these are my initial thoughts on Justice League Action: I’m not bothered with it not being Justice League: TAS since we’ve already seen that; I’d rather get something new. The shorter episode length doesn’t bother me either; we’ve gotten DC shorts before, and some of them have been quite good, plus I have a notoriously short attention span; if the show is good, I’ll watch it, I don’t care if it’s only 5 minutes long. I really don’t see JLA going into TTGO! territory; for one thing, folks like Alan Burnett, Jim Krieg and Bruce Lukic are involved, and they haven’t let us down, so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. For another, CN already has TTGO!, why would they make another show that’s just a clone of that when they already air the original? If anything, JLA seems to be giving me a strong Batman: The Brave and the Bold vibe, and I’m cool with that ’cause I enjoyed B:TB&TB.

Kid-centric superhero shows aren’t an issue to me at all; the way I see it, shows like The Super Hero Squad Show, Super Friends and DC Super Hero Girls are like gateway drugs: they help introduce kids to these franchises in a way that they can handle and easily adapt to, and if said kids are interested enough, they can move on to the heavier stuff as they grow and mature. I say we withhold judgment of JLA until we’ve seen more and have more to go on.

Oh yeah, and for people who think a lot of these current superhero are tailored for 7-year-olds? So were the original comics. When you strip them down to their bare essence, the very concept of superheroes: dudes and chicks in tights fighting good VS evil battles against nasty alien invaders, crime bosses and super-smart gorillas, is at bare bones level, silly, goofy, ridiculous and far-fetched.

 

 

Deal With It

Peeks: DC Super Hero Girls

silverstar 2 Comments

Are you a fan of Girl Power?

Of course you are. Well, it looks like Detective Comics is jumping aboard the Girl Power train. Introducing the DC Super Hero Girls initiative.

Warner Bros. And DC Entertainment In Partnership With Mattel Launch DC Super Hero Girls, A New Super Hero Universe Designed Just For Girls, Slated For Fall 2015
Mattel to Launch Company’s First Action Figures for Girls

Unprecedented Initiative to Include Digital Content, TV Specials, Made-For-Videos, Publishing, Toys, Apparel and Other Products

Random House Children’s Books to be Master Publishing Partner The LEGO Group to be Exclusive Construction Partner

Beginning in Fall 2015, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Mattel join forces to launch DC Super Hero Girls, an exciting new universe of Super Heroic storytelling that helps build character and confidence, and empowers girls to discover their true potential. Featuring DC Comics’ most powerful and diverse line-up of female characters as relatable teens, DC Super Hero Girls will play out across multiple entertainment content platforms and product categories to create an immersive world.

Developed for girls aged 6-12, DC Super Hero Girls centers on the female Super Heroes and Super-Villains of the DC Comics universe during their formative years – prior to discovering their full super power potential. Featuring a completely new artistic style and aesthetic, DC Comics’ icons such as Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Bumble Bee, Poison Ivy, Katana and many more make their unprecedented teenaged introduction. Each character has her own storyline that explores what teen life is like as a Super Hero, including discovering her unique abilities, nurturing her remarkable powers and mastering the fundamentals of being a hero.

“DC Entertainment is home to the most iconic and well-known Super Heroes including Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batgirl,” said Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment. “DC Super Hero Girls represents the embodiment of our long-term strategy to harness the power of our diverse female characters. I am so pleased that we are able to offer relatable and strong role models in a unique way, just for girls.”

The initial launch of DC Super Hero Girls in Fall 2015 will include an immersive digital experience, original digital content and digital publishing – providing opportunities for girls to interact with characters, learn about the storylines, and engage in customizable play. TV specials, made-for-videos, toys, apparel, books and other product categories will begin to rollout in 2016.

“Developing a Super Hero franchise exclusively for girls that includes all of the key components of a comprehensive entertainment experience – from content to consumer products – is something we are excited to be doing in conjunction with our great partners,” said Brad Globe, President of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “It’s really an honor to be part of this cultural moment and to be delivering a concept so rooted in a relatable and empowered theme that the characters of DC Comics are uniquely able to present.”

As master toy licensee, Mattel is collaborating with DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Consumer Products on DC Super Hero Girls‘ narrative creation, interactive digital activations and ultimately a toy line launching in 2016. Mattel category-leading firsts include a line of characters for the action figure category, an area of the industry that has been primarily developed with boys in mind, and fashion dolls featuring strong, athletic bodies that stand on their own in heroic poses.

“Partnering with the best and being the best partner is of paramount importance,” said Richard Dickson, President, Chief Operating Officer, Mattel. “Together with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, the DC Super Hero Girls franchise will further expand our already powerful girls portfolio. We know Super Hero is a culturally relevant theme and the DC Super Hero Girls franchise will engage and inspire girls, providing cues to explore heroic acts through play and into real life.”

The Random House Books for Young Readers imprint of Random House Children’s Books has been appointed the master publishing partner for the franchise and will be creating a portfolio of books that will bring the DC Super Hero Girls world to life, beginning in Spring 2016. Random House’s publishing program will be complemented by a series of original graphic novels from DC Entertainment. The LEGO Group will also be key to building the DC Super Hero Girls franchise, leveraging their experience and success engaging girls in creative construction play to bolster this universe through an array of LEGO building sets designed to inspire girls’ imaginations. Additionally, consumer products partners around the world will be engaged in creating a merchandise line dedicated to DC Super Hero Girls across all key categories.

Thanks to James Harvey at World’s Finest for the info.

