#Upcoming theatrical release

[moviesandmania]

Notable movie releases leading up to Halloween!

All are US releases unless noted otherwise. Friday, September 22: Dark Asset – VOD Everybody Dies By the End – VOD Expend4bles – Theatrical It Lives Inside – Theatrical Nightsiren – Theatrical (limited) No One Will Save You – Hulu, Disney+ Monday, September 25: Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! – Digital, VOD Tuesday, September 26: Gangnam Zombie – VOD, Blu-ray, DVD Megalomaniac – VOD Natty Knocks –…

[thankskenpenders]

Thoughts on Sonic 3!

On December 10th, 2018, I was on the last day of a trip to Milwaukee. The night before, I'd attended the wedding of one of my best friends, Jake, who I've known since high school. Even though half of us were sick the whole trip, it was a great time. Derek had asked the wedding DJ to play "One Week" as the first request of the night, and proceeded to lip sync the entire song on the dance floor. On that cold winter morning in a hotel room hundreds of miles from home, Derek and I groggily checked Twitter on our phones and saw the shocking news: Paramount had teased the design for Sonic from their upcoming live action film. Even in silhouette, the shape of his face and the realistic curvature of his limbs made him look like a grotesque little homunculus. This movie was going to suck.

Six years later, I've now seen the third entry in what's become a hugely successful Sonic film franchise. It features Keanu Reeves as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in a fairly faithful adaptation of his story from Sonic Adventure 2. At the time of writing, it currently sits at a whopping 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, vying for the title of the best-reviewed theatrically released video game movie of all time. Critics are saying nice things about the emotional journey of Shadow the Hedgehog. Never in a million years did I think I'd see this day.

I, too, have now seen this movie, and... yeah, it's pretty good.

I'm gonna get deep into spoilers here, so I'll just say up front that I liked the movie. It feels like just about the best possible execution of this version of Sonic. But that's also damning it with faint praise, depending on who you ask.

If you're a fan of the games who didn't like the second movie, you probably won't get much out of this one, either, unless you just really love Shadow so much that nothing else in the movie matters to you. It doesn't reinvent the wheel for this film series. It's still got a heaping helping of broad comedy, cheap pop culture references, bad one-liners, and characterization that diverges greatly from the source material. This is not high art, nor is it a direct adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. If you're the kind of person who hates this portrayal of Sonic and Eggman, or a lore nerd who'll hate that they let Shadow do Chaos Control without an Emerald, then just don't bother with this.

On the other hand, if you did enjoy the last movie, then you'll probably have a fun time here, too. Shadow is very cool. The action is the best it's ever been. There's a bit more focus on characters from the games, and less on human characters invented for the movies—with the exception of Agent Stone, who's in this a lot because everyone likes him. There's a lot of SA2 fanservice. They even play "Live and Learn." It's a fun time! Be sure to stick around through the end credits.

And now, to dig deeper, let's get into the spoilers! I'm gonna jump around a lot and talk about different aspects of the movie, spoiling everything along the way.

Shadow and his reams of lore

Here's the main thing you came for: Shadow is great in this! They really did him justice. Keanu Reeves is extremely solid in the role. He can be a bit flat as an actor sometimes, but I think he did well here. He can be tough and menacing, but he can also be earnest and emotionally vulnerable. Good casting call. Excited at the prospect of seeing more of him in the future.

Really, as a Sonic Lore Nerd I'm most interested in discussing the changes they made to Shadow's backstory. I'm sure there will be many fans upset with the changes, but for the sake of streamlining a complicated backstory that was subject to a bunch of retcons and multiple layers of amnesia and fitting it into a 110-minute movie, I think they generally made smart choices.

For one, Gerald didn't create Shadow using Black Arms DNA, because Gerald didn't create Shadow at all! Instead, Shadow arrived on Earth inside a meteor, and Gerald was merely the prominent GUN scientist who studied him after he was captured. (That meteor does have very strong Black Arms vibes, though, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them exploring that stuff in the future.) This simplifies things a lot and allows Shadow to be a direct foil for Sonic, kind of a version of our hero who was treated as a lab rat and lost the only human he considered family instead of finding happiness like Sonic has. Then later Shadow hurts Tom and Sonic wants revenge, and it mirrors Shadow's feelings about Maria, and after they fight they can empathize with each other over this, Shadow sees the error of his ways and helps save the world, yada yada yada. You get it. People predicted 95% of this movie's plot from the trailers, but it's effective.

Likewise, all of the stuff about creating Shadow as the ultimate life form who's immune to all disease to cure Maria's illness is completely cut out. Shadow's still called the ultimate life form, but he's treated as more of an energy source than a genetic research project here, playing off of the stuff about Eggman wanting to harness Sonic's natural Chaos Energy in the movies. The original intent behind the ultimate life form project was always hard to explain in the games and doesn't even come up that much, so I don't blame them for cutting it.

Because Gerald isn't doing genetic experiments and creating artificial life, the Biolizard also doesn't exist. It does, however, appear in an old monster movie Shadow and Maria watch in a montage, with Shadow later commenting that he worries he's a monster like the one he saw in the movie. That's a clever way to include it, I think.

The ARK sort of exists. There was no space colony back in the '70s, all of the events of Shadow's flashbacks just took place at a secret GUN base on Earth. Fair enough for a version of the story ostensibly set in the real world. The big space laser in the third act of the film is obviously supposed to evoke the ARK, but it's referred to as simply the Eclipse Cannon. It's still not a full-blown space colony, just a weapon of mass destruction Gerald designed for GUN in exchange for his release (while also secretly planning to use it to blow up the planet in an act of revenge). I am, however, pleased to report that the Eclipse Cannon still has a giant Eggman face on it.

And as for Maria: I like her in this! She's obviously not going to get a ton of screentime, and she's always going to be a very straightforward character, but she's more playful and lively here. She teases Shadow for being grumpy and plays with him a lot. She feels less like this perfect embodiment of everything good and pure in the world and more like an actual kid. She's still not a complex character, but it works.

And the most important question: do they show a child getting shot and killed by the military? The answer is almost. In the flashback, GUN soldiers chase Maria, Shadow, and Gerald and ready their guns, but the young Commander Walters (who's in his 20s rather than being a kid) grabs them and tries to stop them from firing on a child. In the chaos, a soldier fires, missing Maria but hitting a generator that then blows up and kills Maria. So, y'know, close enough I suppose.

