Shelltoon TV

My Little Pony @ the Toy Fair

It's that time of year again! Time for all the big toy manufacturers to show off their goods to potential buyers for what will no doubt be the big toy for the holiday season. As expected, Hasbro is showing off a few additions to its newest generation of My Little Pony, and given that my life was sabotaged by ponies, I might as well give my thoughts on the matter.So, let's take a look at what we have.

Looks like we've got another carriage to go along with Rarity, which gave Hasbro an excuse to re-release Applejack in a new pose. The carriage itself is rather cute, but would it have been too much trouble to maybe give Applejack a hat of some sort since it's one of her trademark personality quirks in the show?

These Riding Along toys look like recycled toys from 3.5, which sort of has no right being in place with the toy line given the show's mythos. Still, there are some cute quirks with these, especially Twilight's helmet having a tiny hole in it for her horn. It's just out of character is all I'm saying.

I don't think I'd ever trust Pinkie Pie in a car. Haven't you seen her behavior in the show? I'd steer as clear of the road as possible!

How fitting Rarity gets what is possibly one of the more expensive toys in the line. If I had to guess, Hasbro wants to push this one as the hot item everypony will want for Christmas. They even give you two ponies, and it apparently plays music. If I had to guess, the music is probably a few bars of the My Little Pony theme, similar to Twilight Sparkle's Twinkling Balloon. The decor is nice, and it appears that Rarity either has a sparkly mane, or the photo is playing a trick on me.

It would appear that the Newborn Cuties line from previous generations was successful enough for Hasbro to try and carry it over to the new generation. Me? There's no way I'd buy any of the NBC line, but then again it's not meant for people my age. As for this toy itself, looks like the legs kick, but maybe it knows when it's trying to walk.

 

To sum it up, this seemed to be an underwhelming showing for ponies simply because a lot of it seems out of character when you watch the show. On top of that, Hasbro also had a lot of their already available toys in the line to possibly attract even more potential buyers. Still, there may be a few surprises we have yet to see and this doesn't reveal everything that's coming out in the year.

My Oscar Picks/Predictions

Well, after a miserable performance last year with my list by attempting to give everything to Inglorious Basterds, I'm here to try again, and I can safely say this year is more spread out than last.

Best Picture

• 127 hours
• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The King's Speech
• The Kids are Alright
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
• Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
• Jesse Eisenburg (The Social Network)
• Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
• James Franco (127 Hours)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening (The Kids are Alright)
• Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
• Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
• Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
• Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale (The Fighter)
• John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
• Jeremy Renner (The Town)
• Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are Alright)
• Geoffery Rush (The King's Speech)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams (The Fighter)
• Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
• Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
• Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
• Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Achievement in Directing

• Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
• Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
• David Fincher (The Social Network)
• Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
• David O. Russel (The Fighter)

Best Original Screenplay

• Mike Leigh (Another Year)
• Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington (The Fighter)
• Christopher Nolan (Inception)
• Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg (The Kids are Alright)
• David Seidler (The King's Speech)

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
• Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
• Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3)
• Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
• Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini (Winter's Bone)

Best Cinematography

• Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)
• Wally Pfister (Inception)
• Danny Cohen (The King's Speech)
• Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network)
• Roger Deakins (True Grit)

Best Art Direction

• Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara (Alice in Wonderland)
• Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1)
• Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat (Inception)
• Eve Stuart, Judy Farr (The King's Speech)
• Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh (True Grit)

Best Costume Design

• Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland)
• Antonella Cannarozi (I Am Love)
• Jenny Beavan (The King's Speech)
• Sandy Powell (The Tempest)
• Mary Zophres (True Grit)

Best Sound Mixing

• Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick (Inception)
• Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, John Midgley (The King's Speech)
• Jeffrey J. Haboush, William Sarokin, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell (Salt)
• Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Mark Weingarten (The Social Network)
• Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland (True Grit)

Best Editing

• Jon Harris (127 Hours)
• Andrew Weisblum (Black Swan)
• Pamela Martin (The Fighter)
• Tariq Anwar (The King's Speech)
• Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall (The Social Network)

Best Sound Editing

• Richard King (Inception)
• Tom Meyers, Michael Silvers (Toy Story 3)
• Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Addison Teague (TRON: Legacy)
• Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey (True Grit)
• Mark P. Stoeckinger (Unstoppable)

Best Visual Effects

• Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips (Alice in Wonderland)
• Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1)
• Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, Joe Farrell (Hereafter)
• Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin (Inception)
• Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick (Iron Man 2)

Best Makeup

• Adrien Morot (Barney's Version)
• Edouard F. Henriques, Greg Funk, Yolanda Toussieng (The Way Back)
• Rick Baker, Dave Elsey (The Wolfman)

Best Original Song

• If I Rise (127 Hours)
• Coming Home (Country Strong)
• I See the Light (Tangled)
• We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

Best Original Score

• A.R. Rahman (127 Hours)
• John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)
• Hans Zimmer (Inception)
• Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech)
• Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (The Social Network)

Best Animated Feature

• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Illusionist
• Toy Story 3

 

So here's my list of oscar picks, which I guarantee is 100% wrong, because if I know the academy, it's all going to The King's Speech because of an astounding 12 nominations.

