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Shown above is a sample from the latest chapter in the Dunny series of urban designer toys, which are well worth checking out:

Kidrobot Dunny Series 4

"Dunny Series 4 is rockin' the block with it's greatest assortment of artists yet. That isn't to say the first three series weren't great, it's just that this one is going to blow your minds! Series 4 is a 3-Inch mini-series featuring Frank Kozik, Jon Burgerman, MAD, Tara McPherson, Mad Barbarians, Shane Jessup, David Flores, KOA, Sket One, Gary Baseman, Michael Motorcycle, Joe Ledbetter, MIST, Nico Berry, Thomas Han and Mike '2600' Davis of Twelve Car Pileup."

Shown above are promotional trailers for Clannad, D.C. II (Da Capo II), Shakugan no Shana 2nd, Prism Ark, Kimikiss Pure Rouge, Ef - A Tale of Memories, Night Wizard, Kodomo No Jikan (A Child's Time), Myself ; Yourself, Blue Drop, Rental Magica, Mokke, Sketchbook, Bamboo Blade, and Dragonut the Resonance. And here's a second set of trailers:

The trailers from this set are Koharu Biyori, Genshiken 2nd, You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle, Hidamari Sketch, Suteki Tantei Labyrinth, Shugo Chara!, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Jyushin Enbu: Hero Tales, Yattokame Tanteidan, Ultimate Survivor Kaiji, Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro and Ghost Hound.

The Hello Kitty bathtub toy from the 80s seems so low tech when put next to all the recent Sanrio merchandise like the Hello Kitty Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds.

Found via ToysBlog.it.

Shown above are a few more trailers and omake for the Fall 2007: MapleStory, Strait Jacket, ChocoMimi, Tensai: Dr. Hamax, 静止画らしい, Keitai Shojo and a live action Negima.

Slashfilm slags James Wong for the Final Destination films, but to be fair he also played a major role in the X-Files:

James Wong to direct Dragon Ball Z Movie

"Good News: 20th Century Fox are making a Dragon Ball Z movie. Bad News: James Wong, the guy behind the sh*tty Final Destination films is the guy directing it."

I think without the Hollywood pressure of doing a big screen epic this production might be much more interesting to watch:

Wallace and Gromit return to TV

"Wallace and Gromit are to return in a half-hour television adventure - the first since 1995's A Close Shave. Aardman Animations has announced that the cheese-loving inventor and his loyal dog will star in Trouble at' Mill - to screen on BBC One in late 2008. Creator Nick Park said: "The story takes Wallace and Gromit in a direction we haven't seen before - both emotionally and technically."

Shooting starts in January at Aardman studios in Bristol. Trouble at' Mill is a murder mystery that sees Wallace and Gromit running a bakery business - with their house converted into a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms."

...also check out this great gallery showing Wallace and Gromit pre-production sketches.

I rather enjoyed this homemade video by these Star Wars fanboys!

Found via BoingBoing.net.

Ward Jenkins is a very talented illustrator who hails from Portland, Oregon. Recently on his Flickr feed I discover an amazing set of scans he uploaded of the book Space Alphabet (1964) by Irene Zacks, which features some amazing artwork by Peter P. Plasencia. I did a quick bit of searching for a bio of Mr. Plasencia and found this:

"Peter P. Plasencia is a native New Yorker. He is married and has one daughter, Regina. He majored in industrial design at Pratt Institute, studied at the Meschini Institute in Rome, and at the Art Students League in New York. Mr. Plasencia is now head of his own design house. Among the children's books he has illustrated are In The Deep Blue Sea, Magic Mixtures: Alloys and Plastics, and The Chemistry of a Lemon, all published by Prentice-Hall."

Shown above is an art installation which is copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey on a 2×4×8 foot large VHS cassette by artist David Herbert.

Found via GeekAlerts and GearFuse.

If your a serious Star Wars fanboy then this decor is a "must have item":

Star Wars Photo Wallpaper Now Shipping to US

"ID-WALL are delighted to officially announce the release of five new stunning Star Wars photo wallpaper images, and that they are now able to ship overseas to the U.S.! The large format wall murals include illustrations featuring the Rebel X-wing Starfighters, Millennium Falcon, Boba Fett's Slave I and TIE Advanced fighters. Also included in this release is the impressive Death Star image that has proved so popular in the earlier canvas print collections."

Shown above is the slick new teaser poster for the upcoming Iron Man film from Marvel Entertainment.