So, yes, many of the details change here, but they captured the gist of Shadow's story from SA2. The emotional core is there. I will say, though, I almost feel like Shadow isn't in this movie as much as I thought he'd be? I think he's used effectively in all of his scenes, and they make room for his backstory, and BOY does he get to kick ass in his fights, but for much of the middle part of the movie he's overshadowed by Ivo and Gerald. Though this might be a compromise to leave more screentime for...

Tails and Knuckles

I'm relieved to report that Tails and Knuckles both get a good amount of cool stuff to do in this! They don't feel like an afterthought.

I was worried that Tails in particular would completely fall by the wayside, since even his debut movie didn't entirely know what to do with him. But he's good here. He pretty much just feels like the Tails from the games at this point, especially since they dropped that fawning admiration he had for Sonic with that running gag of him going "Only Sonic the Hedgehog could do that!" He often chimes in as the one who wants Team Sonic to stick together when Sonic and Knuckles bicker. He particularly gets to shine in the Mission Impossible-inspired heist sequence at the GUN headquarters in London that serves as the climax of the second act, which feels like it was tailor made to let him shine as the tech guy of the team. He also gets several opportunities to swoop in and catch someone for a save in an action scene. He's good in this!

Knuckles is... fine. He's definitely fallen into the role of the comic relief dumb bruiser since joining the good guys, but he's at least a little better than he was in his own streaming show. The jokes lean more into him just being really brash about his strength and skill, rather than him being this archaic warrior who doesn't understand anything about the modern world. He also gets a few more serious bits in the back third of the movie where he gets to shine a little more, so overall it evens out to him being fine. They could've done way worse.

As for the relevance of the Knuckles show: Knuckles is now said to be the guardian of the Master Emerald, like in the games, though with no Angel Island this amounts to him hiding it somewhere for safekeeping. It's eventually revealed that he just gave it to Wade, who gets exactly one scene (sorry, Wade-heads) for a joke about him using the Master Emerald as a hockey puck. So, the miniseries explained why Knuckles has a connection with Wade. That's it! Also I think Knuckles might use the Flames of Disaster a bit in fights, but they never called the technique out by name, so I never really thought about it. So, yeah, the six-episode streaming miniseries about Wade bowling has zero meaningful relevance to the Shadow movie. Who could have seen this coming?

Miscellaneous humans

For that matter, the human supporting cast is MASSIVELY downplayed in this one. Tom and Maddie are there for two key sequences (the beginning of the movie and the GUN HQ heist), but otherwise they disappear for long stretches of the movie. They don't go to Japan in act I, nor do they go to space in act III, and there's no subplot for them during those periods, either. There's nothing like the wedding subplot in Sonic 2 where they'd constantly cut back to Hawaii for comic relief with the humans and only reveal why this was relevant to the plot near the end. (There's also no random dance battle in Siberia.) If a human character is here, it's because they have something to contribute to the plot right away. Most people will probably consider this an improvement, and I'd certainly say it makes for a much tighter script, though I have to remind everyone that I thought the wedding being a GUN sting operation was such a funny twist that I'm a defender of the Hawaii subplot.

On the subject of Tom, something funny I've noticed is that they've just completely downplayed the fact that Tom and Wade are cops. Tom being a cop never comes up once. Wade being a cop only gets referenced via the fact that he's practicing hockey on the roof of the police station in his one scene, but he's not in uniform or anything. They clearly got the memo that we don't want Sonic to hang out with cops.

Here's something else funny: Rachel and Randall got character posters, but they're actually not in the movie! Not technically, anyway. During the heist sequence at GUN HQ, Tom and Maddie use some gadgets Tails invented to holographically disguise themselves as those other characters. But the real Rachel and Randall never show up in the flesh. It's a very odd way to shoehorn the actors into the movie. (Jojo is also absent. They did not give her Amy's role of being the girl who reminds Shadow of Maria. Instead they just let Sonic have the big heart to heart with Shadow that makes him switch sides.)

You know who IS in this movie? Krysten Ritter. Not as the voice of Rouge, as the fandom once hoped, but as a director for GUN. She gets like three scenes and she feels completely checked out the whole time. Can't say I blame her! She's not really a character, just a plot necessity. Commander Walters dies in Japan but gives Sonic one of two keycards needed to activate the Eclipse Cannon, and then Ritter's character assumes Sonic stole it and labels him a bad guy. So that's why they have to break into GUN HQ in the second act instead of just talking things out with them. Still, I am at least relieved that Sonic doesn't work with GUN for most of the movie.

I gotta be honest: when Walters pulled a credit card-shaped object out of his pocket, I thought he was about to give Sonic another Olive Garden gift card as his final act before dying. Part of me wishes that happened.

The supporting human character in this who really gets to shine is Agent Stone, which I'm sure most fans will agree was the correct choice. There's a LOT of Agent Stone in this. He's good. I don't have much to say about him, but he's fun as usual.

But, of course, the ones who steal the show are Jim Carrey, and his costar Jim Carrey.

The Robotniks

I've gone back and forth on whether or not I can actually see movie Robotnik as Robotnik. I think with this third and final entry in the Jim Carrey Robotnik Trilogy, I've landed on... yeah, that's just Jim Carrey playing a Jim Carrey character. He's absolutely having fun with the role, and I enjoyed watching him, but I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that I'm a millennial who grew up watching Jim Carrey movies. If you didn't like him before, this movie will probably be nails on a chalkboard to you, because now there are two of him.

Ivo's arc here leans very heavily into the fact that he grew up as an orphan and never knew his family, a thing offhandedly mentioned in the first movie that's never been a thing for any other version of the character. Here, he learns that he has a living grandfather who's also a mad scientist, and it feels like a hole in his heart has been filled. It certainly makes sense for a place to take this version of the character, and it fits with the movie's themes of finding and losing family, but the cartoonish, childlike affection Ivo feels towards Gerald and all the scenes of them frolicking and dancing together have basically nothing to do with the characters from the games. He's a fun villain for this movie, but he's overwhelmingly used as comic relief this time rather than as a serious threat. He doesn't particularly feel like Sega's Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the arch nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog who'd take over the world with an army of robots and a fleet of airships in the span of a day if Sonic wasn't around to stop him. He's a guy who lives in a big crab robot and has some drones. He has more in common with Carrey's depictions of the Grinch or the Riddler or Count Olaf than Dr. Eggman. Though he does, at least, finally get his outfit from the games by the end of the movie. So that's something. And also he's in a fat suit now. They only make jokes at the expense of his weight a little. Hooray...?