Here’s a first look:

DC Girls

The designs look very doll-like, almost Disney-esque, but Mattel, the company that gave us Barbie and Monster High, is behind this; clearly the plan is to sell dolls, hence the toyetic look. Some of the designs are pretty decent: I like how Supergirl seems to be a mix of her 90’s Superman: The Animated Series look with the Sakura-style sneaks, and her early 2000’s look with the blue costume. The collar gives her a schoolgirl like appearance. (No bare midriff, but oh well.) Kind of odd that they opted to go with Wonder Woman instead of Wonder Girl here, given that the emphasis is supposed to be on youth; why not use the teen Wondy when you have one? I guess DC figured that more people would be familiar with Wonder Woman, but that didn’t stop Lauren Faust from using Wonder Girl in Super Best Friends Forever. Either way, she looks good, I like the blue hair and star-studded pants. The shield seems kind of unnecessary since WW can block projectiles with her bracelets, though. Lets be real here: the main (if not only) reason Bumblebee and Katana are here is so there will be some non-white faces in the bunch. I honestly don’t know much about Katana and my only exposure to Bumblebee is the TV shows Teen Titans and Young Justice, so I’m a bit murky on their histories, so forgive me if I say that they’re kind of obscure characters to include. That said, I personally would’ve chosen Vixen over Bee in a Tantu Talisman rubbing split second, but that’s just me. I’m kind of sorry Miss Martian didn’t make the cut, but maybe she’ll show up in the second wave. To play both sides of the fence (or perhaps just to include more characters) we also get some villains, namely Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy; but I can go along with that I suppose; given that the goal is to make these characters attractive to girl consumers, the villain characters will likely be more annoying pranksters than out-and-out evil doers; their designs are OK, especially Harley’s. Bit o’ historical trivia: when Haley Quinn first made her debut on Batman: The Animated Series, I thought Harley was kind of lame, but to update that story, I think she’s kind of cool now. I actually think Harley’s more interesting and fun when she’s not mooning over the Joker, plus I like her skill set; I’ve always been a sucker for flippy gymnasts. I like the combination of black, gold and dark blue on Batgirl’s costume, and of course, Barbara’s front and center, and the only 2 villains depicted here are Gotham villains. Why?

batman

Because BATMAN.

The article mentioned TV specials, which, if successful, could lead to a DC Super Hero Girls series, but where would such a show air?

If this were to become a series, under current circumstances said show would likely be an online exclusive. I don’t see Cartoon Network being interested in a DC cartoon unless it was going to be Teen Titans GO! goofy, not to mention that DC and CN are kind of on the outs right now after what happened with DC Nation and the boy-skewing CN likely wouldn’t be all that keen on acquiring a girl-centric show. No way in Helsinki is Disney going to air a DC show, and I just don’t see Discovery Family having any interest; the only animated shows they have are the leftovers from Hasbro’s reign, and they don’t seem to be in a hurry to pick up any more cartoons.

The only one of the Big 3 kids’ networks I could see showing any interest in airing this would be Nickelodeon, since the toys are made by Mattel and Nick has aired some specials based on Mattel properties before such as Monster High and some Barbie specials. I can definitely see DCSHG going to Nick before the boy-skewing Cartoon Network. Mattel has been putting adaptations of a lot of their products on the web (Monster High, Ever After High, Barbie, Polly Pocket, etc.), so overall, I’d say the internet would be the most likely outlet for this should Mattel and DC decide to turn this into a series.

Speaking of TV shows, the announcement of this project, some folks on the interwebz have begun assuming (and who knows where they got this idea) that the launch of DC Super Hero Girls will somehow mean that we’ll finally be getting a series version of Super Best Friends Forever, the 1-minute shorts which aired as filler segments between shows on DC Nation, depicting Supergirl (Nicole Sullivan), Wonder Girl (Grey Delisle) and Batgirl (Tara Strong) as MLP-esque besties rendered by none another than Lauren Faust herself.

Superheroism is Magic!

Superheroism is Magic!

Uh, no. Why would the announcement of this mean that SBFF is coming back? There’s not going to be a Super Best Friends Forever show. That ship has sailed. The time to have jumped on that would’ve been back in 2013, when DC Nation was still relevant and Lauren Faust was still available (she’s working on a feature film currently). If anything, this project only decreases the chances of that happening. Why would DC need or want to resurrect some shorts from like 2 years ago when they now have this new property initiative with multiple platforms to mack on? That would be like if Warner Brothers Animation launched a new property called HB Racers or something like that, with popular Hanna-Barbera characters such as Fred Flintstone, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, and other HB stars in global races in stylized vehicles, and they had all the bells and whistles planned for it: toys, T-shirts, video games, DTVs, the whole 9 yards, and somebody said, “Hey, maybe now that they’re doing this we’ll finally get that Wacky Races Forever series that was a failed pilot that CN didn’t want back in 2004!”. The latter makes the former redundant, and there’d be no point in doing both ’cause it’s the exact same idea. For all intents and purposes, DC Super Hero Girls IS Super Best Friends Forever: The Series, in spirit if not in name.

I’m all for giving girls the spotlight once in a while, goodness knows it’s overdue (though I find it a tad annoying how in the wake of Powerpuff Girls, nowadays it seems that producers seem to think that the only way to make girl protagonists interesting is to make them superheroes or crime fighters–I’d like to see more girl-centric comedies myself), so I’m curious to see how DC Super Hero Girls plays out. This should be interesting.

On a final note: going back to DC Nation for a minute, one reason why Cartoon Network dropped the ax on Young Justice was because it was garnering greater viewership among girls than boys. Just pointing that out.