Found via FirstShowing.net.

This trailer proves that it's hard to go wrong when you team up Tim Burton with Johnny Depp! I'm also impressed they they have Sacha Baron Cohn too, yet my only regret is that Angela Lansbury wasn't included:

It may be quite some time until we see Blade Runner Replicants roaming the streets, but this might be the start of something:

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

"Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

At first I thought the use of VOCALOID2 (an anime themed voice synthesizer software) to make videos on YouTube was just some sort overnight fad I could ignore, but much to my shock the voice of Hatsune Miku the cute robot girl keeps popping up in my browser. My official fanboy.com prediction is that at the rate things are going we'll see a Hatsune Miku anime show, manga and video game within a year.

Shown above is the first still from the new CGI AstroBoy which is slated to come out in 2008. I don't want to be too judgemental at this point as it's hard to tell from a still how well the animation will or won't work:

Jensen has 'Astro Boy' flight plan

"For Danish-born animator Jakob Jensen, to animate Japan's classic manga "Astro Boy" at Hong Kong's Imagi Animation Studio seems like a difficult challenge, despite his background at DreamWorks. After all, Astro Boy is virtually a national treasure of Japan, but far less well known in the rest of the world. But Jensen has confidence that he can make "Astro Boy" fly.

" 'I want to apply my DreamWorks experience and implement philosophies I learned at that company into the work flow and the pipeline of the studio in Hong Kong to make Astro Boy as empathic in the U.S. as he is in Japan," said Jensen, 32, the animation acting director for "Astro Boy" at Imagi."

The design of Wall-E reminds me quite a bit of V.I.N.CENT from the Disney Black Hole film and also the droids Huey Dewey and Louie from the 70s ecology/sci fi themed film Silent Running.

I'd rather see "The Cage" (and show it with a scratchy 16mm print too) but this is still a pretty cool event:

Remastered "Menagerie" in Theatres!

"On Tuesday, November 13, the two-part Star Trek Remastered version of "The Menagerie” will beam onto the big screen in a special engagement with selected theatres. The screening — a first for episodic Star Trek on this scale — will be seen in nearly 300 venues across the U.S. and Canada. This one-night-only event will also feature a special introduction by Eugene "Rod” Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, plus an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Remastered series.

"The Menagerie" will be presented in its digitally remastered, high-definition format and in Cinema Surround Sound. The screening is in part to promote the HD-DVD/DVD release the following week (Nov. 20) by CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

Shown above is some fun footage taken by a Star Wars fanboy at Plaster Blaster, which took place in San Diego this weekend. For some background info on the team behind the rocket check out this article.

Recently the head of NASA predicted that China would beat the United States back to the moon. To me this is depressing as the issue isn't re-creating technology from the late 60's but is about funding the space program. So this well done BBC article caught my eye as it shows how Wernher von Braun's plan for going to Mars was shot down:

Will we ever send humans to Mars?

"In the summer of 1969, two weeks after Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, rocket scientist Wernher von Braun delivered to Nasa a detailed, fully costed plan for landing humans on Mars. Dr von Braun, who had masterminded America's lunar programme, intended to send astronauts on an initial excursion to the Red Planet lasting two years, with a fly-by of Venus on the journey home.

The mission was to reach Mars by 1982 and would be accomplished using a nuclear-powered rocket. This would be parked in Earth orbit and used to ferry 800-tonne spaceships to Mars and back. The annual cost, von Braun estimated, would peak at $7bn in 1974, running at $6bn thereafter. But by the end of the 1960s, politicians and the media had had their fill of space; the timing was also wrong economically. As a result, the proposal fell on deaf ears."

...with all this talk of Sputnik I'd like to see a new space race for the 21st century. Why don't we work with Russia, China, India and Europe to return to the moon? It would save taxpayers money, inspire people across the globe, and maybe just improve international relations. That system of working together could then be used as a preamble to a Mars project.

The above fan video kitbashes a scene from Ike! Godman (Go! Godman in North America) with Gundam 00. Ike! Godman was produced by Toho in the early 70s and featured a different rubber monster each episode.

Good grief Charlie Brown! Who would have thought that a biography of Charles M. Schulz would be causing controversy:

Biography of ‘Peanuts’ Creator Stirs Family

"David Michaelis first contacted the family of Charles M. Schulz seven years ago about writing a biography of Schulz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. It turned out that Schulz had read Mr. Michaelis’s biography of N. C. Wyeth, and that Schulz’s son Monte also liked the writer’s work. He ended up helping persuade the rest of the Schulz clan to cooperate with Mr. Michaelis, granted full access to his father’s papers and put aside his own novel writing to help him.