Gerald, meanwhile, is... largely the same character as movie Eggman, but older, so they can make jokes about him having saggy flesh and smelling funny and needing dentures. (Also, his voice kind of sounds like Homer Simpson sometimes?) To his credit, Carrey absolutely nails the handful of more serious scenes Gerald gets, whether it's Maria's death or his sinister turn when he reveals that he actually wants to destroy the Earth. But then it's right back to goofs about there being two of the same guy. Even the final battle features a lot of slapstick shenanigans with the two Robotniks fighting each other. I was able to enjoy the absurdity of it all, but if the humor doesn't land for you the dual Jim Carrey schtick is a hell of a lot of the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more Gerald than Shadow in the movie, when you go and tally up their screentime. I was able to enjoy the sheer absurdity of it, but your mileage will vary.

I will, however, say that the split screen stuff they do with the two Carreys is EXTREMELY impressive, from a filmmaking perspective. They were absolutely flexing with their ability to pull the effect off. They don't rely on cheap tricks like cutting a lot, or having shot/reverse shot scenes where you're looking at the back of a body double's head. Instead they have a lot of long takes where the two Robotniks are talking to each other, you can see both of their faces, and they'll even hug and touch each other a lot, and the whole time the conversation maintains a natural pace like it really is two actors playing off of each other. It's really well done. It's an incredibly silly idea, but boy did they commit to it.

Sonic

I've hardly said anything about Sonic himself in all of this. It's his movie, isn't it! Well... I don't know, he's fine.

I feel like movie Sonic is a known quantity at this point, and either you like this take on the character or you don't. There was some speculation early on that this was supposed to be a younger Sonic who would grow into being the character we know from the games and comics, the one who's still got lots of quips but is also kind of aloof and cool, a free spirit who goes where the wind takes him, a figure the other characters look up to. And... no, that didn't happen. Once again he gets more serious as the stakes are raised, and he's totally badass when he goes Super, but the rest of the time he's still a little goober with tons of generic one-liners who learns schmaltzy lessons about the importance of family. He's still constantly going to undercut the tension of most scenes by cracking a pop culture reference that will make the average American parent go "haha I've heard of that." I don't think they're ever gonna change that. I think this just what the writers think Sonic is like.

And, again, for what it is, it's fine. He's a little annoying. You already know how you feel about movie Sonic. This third entry won't change that. But they do, at least, have him say "Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies... I'm outta here!" before jumping out of a helicopter. As my thoughts on the climax will show, I am not immune to fanservice.

The climax

God, the climax is SOOOOO fucking good. It's fantastic. Easily the best action these movies have ever done.

Rather than saving Super Shadow for the team-up with Sonic at the end, they have both of them go Super to fight each other first, and they just go full DBZ with it, fighting across the entire planet. It absolutely rules. I think this is the new coolest fight the two of them have had in anything ever. And then they have to stop the Eclipse Cannon together, and sure, there's no Biolizard. But Gerald DOES release a swarm of GUN Hunter robots, and the ensuing space battle turns into some Gundam shit. It's good! It's so good!!! The movie's flaws kind of melt away for me here when I'm watching Super Shadow take out an army of robots with Chaos Spears on the big screen. What a timeline we're living in.

And yes, they play "Live and Learn." They had to. They knew the assignment. They actually play a slight remix, but it's still got the original vocals, so it's perfectly recognizable. Actually, the tune of the song is used as a leitmotif for Shadow throughout the movie, first introduced via an acoustic guitar version played by Maria, and I really love that. I've been begging these movies to use more music from the games the whole time, and I'm glad they finally did so here. (They also use the traditional level clear jingle early in the film, and Eggman's theme from SA2 is very briefly used as a ringtone.)

... Anyway, uh, meanwhile Eggman, Tails, and Knuckles straight up just kill Gerald to save the world? They unceremoniously knock him into an energy field at the end of their slapstick fight aboard the Eclipse Cannon and he disintegrates like he hit a bugzapper. It's over in an instant. It's not graphic or anything, but it's, like... I didn't expect them to show it, or for it to be such a casual murder! Eggman has one quip about it and then immediately moves on.

Shortly after this, Eggman and Shadow sacrifice themselves to stop the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow's sacrifice doesn't stick, obviously (he's revealed to be alive by the end of the second stinger—pretend to be shocked), but Eggman's probably dead dead. I seriously doubt Jim Carrey's gonna come out of retirement for these movies again. His final moments before the big explosion are also SO dragged out and belabored. He has a dramatic final line like ten times in a row. It really just feels like the series saying goodbye to Carrey. And, again, it feels like a fitting enough end for this Eggman's arc, but it's an odd adaptation of the character from the games.

And so, that's what we're left with. This is far from Sonic Adventure 2: The Movie. It's not that, though there are many, many references made to that game in particular. It's a sequel to the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that has a similar tone and style, but Shadow and Gerald are in it, and Shadow gets some really cool fights, and there's a liiiiiittle more focus on stuff from the games than last time, and the script's a little tighter. If that sounds fun to you, you will have fun with this. I know I did. If it doesn't, you're probably better off waiting for them to inevitably do an animated reboot whenever this live action series runs out of steam.

It hasn't quite run out of steam yet, though...

The post-credits scenes, and the future

One of the big questions going into this was: what's next? How do they top a Shadow movie with heavy Sonic Adventure 2 overtones, in terms of hype for the fans? How do you fill Eggman's shoes after Carrey retires, for real this time? There are still more fan favorite rival characters to get through, but how many movies in a row can they introduce a furry foe for Sonic who inevitably turns good and helps him stop a larger threat by the end? And when the hell are we gonna see the girls?

Well, we now have our answer, and it's one I'm cautiously excited for: a whole army of Metal Sonics, and Amy!

Yes, Amy! Finally!! It's an absolute crime that we've gone three whole movies and a streaming miniseries without including the female lead of the series. I've complained about this ad nauseum (and also the fact that they cut Rouge from the story). But at least now they're finally doing something about it.

But now the question is, how will they characterize Amy? Sega's struggled with her for years, and there's a million different directions you can take her. Her one scene here has her smashing a bunch of Metal Sonics and wearing a cloak for the sake of a dramatic reveal, which gives her the vibes of a mysterious, badass action girl. This is, of course, completely different from how Sonic and Amy met in the games. What will her personality be like? She doesn't speak here, so who will they get to play her? Where did she come from? Will she even have a crush on Sonic? All of these have yet to be determined. So, like, I'm hyped to finally see Amy, a character who should've been in the movies from the start, but they could so easily end up playing it safe with an incredibly boring girlboss version of Amy who's no fun at all. We'll have to wait and see.

(My prediction: they're going to try to cast either Zendaya or Ariana as Amy.)