 

Tsk Tsk Tsk Dora!

(image credit: NickelodeonPR)

So this is what Dora's teaching kids these days? Eat foods that most preschool shows would deem "unhealthy?" Tsk tsk tsk. Three tsks. That's a tsk all the way. Triple tsk.

Yes, I am wasting a post, I know. I'll review the special when it airs, but I wish I could have covered it earlier.

Go Go... Mighty Morphin' Nickelodeon? [TV][PRESS]

(Where's the Orange Ranger?)

Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and SCG Power Rangers LLC, an affiliate of Saban Brands, have partnered to make Nick the U.S. television platform for Power Rangers, the long-running kids’ TV phenomenon now heading into its 18th television season. The partnership marks the return of the global franchise to its original developer, Haim Saban, who developed and produced the original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series in 1993. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are truly excited to be partners with Haim Saban and his team,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “As one of the original leaders in kids’ television he helped to create powerful brand equity for Power Rangers and with partnerships like this Nickelodeon will be able to build a broader audience, superserve multiple demos, especially boys, and expand our programming offerings.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Nickelodeon to bring the ever-popular Power Rangers to a whole new generation of viewers,” said Haim Saban, the original developer of Power Rangers. “With Nickelodeon’s reach we are at the beginning of a new era for one of the world’s leading children’s entertainment properties.”
“The Saban Brands team is looking forward to collaborating with the experts at Nick to re-launch and propel the new Power Rangers like never before,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands.
The deal brings the forthcoming 18th season (20 new episodes) of Power Rangers to Nickelodeon and Nicktoons in 2011, with the catalog of 700 episodes launching on Nicktoons later this year.
Produced by SCG Power Rangers LLC, Power Rangers will commence production in summer 2010 with original Executive Producer Jonathan Tzachor back at the helm and a new cast, look and theme for the show. Following its introduction in 1993, Power Rangers quickly became the most watched children’s television program in the United States. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork, responsibility and helping others by following the adventures of a group of ordinary young people who “morphed” into superheroes, the series was seen in more than 60 countries and translated into numerous languages. It rose to rank as the #1 boys brand in the world from 1993-97, based on toy sales and television ratings.
Concurrent with the acquisition of the Power Rangers franchise, Saban Brands has announced a new, long-term master toy and video game license agreement with Bandai America Incorporated, a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (USA) Inc., which has been the toy partner for Power Rangers since its inception. Saban Brands will manage the Power Rangers brand worldwide including licensing, merchandising, consumer promotions and brand extensions.

Power Rangers was one of those things that defined my childhood. What killed it for me was how difficult it became to follow after a while. I did catch some of the newer shows on occasion when they were on Disney Channel. I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of this.

Surprise Premiere Week? [TV][OPINION]

For some strange reason, I never got a press release in regards to the upcoming week of new Ni hao, Kai-lan episodes. So I did some research, and by that I mean using google, to find some episode information, and I tried to build a small opinion on each episode based on what I read.

Lulu's Cloud seems to be about Hoho being in an unfamiliar place with everything different from what he's used to, it's scary to him. I was thinking he would be homesick, but then I read the official description on Nickelodeon's website, and it seems they're reusing the song from Trip to China, which is probably a good idea because I recall the song skipping a beat in Trip to China! Also, Mr. Dragon returns in this episode, and we finally get to see how big he really is!

When I saw one episode was called "Pandy's Puddle," I REALLY had no idea what the heck it would be about. Was it going to be about Tolee not taking responsibility for his actions? Nope, turns out this episode IS about Tolee's attachment to Pandy. Basically, Tolee's favorite stuffed panda "Pandy" falls in a mud puddle, and Yeye takes him away to clean him up good as new, but Tolee gets so upset. Am I to guess this will be Tolee's turn to cry? He and Lulu are the only ones in the main cast that haven't shed a tear yet.

Kai-lan's Playhouse is the one I'm honestly looking forward to the most. Why? Basically, what happens is Yeye and the Ants are building a playhouse for Kai-lan and her friends, and everyone gets a room to decorate. When Hoho can't find the decorations he wants, he takes his anger out on Rintoo by hitting him! ISN'T THAT A BIT EXTREME?? Either way, my curiosity about that is... does Hoho himself hit Rintoo, does he hit Rintoo with an object, or does he set off a series of events that causes Rintoo to get hit? I say this is extreme because when Yo Gabba Gabba taught something with a violent behavior, it was "don't bite your friends."