But Monte Schulz said that when he read Mr. Michaelis’s manuscript in December, members of the family were shocked by the portrayal of a depressed, cold and bitter man who was constantly going after different women. “It’s not true,” Monte said. “It’s preposterous.” His sister Amy Schulz Johnson felt the same. “The whole thing is completely wrong,” she said from her home in Utah. “I think he wanted to write a book a certain way, and so he used our family".”

Shown above is the Serenity Lunch Box (from Dark Horse Comics) which will be hitting your local comic book shop in March of 2008:

Serenity Lunch Box: Fruity Oaty Bar

"In examining the rich and cohesive world of Serenity, we've designed two special lunch boxes. With the Serenity logo in brilliant litho-printed color on one side, and the ship herself on the other, bordered by the exotic intergalactic currency created for the film, this makes a striking lunch box for any Serenity fan to tote around.

Serenity fans everywhere will be able to recognize each other when carrying the cute and colorful lunch box bearing the iconic images from the "Fruity Oaty Bar" commercial. If you know Fruity Oaty Bar, you know your Serenity!"

I love the above commercial spot for Sony which was animated by London based Passion Pictures. Animation director Darren Walsh worked on the Angry Kid series prior this this latest spot.

It's more belt buckle than meets the eye! Shown above is the Decepticon Belt Buckle.

A Japanese fanboy on YouTube has posted a video featuring the top 101 anime songs of all time. What's interesting to me isn't so much the music but the wide range of shows represented which go back to the 60s in some cases. In countdown style shown above are songs #101 to through #51, and below is #50 through number #1.

You know I wouldn't mind seeing an actual theatrical Futurama film, but this looks like the next best thing:

Trailer For The Futurama 'Movie'

"As you're likely aware – or if you're not you're about to be very excited – Futurama, Matt Groening's unjustly cancelled follow up to The Simpsons, is to return to screens. Groening and his crew are producing three feature length episodes which will be released on DVD, the first out by the end of the year, and then cut up into episode length for TV broadcast.

Benders Big Score is set at Xmas (as Christmas has officially been abbreviated to in the future) 3007 and Professor Farnsworth and the rest of the Planet Express crew must battle nudist alien internet scammers who wish to take over Earth. Having discovered the secret to time traveller tattooed on Fry's arse, they reprogram Bender and sent him back in time to steal Earth's treasures."

Get a grip C3PO! After all this isn't anything to lose your head over:

Collectors Edition C3PO Helmet Mask

"This Star Wars mask is a replica of C3PO's helmet. The mask is composed of heavy duty vinyl and will look good as part of a costume or as a display piece. The mask will fit most adults."

Found via GeekAlerts.

Dig those crazy Star Wars dance moves from 1985! Although I won't laugh too hard as my trumpet skills are a notch below what Stacy was doing...

Found via Mahalo.

Above is a classic interview with Mel Blanc, who did pretty much every great Warner Brothers voice from Bugs Bunny to my favorite Foghorn Leghorn. What's nice about this interview is that Blanc goes into detail on his creative process, and he also reveals that Bugs Bunny was a cross between a Bronx and Brooklyn accent. It's amazing to think that those classic cartoons would require 125 people, take 9 months to produce, all for a cost of $50k (which was half a million in 1981 dollars). By the way you can tell from the interview that Dave respects Mel (which is pretty rare). Sadly Blanc passed away eight years later after this interview, but it's always nice to see the face behind the voice.

Shown above is a vivid yet lush illustration of Shakespeare's The Tempest by Sam Weber who is based in New York City. His portfolio is well worth checking out as it has a wonderful mix of surrealism, horror and whimsy. Also as a graphic designer I also love how Weber incorporates typography and abstract design elements into his artwork.

Sadly with all of the light pollution here in NYC it's hard for me to see much when I look up at the night sky, but the few times I manage to spot something I'm always wondering "just what star or planet is that?" So I was happy to discover this nifty gizmo which can solve all of your astronomical identification needs:

MySky GPS Star Tracker

"Take the MySky out of its package, plug in some batteries, go outside, preferably at night although even when you can't see them, the stars are still there during the day. Now let the MySky figure out its location and time via GPS. There are three different basic modes to using the night sky - Identify, Find, & Guided Tour. In 'Identify' Mode, the default, you will be presented with a real time LCD view of the night sky, complete with constellations. Simply point it to the object of choice in the real sky, and shoot. It will identify! You can also take a 'Guided Tour' of the best objects available to you at the moment based on your location, date & time. Finally, if you want to locate a specific object (planet, comet, galaxy, etc.) - you can navigate through the menus, select the item and your MySky will point out its location in the real sky."