Metal Sonic, likewise, is very exciting, and he looks perfect. He looks just like the design from the games. But the question is: what will they do with this army of Metals? Will they be lead by one main Metal Sonic, perhaps Neo Metal Sonic, who gets to be a proper bad guy? Will they take some cues from Sonic CD, Heroes, and the OVA, or do something completely original? Where did they come from? Were they activated as a failsafe after Eggman died? Did they and Amy come from some sort of bad future, riffing on Sonic CD's time travel? Will they explore the fact that Metal wants to be the one and only Sonic? Or will they just be an army of disposable robot grunts for Sonic and friends to mow down like it's a Dynasty Warriors game, while some other villain takes center stage?

It could go so many different ways, and some prospects are more exciting than others. I mean, the Knuckles show had endless possibilities for what it could do with him, and none of the options on my bingo card were "Pachacamac's ghost tells him to help Wade win a bowling tournament." And while I'm a sicko who thinks it's funny that the Knuckles show is what it is, forgive me for keeping my hype about Amy and Metal Sonic in check here until we learn more.

Regardless of what they do, it'll still be hard to top the hype of Shadow, and it'll be hard to fill Jim Carrey's shoes for general audiences. So despite this clear statement of intent, I have no idea what the future of this film franchise holds. But regardless of what they do, I can say one thing for certain: the kids in my theater were hyped as hell for it. They popped off over Metal Sonic, and they were screaming their heads off with excitement over Amy. I heard a teenage girl on the opposite end of my row of seats say "finally!" over Amy's reveal, verbalizing my exact thoughts. She also said that this movie was "peak," though it diverged from the games, and she hoped they'd do a movie with Silver and Blaze someday.

The kids are gonna be okay.

[slavghoul]

"VOÏVOD: We Are Connected"

Tobias will be featured in an upcoming Voivod documentary scheduled for release this year, where he was interviewed alongside fellow musician and close friend Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). Their interview was filmed in Stockholm recently.

TF is an avid Voivod fan and has cited them as a major inspiration on numerous occasions, particularly in relation to his pre-Ghost band, Subvision. As his MySpace bio stated: "With the intention of making something different than the death metal that I had become synonymous with, I wanted to create music with a slightly more melodic/pop edge. The wish was to make something along the lines of Voivod’s Angel Rat." A song off that album ("The Prow") was also included in a playlist he crafted for Apple Music in 2021 featuring some of his most formative influences.

The documentary is currently in post-production and you can help funding its completion by making a pledge on Kickstarter:

The goal is to fund the completion of a theatrical cut in time to screen at festivals and events this summer, and a physical release later on.

The project is a labor of love of numerous Voivod enthusiasts, Tobias included, so consider pledging even a small amount in your support and spread the news around, if you can.

For more information: IMDB, Facebook

Thank you to Felipe Belalcazar for the info.

[gravesdiggers]

Rupert Graves has been announced as the audiobook narrator for the upcoming release of "Austen At Sea" by Natalie Jenner.

The author says:

I am so excited to announce that the audiobook for my upcoming novel Austen at Sea will be narrated by British actor Rupert Graves! Graves has appeared in many film, television, and theatrical productions including A Room with a View, Maurice, The Madness of King George, The Forsyte Saga as Jolyon Forsyte and Sherlock as Detective Inspector Lestrade (both from the BBC), and the 2020 Autumn de Wilde film adaptation of Emma as Mr. Weston. Graves’s narration of Austen at Sea is a dream come true for me. As a Canadian suburban teenager in 1985, I remember laughing as hard as I’ve ever laughed in a movie theatre while Graves, as Freddy Honeychurch, ran naked around a pond with the equally bare George Emerson and Reverend Mr. Beebe in the Academy Award-winning movie A Room with a View. Graves’s role as gamekeeper Alec Scudder, with whom Maurice falls in love in the eponymous Merchant Ivory film, had an unforeseen but indelible impact on the writing of The Jane Austen Society – just weeks before I began writing my debut novel, I had attended a screening of Maurice at @tiff_net in Toronto followed by a talk by director James Ivory, and over time I increasingly see its influence on my own work and the character of Adam Berwick in particular. And of course there is the recent adaptation of Jane Austen’s masterpiece #Emma, where Graves’s rich, melodic voice brings the melancholy yet determined whimsy of Mr. Weston to life. I am thrilled that Mr. Graves will be narrating Austen at Sea, with its multitude of characters on both sides of the Atlantic, and am so grateful to @macmillan.audio for arranging yet again the perfect voice for my work. The audiobook releases on May 6, 2025, in tandem with the US hardcover and Canadian paperback, and is available for pre-order now wherever audiobooks are sold!

[water-lemon-alex]

It’s finished! Welcome to II-blr’s…

PRE-II18 MINI-Q&A!

A set of 18 QUESTIONS celebrating 18 EPISODES that I’ve prepared for the entire fandom!!! Reblogs are definitely appreciated! As a bonus, you can go into my ask box and ask me any of the questions that *I* made!

You can answer as many questions as you want! Answer one, two, or maybe all of them!

There are no right or wrong answers! Everyone in the II fandom is welcome! (just no rule-breaking responses, please!)

STRICTLY NO LEAKS OR SPOILERS FOR THE UPCOMING EPISODE!!! Please be respectful to those who weren’t able to see the the theatrical releases! (including myself!)

(POST-II18 EDIT: IF YOU’RE GOING TO POST SPOILERS JUST TAG IT WITH THE SPOILER TAGS!! I’ve already watched the episode anyway, this is just for the people who haven’t watched the episode yet!

Transcript + Description:

1. Favorite character/s? (bonus: give one that debuted in each season)

Everyone in the fandom has this character that they love a tiny bit over the others. Who is YOUR favorite character? Or characters, if you have many.

2. Favorite season? (S1, S2 or S3?)

Between Inanimate Insanity, Inanimate Insanity 2 and Inanimate Insanity Invitational, which one of them did you like the most, and why? Is it their charm? Their artstyle and animation? Or is it because you enjoy it the most? There’s no wrong answers!

3. Favorite episode? (bonus: give one from each season)

Inanimate Insanity has 54 (about to be 55!) episodes in total! (not including S1 Ep. 5.5.) Out of all those episodes, which one did you enjoy the most, and why?

4. Favorite scene/s? (bonus: give one from each season)

Every episode is made out of SCENES! Was there a specific scene that you really liked, and why? From the emotions, the voice direction, your connection to the scene, or ALL OF THEM?

5. Favorite team? (across all seasons?)

Between Season One’s Team Epic and Team Chicken Leg, Season Two’s Bright Lights and Grand Slams, and Invitational’s (Old OR New) Sinkers, Thinkers and Pinkers, which among all these teams were the best among the rest?