Tolee's Promise is probably going to be the black sheep of the week. The Snails had a Merry-Go-Round that was fun, 'til the Merry-Go-Round broke down. Kai-lan and her friends promise to help the Snails fix it, but Tolee gets distracted by the Ants having a scooter race, and doesn't keep his promise. It's an important lesson, but I say it won't be the greatest because it sounds underwhelming. I was thinking it would have been more like Hoho's Big Flight, except Tolee gets distracted by almost everything!

So yes, the week seems very interesting. After this, we'll be up to 16 episodes of the second season, which will eventually end in a special... PRINCESS KAI-LAN? I'm saying that because there are about 50 different books with "Princess" and "Kai-lan." 

(Image credit: Nick Jr.)

New Episodes of "Ni Hao, Kai-lan" Premiere Beginning Oct. 13 [TV][PRESS]

NICKELODEON PREMIERES FOUR NEW EPISODES OF

HIT ANIMATED SERIES NI HAO, KAI-LAN BEGINNING

TUESDAY, OCT. 13 AT 1:30 P.M. (ET/PT)

Nickelodeon premieres four new episodes of Ni Hao, Kai-lan, the interactive, animated series which introduces preschoolers to Chinese culture and language, from Tuesday, Oct. 13 – Friday Oct. 16.  The schedule for the premiere week is as follows (all times are 1:30 p.m., ET/PT):

Tuesday, Oct. 13 -- “Rintoo Makes a Splash”

YeYe is taking Kai-lan and her friends to a super special, magical water park.  Everyone’s having a blast – until Rintoo starts splashing, cannonballing, and playing rough.  When no one wants to play with Rintoo anymore, it’s up to Kai-lan and the viewer to help him play more gently so everybody can enjoy the water.

Emotion/Issue: Perspective Taking

Chinese Target Word: Shui (water)

Wednesday, Oct. 14 -- “The Ants Dance”

There’s a big talent show in the backyard and Kai-lan and her band are excited to play their new song, and to see the ants do a big dance number.  But when a bossy ant named BuBu makes all the choices about the dance routine and won’t let his fellow ants have a say, Kai-lan needs the viewer’s help to convince BuBu to let everyone have a choice so the show can go on.

Emotion/Issue: Bossiness, Giving Everyone a Choice

Chinese Target Word: Tiaowu (dance)

Thursday, Oct. 15 -- “Stompy Rides Again”

Kai-lan and her friends are riding a train all the way to Hula Duck Island.  Everyone loves riding the train through the backyard, but when it gets to Stompy’s house, there’s no room on the train for their elephant friend making Stompy very sad.  Kai-lan needs the viewer’s help to find a way for Stompy to play – and they build a brand new train car so Stompy can join them.

Emotion/Issue: Inclusion

Chinese Target Word: Lanse (blue) / Chengse (orange)

Friday, Oct., 16 -- “Rintoo’s Big Flip”

Kai-lan and her friends go to see the Chinese rabbit acrobats and are amazed by their tricks. When a rabbit acrobat invites Kai-lan and her friends to be in his show that night, everybody’s excited to practice flips except Rintoo, who doesn’t think he needs to practice.  But when his flip turns out to be harder than he thought, Rintoo quits the show.  Kai-lan needs the viewer’s help to convince Rintoo to practice so he can be in the show, too.

Emotion/Issue: Practice

Chinese Target Word: Yuan xing (circle)

Ni Hao, Kai-lan, created by Karen Chau and executive produced by Mary Harrington, is the first original half-hour series that teaches Mandarin words and phrases and Chinese culture to preschoolers.  Ni Hao, Kai-lan is also Nickelodeon’s first play-along, think-along series to feature an intergenerational family.  Through the eyes of a five-year-old Chinese-American girl named Kai-lan, the series explores the colorful aspects of her upbringing and background, her relationships with her family and friends and the world around her.

The series focuses on issues common to preschoolers such as taking turns, disappointment and jealousy, and supports an emotional intelligence curriculum highlighting cause and effect thinking in the social/emotional world.  Ni Hao, Kai-lan provides simple coping strategies, set to song, that teach valuable lessons.  Kai-lan strives to understand how things are linked together and she always wants to find out the reason why.  Every episode follows the adventures of Kai–lan and her friends as they learn to identify their emotions and stop to consider the feelings of others.

(Photo courtesy Nick Jr.)