
BBQ, parties, and fiiiiiireworks!!!! Happy Birthday, America! You look great for 233 :) Here at ToonBarn, we just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Fourth of July. Go out and enjoy the fireworks -- but then come back inside and watch some more cartoons!!!
No no no, not yet — sorry, didn’t mean to scare you!
There’s still plenty of summer left! But for Nickelodeon fans in India, going back to school might not be as hard this year. Nick and BILT Ten-on-Ten are working together to launch a back-to school line of Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants notebooks. In addition to being handy for school notes, the notebooks also feature a few “fun pages,” with puzzles, coloring pages, and trivia about their favorite Nicktoons.
PBS Kids’ science-centric gameshow, Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, will be kicking off its fourth season on September 11th. The first episode on that Friday will be an all animated special. Afterward, there will be 20 new episodes, focusing on green science, sports, and sound/light/heat. The series, which appears during the PBS Kids GO! block, is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Exim Licensing Group and Tycoon Enterprises are going to be in control of a number of 4Kids Entertainment properties, as they work to bring branded toys, clothing, and other products to Central and South America. Included in the deal are popular CW4Kids cartoons like: Chaotic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dinosaur King, Jim Henson Designs, Monster Jam, RollBots, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Artlist Collection: The Dog, The Cat, and The Pig.
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the heroes of the Justice League, famous for defending the world countless times, will star in a new comic book mini-series with The 99, Teshkeel Comics’ superhero team based on global cultures. We know that The 99 is working to get it’s own animated series off the ground, and this partnership with DC Comics flagship heroes will certainly help! Details are still a bit scarce, but stay TOONed for more details!
“Only YOU can prevent fires” is the famous line. Sometimes it’s about “forrest fires”, sometimes it’s about “wildfires”, but all of the time, it’s delivered by Smokey Bear. As the fire prevention mascot celebrates his 65th birthday, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters are producing a number of new public service announcements, reminding people to help prevent fires. The PSAs feature a CG Smokey encouraging people to “Get Your Smokey On” and say something when others are acting carelessly. Hey, if a bear told me to help preventing fires, I’d listen!!
Even after passing their 50th anniversary, the Smurfs are still kicking! The Smurfs movie ToonBarn reported earlier, a mixed CG and live-action film by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, will also now be a 3D adventure. The movie’s official release date, as of now, is December 17th, 2010 – 52 years after Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford (Peyo) created the little blue guys. Now smurf to the big screen!
Toei Animation Europe and the French Video-on-Demand TF1 Vision are working together to launch a whole bunch of animated properties through their network. Included in the list are: Captain Harlock and Ken: the Great Bear Fist. Both cartoons series will be available by downloading them to your computer or IPTV platforms through the TF1 Vision stores.