6. Favorite ship/s and/or friendship/s?

You can’t have a fandom without ships! What are YOUR favorite ships? If romantic pairs aren’t your thing, give some friendships that you really loved.

7. A character you’d like to know more about?

With all the characters within the show, we’ve been dying to know more about the characters that didn’t get as much screentime as the others! Who do YOU want to know more about?

8. Favorite non-contestant? (Host, Co-Host, Misc., etc.)

Let’s give some love to those who don’t partake in the game! Your favorite non-contestant could also be the same as your favorite character! They could be hosts, co-hosts, background characters, other Meeple products— HECK, maybe Steve Cobs himself! There are a lot of characters out there that aren’t in the premises of the game.

9. Favorite voice for a character / favorite voice actor?

Let’s give some love to our beloved crew members who made the show possible! There was DEFINITELY that one character who you really like solely from their voice. Who is your favorite voice for a character, or your favorite voice actor?

10. Favorite song/s?

Let’s get musical! Without the people behind the music of II, these bangers would’ve never been possible! What is a song from the show that you’d put on repeat?

11. If you’d like to go to any location in the show, where would it be?

From the mysterious underground Gemory Cave to the Meeple Headquarters found in the sky, the world of II is endless! Maybe you want to go to a contest area to try a few challenges yourself. Or you want to relax and explore Hotel OJ!

12. Favorite canon divergence / AUs in the fandom (if any)

Now let’s give some love to our artists and writers in this very app! There’s a lot of awesome alternate universes in this fandom. (heck, I have an AU myself! the WTI au! check it out pspspspsps /nf) What are some alternate scenarios you’ve thought of that would make a GREAT AU? Or maybe some existing ones that you’ve followed for a while now?

13. How were you introduced to I.I.?

Were you introduced to the show when you were a child? Or maybe you’ve just learned about it pretty recently? Everyone starts somewhere!

14. What is a crossover (any crossover!) that you’d love to see?

We all have interests outside of II. Let it be shows, games, movies, books, or other interests! Even if it would absolutely NEVER happen in reality, what media do you think should have a crossover or collaboration with the show?

15. If you could get any merch you want, what are you getting?

Imagine this. You have won a raffle, and your prize is ANYTHING YOU WANT that has been sold during II’s runtime! Let it be t-shirts or mugs that aren’t being sold anymore, plushies that got sold out or on sale right now, or all the cool merch that is being sold this holiday season! Heck, you can ask for a merch item that hasn’t existed yet! Like your favorite character that doesn’t have a plushie yet! What are YOU getting?

16. Would you recommend the show to your friends/family?

Maybe you’re too shy to show it to people you’re close to, and that’s fine! But would you recommend the show to others?

17. What do you want to see more from the show that didn’t happen?

This is related to the AU question! Maybe it could be a scenario that happens after the movie, or a look into the daily lives of the contestants. Let’s hope that after II18, we’ll still have post-movie content…

18. How much does I.I. mean to you?

This fandom has grown to be a vast space full of talented creators big and small. You may have made a friend or two, maybe you just joined the fandom. There are no wrong answers. What is Inanimate Insanity to you? It could be as small as a simple show you’re interested in, or as big as the show having changed your life.

Thank you for reading through! Reblogs appreciated of course! To prove that you’ve read through the whole post…

[earlycuntsets]

My Chemical Romance's Ray Toro talks new album Danger Days

Ray Toro rocks out during a My Chemical Romance concert in Taiwan, 2008. © Nicky Loh/Reuters/Corbis

Intense? Oh yeah. Toro puts his hair into his playing. © Joel Auerbach/ZUMA/Corbis

With the upcoming release of Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, My Chemical Romance are intent on building on the success they enjoyed with 2006's multi-platinum The Black Parade.

Already the album's first single from Danger Days, the memorably titled and positively bouncy Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), is making a serious dent at radio. And the album as a whole is a joyride of exuberant, slamming rock that leaves a listener little time to catch one's breath - a far cry from the dark-tinged themes and musical soundscapes that made up The Black Parade.

Getting there wasn't so easy, however, for the New Jersey-based band, which consists of singer Gerard Way, his bassist brother Mikey, along with guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero (drummer Bob Bryar departed earlier this year). Throughout 2009, the group worked with producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Bruce Springsteen), desperately trying to reinvent themselves and capture magic...to no avail. At the beginning of 2010, the band made the painful (and no doubt costly) decision to shelve the album and start all over again, this time reuniting with Black Parade producer (and newly minted Warner Bros Records Label Group Chairman) Rob Cavallo.

"It was a hard decision to scrap the record we had made with Brendan, but in the end it was the right decision," says Toro "Nobody was feeling quite right about what we had done. There was no joy in the record. It had nothing to do with Brendan. We were the problem."

The difficulties in recording Danger Days the first time, is there anything specific you can point to?

"We were just burnt out. The touring schedule on The Black Parade was very hectic, and it probably went on six months longer than it should have. When we started talking about what the next album should be, we saw The Black Parade as the enemy - it was a big, theatrical rock record, and we were wearing the costumes and stuff. We wanted to go the other way.

"So we spent 2009 writing and recording and trying to do a real stripped-down record. I remember distinctly, whereas in the past I would have laid down a bunch of different guitar tracks, harmonies and stuff, this time I said, 'No, I can't do that.' After a while, it started to feel like I was going against my nature."

Did Brendan ever say to you guys, "This is good, but it's not great?"

"He was really trying; he did the best he could with us. He knew things weren't clicking, and he'd try to rally us. I remember he said, 'Hey, on some songs, I'd love to hear you do what you did on The Black Parade.' Because there wasn't any of the harmonized guitar parts or the stacking that I usually do. He was trying to get us to make one record, and we wanted to make something totally different.

"Musically, we wanted to go back to our basement. But just because we wanted to do something different didn't make it easy. In many ways, we felt as though we were holding ourselves back creatively. We were going through the motions. Some of the songs were good, but we weren't happy with all of them."

Did any songs from the original sessions make the finished album?

"Yeah, but we recut them. There's Bulletproof Heart, Party Poison and a song called The Only Hope For Me Is You. Those songs always excited us, so we weren't going to lose them."

Having worked with Rob Cavallo on The Black Parade, I assume he was the natural choice to come in after you tabled the first attempt at Danger Days.

"Rob's always been one of our biggest cheerleaders, and he and the rest of the guys at the label totally backed our decision to start over again. Originally, Rob came in to work on some mixes and see if he could help things along, but before long it became clear what we had to do.

