Fans of anime and owners of the Nintendo Wii platform have a new reason to get together and hang out, as XSEED delivers one of the best flight games on the platform in Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces. Only a few short months after Sony Pictures brought the Sky Crawlers film to DVD and Blu-ray, Mamoru Oshii’s Sky Crawlers now take flight on the motion-sensing console. The anime-inspired, arcade style game includes 18 stages, upgradeable planes, an in-game achievement system, and even a two player piggy-back mode that puts your buddy in control of an additional aiming reticule on screen. Plus, animated cut scenes to keep the toonist in you happy! Take a look at the trailer (more… )

It looks as if Tobey Maguire’s web-slinging days are behind him. Tobey, along with director Sam Raimi, will no longer be part tof the Spider-Man movie franchise, as Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced the upcoming films will instead focus on a younger Peter Parker, still in high school. The script, penned by James Vanderbilt, will feature an entirely new cast and film-making team, ready to hit the big screen in 2012. The reboot will start an entirely new Spidey tale, likely pitting the new WebHead in the upcoming Avengers film. (more… )

Kingdom Hearts has been one of the most successful, long-running video game franchises. Over the years, we’ve seen dozens of iconic Disney characters flooding the various plotlines, with Square Enix treating every one with the utmost respect and praise that they so rightfully deserve — yes, even the villains! Most of the games in the series have appeared on a Sony platform, though Nintendo DS did get one of it’s own with 358/2 Days. Now, in just a few more days on January 9th, the PSP will receive the latest game, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, promising a whole new adventure. The story is a prequel, taking place ten years before the first game on PS2, and features many previously unseen characters and unexplained plot elements from the original Kingdom Hearts series. Looking forward to it? Check out the trailer to see it in action (more… )

In 1986, nearly 25 years ago, Chris Van Allsburg had a book published that he wrote and illustrated. It was a story he had been working on for years in his mind, called the Polar Express. Fast forward to 2004, and The Polar Express was a Hollywood blockbuster, animated in a style matched by A Christmas Carol, and earning millions from fans worldwide. Five years later, we’re finally at this week, when ABC and ABC Family, amongst several other local affiliates, will be playing the relatively new holiday special on TV. Check out the trailer after the break, and be sure to TOON in when it’s on TV (more… )

He might be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but that doesn’t mean everything behind-the-scenes goes as smoothly as planned. According to a few sources, the filming process on the upcoming movie, Spider-Man 4, has been placed on an “indefinite hold”. That’s not good — especially with a specific deadline ticking away!
Apparently, director Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures are disagreeing upon villains for the film; specifically, whether or not the Vulture can work his way in or not. Sam says “yay”, Sony says “nay”. And, until they can work out their differences, no one is doing anything. Why can’t it all be fun and (war) games, like with Iron Man 2? (more… )

The Best Animated Feature for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be boosted to 5 contenders this year, 2 more than in previous years. Why? Because toons are awesome and we are taking over!! Well, that, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided it’d be so. But I like my reasoning better. The films must be 70 minutes or longer, and at least 75% digital, so Transformers wouldn’t count. The Golden Globe Award will be handed out on Sunday, January 17th at 8pm to one of the following 5 finalists: (more… )

As we continue to ramp up towards the holiday season, cartoons are becoming Christmassier and Christmassier. …That’s right, we made it up. And yet, you know exactly what we mean! Take Dora the Explorer, for example. Nickelodeon is planning to premiere her brand new, hour long primetime special Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure in just a few weeks, on Sunday, December 6th at 8pm. The special features the Young People’s Chorus of New York City singing the theme song, and will later replay on Nick Jr. a few days later; on Sunday, December 13th at 7pm. Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment will team up to release the DVD, while Sony Music will release Dora’s Christmas on CD, featuring 16 holiday songs. See? Christmassier!

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, one of the bigger movies of the past weekend, will be hitting the DVD and Blu-ray shelves in a few months. But, for some people, that’s not fast enough – and Sony knows it! As a special event, Sony will be releasing the movie as an exclusive download, available to users with broadband-enabled Bravia HDTVs, or Sony Live Blu-ray players a full month before the movie is available to others. The digital rental, which will be available as early as December 8th, will actually be available before the movie is out of every theater in the country, with it still playing in about a thousand screens nationwide. Now, you’ll have a choice – the movie theater, or your living room! Take a look at the trailer again to revisit the flick (more… )