I wish Apple would team up with Sanrio and make a Hello Kitty iPhone:

A new GSM Hello Kitty Phone for Taiwan

"Face it, the iPHONE is completely a has-been; just jump into the Hello Kitty phone experience with the latest OKWAP C150T Hello Kitty Edition available in Taiwan. With this true Uber-Geek phone, you will not be screwed by any firmware updates; even better, the phone is ALREADY SIM FREE, and will be to play Mp3 files, MP4 and 3GPS video, take pictures with its amazing crappy 2Mpix camera… and the best of all, you will be able to "pimp" your phone with some cute pink Hello Kitty stuff… Finally: the first nemesis to the iPHONE!"

“Samurai Vader” is a 1/4th scale costume that even features a traditional bow and Samurai sword! The suit was created for a Japanese festival back in May called Tango no Sekku, which means “Boy’s Day”. The model kit was created by the Yoshitoku Company and you can find their Star Wars section here.

Found via Albotas.com.

As someone who commutes over the Williamsburg Bridge every day I got a real kick out this new poster for I Am Legend (although the bridge featured in the poster is the Brooklyn Bridge, but that's close enough for this fanboy),

Shown above is a sketch for the cover of Madame Mirage #6 illustrated by Kenneth Rocafort. Rocafort's drawing has a wonderful art nouveau feeling to it, every line is packed with nice twists and turns.

The Optical Mickey Mouse shown above is quite swanky! What's cute about it is that it also includes a matching mouse pad that uses the same black and white comic strip motif.

Found via GeekAlerts.com.

Show above is an amazing behind the scenes look at the making of Snow White from 1938. The funny thing is that Disney still uses the "behind the scenes look" to promote their fimls today, but to be fair when you have a high level of craftsmanship you should show it off.

Released in April 12, 1945 Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors was the first full length featured anime film (74 minutes long) made in Japan. The film was directed during World War II by Mitsuyo Seo and produced as propaganda for the Imperial Navy Department of Japan.

Special thanks to Nicholas D. Kent for finding this! Nick also had these other great insights to share:

I hate to say it, but I think a Wii Light Saber might be more entertaining than Episode I:

LucasArts to wield Wii Light Sabre in UK next week

"British fans of Nintendo Wii and Star Wars will get a first glimpse of the console’s upcoming Light Sabre peripheral at a gaming festival being held later this month. LucasArts will be exhibiting the peripheral alongside its forthcoming Wii title Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, at the GameCity festival due to be held between 24 and 28 October. Unfortunately, gamers will only be able to get in touch with their Jedi sides and use the Light Sabre on one day: 26 October.

Although LucasArts didn't say if the peripheral or the game will be available to buy at the festival, the demo should at least gives gamers the chance to wield the Light Sabre ahead of the previously announced Spring 2008 release date."

Shown above are a few panels from Killing Girl #3 by Toby Cypress. While I see tons of comics that are so uptight about getting the inking just so, I love the animated expressionistic approach that Cypress uses on the interiors of this book.

Shown above is a cover sketch by Brian Wood for DMZ: Random Fire. I love the graphic look of Wood's work, I always follow his work on Flickr.

My guess is that at this rate it's only a matter of time until Lucas starts to get to work on another trilogy:

'Star Wars' series comes to TV
Lucas planning franchise spinoff show

"The Force may soon be coming to a television near you. George Lucas said Tuesday he is planning a live-action television series spinoff of the "Star Wars" film franchise. Lucas told The Los Angeles Times he has "just begun work" on the series, which will not include the films' major characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. "The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas told the Times. Lucas wouldn't reveal details, but joked that the series would be about "the life of robots." Lucas already has another television series in the works. Lucas Animation has been working for months on the computer-animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"."

The above animated public service announcements were shown in the Kantō region of Japan, my guess is that they're from the 70s. What I like about these spots is that they feel very Japanese, but they don't look like typical anime. There's also something quite charming about the limited animation and cheerful music.

Leo Toys is an amazing website from Italy that has an amazing collection of photos of vintage 1/43 scale tin toy cars.

Found via toysblog.it.