"With Rob, we got the band back. We got out creative energy back. I think one of the problems with the sessions with Brendan was, we had already decided what the album should sound like, and in hindsight, you really can't do that. You have to let the music speak and be what it wants. We found our sound again, and it was exciting."

The record seems like a stark contrast to The Black Parade. It's more hopeful and upbeat.

"It's weird. That wasn't the goal at any point. I think it was just how we were feeling in the studio once we got back on track with Rob. In 2009, the record was kind of strange, and not everybody in the group was sold on what we were doing. Once we got going with Rob, like I said, our spark came back. So maybe that's why it sounds, you know, the way it does."

As a guitarist, who are your influences? Who did you listen to early on?

"Really, my biggest influence was my older brother, Louie. He was awesome, man. He was 17 or 18 when he started playing. I shared a bedroom with Louie and my other brother, Ed. And I just remember being in bed and hearing Louie play the guitar till all hours of the night and into two in the morning. He was great.

"That's how I first got into the guitar, from hearing and watching Louie. He was into Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Metallica, Motley Crue - a lot of classic rock with some metal thrown in. So I got into that stuff as well. He helped me out a lot. He had a stack of Guitar World magazines - I'd go through them and look at the tabs. Then I got more into guys like Jeff Beck��and David Gilmour."

How did you develop your style into what it is now?

"I think it's a mixture, the classic rock and then more metal bands. Megadeth, Pantera, Metallica, Iron Maiden - I think I have more of a faster-riffing, minor-key kind of thing going on. Then, as I got older, I got into punk bands. So I mix it up: I love the attitude of punk, but I love the precision of a lot of the metal players."

With influences such as you mentioned, what kind of practice schedule do you adhere to? Punk players are more about vibe and spontaneity -

"I know what you're getting at. I definitely used to practice more. I think I found that the best middle ground is one where you're hitting your notes and feel comfortable on the fretboard, but you still want to leave room for attitude and freshness. Listen to a guy like Stevie Ray Vaughan, who's one of my favorites. He's a flawless player, but you hear the heart and soul there - he's reacting for the moment."

How did you come to join My Chemical Romance?

"It's funny. Gerard said that I was the best player he'd ever heard, which kind of floored me. I don't think that's true, but it was nice that he would say that. I didn't have to audition or anything. We were friends, so he already knew what I could do. I think he knew that I was always trying to push myself as a player.

"And I still am. I love searching for new lines and parts. Every song is a challenge. That's what keeps me excited. For instance, there's a song on the new record called Planetary (GO!), and I had to try to figure out how to make the guitar sound like a keyboard or a synthesizer. What I ended up doing was using an Electro-Harmonix POG, which is one of my favorite pedals. It's sick - you have all of these octaves to play with. So I found some great sounds to use there.

"On a song like Save Yourself, the playing is more precise, with heavy palm mutes on the verses. The solo is more of a pentatonic thing, kind of like what Kirk Hammett might play. So exploring all of those aspects but trying to keep it fresh and with a bit of a punk spirit is what keeps me going."

Two guitar bands are funny animals: one guy can't do what the other guy does. Do you find that you have to change your style or hold back in any way to play with Frank?

"No, not at all. I love playing with Frank. Our styles are very distinct. He's much more melodic than I am. If you listen to him, he's always harmonizing with or backing up the vocal melody. His guitar is more like another lead vocal. I guess I'm the 'lead guitarist' per se, but we're always swapping roles. Sometimes he does little leads on the choruses. He so free. He's got an energy that I find very inspiring."

In the past, you've played Les Pauls pretty exclusively. Are those still your go-to guitars?

"Yeah, definitely. But I'll tell you, recently I had the chance to play one of Jimi Hendrix's Strats. Totally mind-blowing! This guy, Jimmy from Mates Rehearsal Studios in California, has one - I had shown for practice, and I didn't have a guitar to play. So Jimmy let me play this Hendrix Strat that he got from Jimi's old guitar tech. The thing was beat to shit, but it was the best-playing guitar ever. I played it for a year - Jimmy let me use it in the studio. Man, I loved that. It was fucking awesome!

"Live, I'm still a Les Paul guy, but playing Jimi Hendrix's Strat really got me interested in Strats and other guitars. In fact, I'm in desperate search for the ultimate Tele to play. If I can find one, I'm there."

Lastly, let me ask you about your drummer situation. You recently got a new guy in…

"Well, not really. My Chem is a four-piece, and we're going to stay that way. We've been playing with Mike [Pedicone], who's a good friend of ours. He's terrific, but he's not an official member. I think we're going to stay a four-piece."

11/18/2010 joe bosso with music radar ray toro interview

[fly-pow-bye]

The Day the Earth Blew Up’s US theatrical release has been delayed to March 14th, two weeks after its original release date. There is no stated reason for this.

[des2dream]

I Don't Want To Be A Magical Girl Fanart Showcase!🌟🌌✨

The upcoming project, Pretty Pretty Please I Don't Want To Be A Magical Girl created by @kianamaiart has become a spark of interest on many people including myself. It's always a treat to see the amount of fanart coming from this project with how much people are excited for the final product and how there's also been sort of a community growing from it. We've already got headcanons brewing! For those who don't know, you're probably thinking, 'What on earth is I Don't Want To Be A Magical Girl?' Well, the project is an animatic pilot planned to release some time soon. The story focuses on a girl named, Aika (voiced by Anairis Quinones) completely fine with her normal life until she's met by a magical star being, Hoshi (voiced by Christine Marie Cabanos) sent to Earth to find "The Chosen One" and I'm pretty sure you already know where this leads. While most ordinary girls would jump at the chance to have magical abilities, Aika sits right back down and curses the planet. No way in hell does she want to be a magical girl! Even when evil forces are approaching. However, world domination isn't a pretty sight so she has no choice but to step up and save the world.

The pilot will also include interesting characters like Aika's friend, Zira (voiced by Bennet Abara) who is a very smart young lady and a fan of her favorite manga (Moon Sailor). We then have Eclipse (voiced by Aleks Le) as a flamboyant and theatrical "Servant of Darkness" to the main antagonist. The antagonist being Lady DeVoid (voiced by Shara Kirby) who's out for revenge on the Star Guardian who crossed her so many years ago all while spreading particles of darkness wherever her minions go. There will also be additional characters, Sidney The Kidney Girl (voiced by Marieve Herington) and Miss (voiced by Michele Knotz) included in the cast as well.

I for one am very excited for the project to be released because it's such a fun premise while also subverting expectations. It also helps that this fuels my Magical Girl heart. Now, let's get to the fanart! As much as I wanted to showcase all of them, we know that would've been a hassle in itself. I gathered the ones I've seen and loved so much to celebrate Kianamaiart's success and also showing some love to the fans and community who are also proud. You're all so very talented and that goes for the people who made art pieces that didn't show up in this post. Never stop being creative! Let's all be magical together....or not and do whatever Aika feels like doing.

Artists (In order): @heilos, @technicalknockout, @manicpixel, @thecreative-fool, @pazam, @kyeree, @amphinogiz, @peteytheparrot @fiarfliart @kisskisscantfallinlove

[disneyprint]

1972 poster announcing upcoming theatrical releases (and re-releases) leading up to the company's 50th anniversary in 1973.

[waateeystein]

New Del Toro Frankenstein photo!!!!

I've been dissenting towards aspects of the costume design that we've seen thus far, but today I'd like to throw some praise their way! It's the way I'm OBSESSED with this vest, I absolutely must research the lacing at the back, that is such a fun detail. I'm also a big fan of the sideburns. The overall silhouette of this costume feels very appropriate, but in the context of this screenshot I have so many questions.

Based on the outfits of the background characters, it seems Victor is giving some kind of presentation at a university. I'm not sure if this is meant to be Ingolstadt or another new location. In relation to costume, he's not wearing a coat or hat, he seems quite dishevelled, and I'm wondering if at this point in the film, Victor has been frantically working on his creature and is hurriedly presenting his discoveries. The prop also seems to suggest this. These professors probably saw Victor stroll in looking all Victorian-dishevelled and are probably like "wtf are you up to man."

We also now have confirmation of a November 2025 release! Very appropriate as in the book, Victor finishes creating the Creature in the month of November, but I'm sure they also chose the date for spooky season/the upcoming holiday season. I would also love some confirmation if we are getting a theatrical release alongside the Netflix release.

[insanityclause]

I agree with your opinon on TLOC not considering itself as an award contender but changed it's narrative after TIFF. I am glad it will have a good theatre run but I hoped it would use it's hype that it had created for upcoming award season but since it will be released next year I hope the buzz still remains as a lot of movies will be released next year some really good ones too. Saw a few tweets saying they are also glad because flim twt would have villanized and trashed it in context of award season. I hope the movie won't be forgotten before it has been even been released and still compete for award shows. Hope this will open more opportunities for Tom as this will be 7 years for him since he has been in the big screen not marvel.

8 years in live action.

We shall see what comes up next year. I will say that Sing Sing is still on a lot of people's lists for this year, even though it got dumped by A24 (still got more good reviews, though).

Meanwhile, Neon has an outstanding track record, particularly with unconventional stuff - Anatomy of a Fall, Triangle of Sadness, Parasite. Yes, many had fall releases, but they also did well with their distribution of Longlegs this summer.

And it makes sense for them to hold off a bit since they have Anora this year, which will probably do really well, and they can focus on it.

I'm very happy it will get a theatrical run - because it really works well on a big screen. Being dumped on a streamer would have been dire.

[aspiringtrashpanda]

✨A thought about the TSL musical✨

So, Simeon directs The Tale of the Seven Lords: The Musical in the Pop Quiz "Henry and the Seven Lords", right?

I was cleaning while listening to music and was struck by a vision. A vision, I tell you! Listen. Henry and the Lord of Shadow dueting this:

We don't know much about the plot of the series, but it is mentioned in the trivia competition against Leviathan that the Lord of Masks does something to the Lord of Shadow in the upcoming release. This surprises Leviathan as he predicted that the two lords were going to make up.

SO PICTURE THIS:

The Lord of Masks has launched a surprise attack on the Lord of Shadow, Henry arriving too late to assist their friend. They reach the land surrounding the third lord's castle to find it ravaged. Blood-soaked earth pools beneath dying soldiers as medics tend to those who still cling to life. In the middle of it all is the Lord of Shadow, paralyzed with shock and grief. Upon seeing Henry, he lifts his head and lets out a mournful, "Remember me."

He is angry. He is spiteful. When he needed Henry most, they weren't there. Henry had promised to stand by him, and yet, they were nowhere to be found when he needed them most. He gestures to the ruin around him, challenging Henry to explain their absence.

Henry tries to interject, tries to apologize. The Lord of Shadow realizes then that Henry would never betray him. He launches into the chorus, pleading with Henry to stand with him and find a way to rebuild.

The song builds with the third lord repeating his need for Henry's aid in the bridge. Then everything goes dark save for a spotlight on Henry as they sing the solo line, "If there's a place that I could be, then I'd be another memory."

Then this is followed by a super intense last chorus where they sing to each other and the wounded soldiers dance dramatically in the background and fill out the ensemble parts. During the outro, Henry would be singing the "Remember me" part as if to switch the roles and insist that the Lord of Shadow should have faith in Henry's character.

It's perfect, okay? MCR is so theatrical. Their songs are meant to be acted out. Like, damn.

Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk. Let me know if you want more TSL musical scenes that come to me like a fever dream.

[shark-myths]

Feast your eyes on the gorgeous cover art put together by @carbonbased000 for my upcoming holiday fic... this is the real Swedish poster from the theatrical release of Pillow Talk in 1959! only made infinitely better. set your clocks, it's coming SOON

[flanaganfilm]

Mike, can you tell us your experience premiering Oculus at tiff 2013? I recently saw Perri Nemiroff’s interview with you (looking like a baby btw- so young) and it made me think about what your mindset must have been as in getting yo experience the launch of your career, post Absentia, at one of the most prestigious festivals.

Oh, I remember that very well... a lot changed in a very short amount of time. And I think I know the interview you're talking about, I keep trying to link to it here but it doesn't take...

So there are few things to point out about Oculus and about what was happening in my life at the time. When Oculus got greenlit, I was working full time as a reality television editor. I used to sneak out of my job at lunch to go to "doctor's appointments" whenever I had to come for production meetings or casting sessions (they started to think there was something really, really wrong with my health).

Making the movie was an amazing learning experience - it was my first "real" movie, and full of lessons. It was the first collaboration with people who would become pillars of my career moving forward, like producer Trevor Macy (who is now my partner at Intrepid Pictures and who has produced everything I've ever made since) and my DP Michael Fimognari, who is one of the most important collaborators of my life. It was also the first time I worked with a young actress named Kate Siegel, who played the spooky ghost in the mirror.

We went into TIFF with distribution already in place. FilmDistrict had committed to the project during the Cannes market before we shot the movie, so we thought we were set. It was going to be my big theatrical debut.

Just before we premiered at TIFF, FilmDistrict abruptly and bafflingly dropped the film. I still don't really know why. They had committed to a worldwide theatrical release for the movie, but for reasons that were never made entirely clear to me, they dropped us just before the festival. Suddenly the whole enterprise was in jeopardy, and I didn't know if anyone would pick the movie back up.

I was absolutely terrified.

Being my first "real" movie, I didn't really know how this world worked and couldn't understand why our distributor didn't want to release it. We'd made the movie they had been excited about, they seemed to really like it, and we'd done everything they asked - it was a shock to the system. So when we rolled into tiff, we were homeless and trying not to let FilmDistrict's abrupt change of heart poison our chances of another sale.

I had never been to TIFF before but heard about Midnight Madness, which had seen huge sales from Cabin Fever and Insidious. Bidding wars had broken out while the films were still screening. But being part of the program was absolutely no guarantee of distribution - in fact, this might be the highest this movie would ever rise.

Trevor Macy and I went to the world premiere of The Green Inferno, which was playing the night before we played, and the audience was ROWDY. Like, shouting and hollering throughout the movie. We looked at each other with wide, nervous eyes - if this was the Midnight Madness audience, they were going to hate our movie the next day. We were considerably slower, ponderous, and atmospheric in a room that seemed to demand visceral, overt entertainment. I left the screening feeling dejected and a little doomed. Trevor was more upbeat, citing conversations he'd had with the programmer, Colin Geddes, who assured us he'd put our movie in the best possible spot for its success.

Our screening was September 9th, 2013 at midnight. I was petrified, and we were sold out. I remember walking into the theater feeling like this was the most important screening of my life. I wasn't alone, thank goodness. Trevor Macy, Michael Fimognari, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty were on hand. The film seemed to play well. It was the opposite of the screening the night before, which Colin had told us would happen - "watch," he had said. "The Saturday night slot is the big crazy one. You guys are Sunday, and it's going to be completely different. They'll plug right in."

He was right. You could hear a pin drop for most of the first half, and then there were moments of scattered applause that picked up as the film progressed. By the end, people were jumping in their seats and cheering for young Tim and Kaylee. There was an audible gasp when the anchor swung. And the applause at the credits seemed heartfelt and loud.

Most of that is a blur for me. I found this grainy pic from the Q&A after the film. I still had no idea how it had gone, or what was going to come out of it. I remember having hard time putting words together, and I vividly recall feeling like I sounded like an absolute moron whenever I talked, and trying to pass the microphone over to the actors as often as I could.

It's tough to see everyone in the pic, but from left to right it is Colin Geddes, Michael Fimognari, myself, Trevor Macy, Katee Sackhoff, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty.

When I stepped out of the theater, though, I became aware that everything had changed. I was immediately surrounded by people who had seen the film, suddenly shaking a ton of hands and realizing that it had been a hit. I walked into the theater by myself, utterly anonymous, and feeling every bit like an imposter. But everything was different when I walked out. I remember someone from the press talking about it years later, and saying "I was there that night - you walked into the theater with nothing, and walked out with a career."

People were asking me to sign stuff. That had never happened in my life. People wanted to get pictures. It was SO. FUCKING. WEIRD. Someone snapped a picture during that little whirlwind, and you can see it on my (young, skinny, hopelessly naive) face - an overall bewilderment, a gentle disbelief that this was happening:

I loved my experience at TIFF. And it absolutely started everything. Relativity, Blumhouse, and WWE Films joined forces to make an offer on the movie at the festival, and we left with a theatrical distribution deal. My career had officially begun. Now, I wouldn't feel like it had for several more years - I remained in fight/flight/survival mode well through Gerald's Game - but in retrospect, yes, that's when it happened.

Thank you for asking this question, it's been a while since I've looked back at this period of my life. It kinda makes me want to watch that movie again. It has been a LONG time, and I owe it a lot.

Maybe everything.

[thenightling]

This is interesting. Apparently Nickelodeon's live action TV movie musicals of Monster High were / are so successful that Universal Studios now wants to make a high budget (to be theatrically released) live-action Monster High movie.

(As far as I know, there will still be a third Nickelodeon Monster High movie this October, not connected to the Universal Studios version in development).

Universal Studios has made a new deal with Mattel, which suggests that their own planned Monster High movie will make specific reference to the Universal movie versions of the classic monsters and not just the public domain or zeitgeist idea of the characters.

So for anyone confused, this is NOT the third Nickelodeon Monster High TV movie. This is different. This will be a high budget Universal Studios project for an actual theatrical release and probably with direct references to the Universal monster movies.

(Joking) Boy, Universal's Dark Universe is certainly going in an unexpected direction! :-P

For those who don't know what Monster High is, Monster High is a line of collectable fashion dolls meant to be the children of classic monsters. They have tie-in books, animated series, music videos, and live action musical TV movies made by Nickelodeon.

Every six years Monster High gets a "soft reboot" where the collectable dolls get redesigned and the attached storylines are changed. For example in Generation 1 the school was like an American public High school and the principle was the Headless Mistress (A woman Headless Horseman, whose doll is now highly sought after by collectors).

Generation 2 changed the school to a boarding school created by Count Dracula to protect monster children from the threat of humans. This incarnation of Monster High heavily "borrowed" from Hotel Transylvania. The dolls also lost some quality and were more cheaply made. Their eyes were made bigger and the monstrous traits softened or greatly reduced. The zombie character, Ghoulia, was almost entirely dropped.

Generation 3 restored the dolls quality and gave them new body types such as Draculaura being shorter and more full-figured. She's also a vampire-witch (Love that combo).

Lagoona Blue is no longer Australian and (this change I don't like) is now pink instead of blue and they removed her webbed hands, making it hard to tell she is even the daughter of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Frankie Stein was given a prosthetic leg and is now nonbinary, using they / them pronouns.

The weird thing is Clawdeen (the werewolf) is now "half-human." ...How? Werewolfism is like diabetes. You either have it or you don't. There's no "half."

It is likely the new Universal movie will be intended for the next soft reboot but that's not scheduled until 2028.

It will be interesting to see what Universal studios does with merging their own classic monsters with the Monster High franchise.

[animenostalgia]

News - A new trailer for the English dub of the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima has been released, along with the news that Fathom Events will be doing a theatrical showing of the first 3 episodes in the US! Dates for the theatrical showings will be November 10-12, 2024 at participating theaters. Stephanie Nadolny was also confirmed to be returning to the franchise as the English dub voice for transformed "young" Goku. You can sign up for email updates on the theatrical showings on Fathom's official site here.