This awesome animated short has been floating around the net for a few weeks now, but hasn’t garnered a fraction of the views it deserves. Space Stallions was created by a group of students from The Animation Workshop attempting to capture the essence of 80’s cartoons like Voltron, Thunder Cats, and so on. Personally, I think they hit the nail on the head. The music was dead on with everything from sequenced arps and laser toms to its poorly written chorus. Visually, they touched on everything you’d expect to see like several of the characters rocking a mustache, Unicorn space-bikes, oh and a keytar sword. While I don’t think I’d ever want to sit through an actual episode should they ever make one, I have to applaud their awesome efforts here. Oh, and if you want to buy a copy of that theme song, you’re in luck. It’s available via BandCamp.

At a time when animation was still being looked at as funny little shorts, one man tried to prove them wrong! Produced with the help of Edgar Rice Burrough’s son John Coleman, animation director Bob Clampett (Looney Tunes, Beany & Cecil) produced this short pilot to a potential theatrical cartoon series he tried to sell to MGM during his off hours from “Termite Terrace”. Unfortunately several divisions of the studio felt the project was a little too weird for the audience’s taste and suggested a rather tamed approach based on something else. Needless to say Clampett’s enthusiasm dropped very quickly and he was back to the same ‘ol grind for many years to come, but still gave us good laughs every time.

This Lego Cuusoo project has been around for awhile, but has remained a bit of a hidden gem. Cuusoo user MaxVF1 threw together these amazing VF-1 Valkyries — or Veritechs depending on your preference — in hopes of convincing Lego to license them for retail. As you can see from the video above, they’re pretty easy to snap together and make pretty good display models. They even let you shift between gear-walk, battloid, and fighter modes with ease. The problem, at least from Lego’s standpoint, is that they appear a bit fragile. Of course, that issue alone is just one of many hurdles to overcome.

As far as I’m aware, retail distribution of products related to the original Macross would still have to include Harmony Gold’s permission. Before that even happens, there needs to be at least 10,000 supporters backing the project, only then would Lego even consider it. If you want to see these happen, be a pal and lend your support by visiting the Cuusoo page and giving it your vote. There are some more photos of the various models included as well.

If you grew up with Star Blazers, Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 the new Leiji Matsumoto series Ozma will bring a smile to your face! This new show will have a science fiction theme (of course!) and will start airing in Japan on March 16th this year. Below is a look at some of the character designs which remind me a great deal of Captain Harlock:

What’s funny to me looking at these character designs is just how much more moe they are from anything that was done by Matsumoto back in the day. So far the things we know about this show is that it’s a drama set on a desert planet in the future. The idea for the story dates back to the 80s and the series will be directed by Ryosuke Takahashi who worked on Votoms back in the day.

Found via natalie.mu/comic.

Last night marked the season 3 premiere of the animated FX series, and cult-favorite, Archer. For those of you who don’t watch, the series follows Sterling Archer, an over-the-top, self-absorbed spy who works for organization named ISIS, similar to MI-5, ran by his own mother. It often plays like a raunchy spoof of every Bond film ever made. Any way, it’s hilarious and definitely worth checking out. While you can find the first season readily available on Netflix, many viewers might want to play catch up. A lot can happen over the course of a season, so missing an one might leave you a bit dazed and confused.  Fortunately, Amazon is having an amazing deal right now. You can get season one and two of Archer on Blu-ray for just $20 — that’s half off.

Here’s a new animated short by John R. Dilworth who’s the man who brought Courage the Cowardly Dog to life:

It’s hard to believe but twenty years ago The Real World debuted on MTV and slowly the cable channel which was beloved by a generation went from from showing creative music videos to bland reality television. But before that there was a golden age of a cable channel which dared to be a bit artsy and take some chances. Even though the channel started out with small budgets from the early days they always had animated bumper spots that were just as entertaining as the music videos which were showcased. Here are a small selection of those spots which made a generation tell tell their parents that “I Want My MTV”:

Talk about growth spurts. Close to 900 people crowded into a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom at last weekend’s Bronycon II, vs. perhaps 1/3 that number at its September predecessor. The new venue – a long corridor and ballroom at NYC’s Hotel Pennsylvania (the fading epitome of 1940’s swank) – might’ve been bigger than the Chinatown loft where the September con was held, but was nonetheless instantly overcrowded. After one made their way past the undermanned registration desk, the next bottleneck to brave was a narrow doorway leading to the ballroom. (When you have dealer’s tables, an autograph line and random attendees all trying to occupy the same space at the time, traffic can’t help but gum up a bit.)

The voice acting panel at Bronycon II.

BroNYcon I’s high-profile guest of honor was Jayson Thiessen, MLP:FiM’s supervising director. This time Nicole Oliver, Ashleigh Ball and Andrea Libman – the voices behind Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Equestria’s benevolent monarch Princess Celestia — were on hand. The three participated in a 90 minute Q&A session in the packed ballroom, while some 2200 people watched online. One highlight of the session: the audience going nuts with applause when a fans requests and Ashleigh delivers a line from a popular fan animation in the voice of palomino farmgirl Applejack, “Fergit you, I kin eat all these apples!” (“You just fed the internet,” she was informed by the session’s host.) Evidently being exposed to hundreds of rabid bronies and “pegasisters” (sorry, that one doesn’t work for me) didn’t spook the three; when asked if they’d come back for another ‘con, Nicole didn’t hesitate to answer “in a New York second.”

Then, live via Skype, appeared Daniel Ingram (no, not the 1960’s top-40 deejay), the show’s composer. Once a few audio problems were surmounted, Ingram described the process of coming up with songs for MLP:FiM’s elaborate production numbers. (And according to Ingram, the show songs “The Art of the Dress” and “At the Gala” were homages – not knock-offs – of the incredibly similar-sounding Broadway show tunes “Putting it Together” (Sunday in the Park with George) and “Into the Woods” (from that particular musical).

Ingram praised the elaborate fan remixes and dance versions of those show songs. When asked which particular song he’d like to hear redone, the interviewer warned him “whatever you say will be done – the composers are eagerly awaiting your instructions.” Ingram chose ditsy Pinkie Pie’s “Smile Song,” to which an audience member quickly shouted “I’m gonna be right on that.”

Not too shabby a day for the bronies, who are undoubtedly going to flood July’s BroNYcon (lasting two days at a new venue ten times the size of that ballroom) in even greater numbers to see MLP:FiM’s equivalent of J.K. Rowling: series creator Lauren Faust.

When I first came across the Bronies my first thought was “this has to be some sort of 4chan scam”. But then I started following them on Google+ and was shocked to see a wealth of amazing humor and a fan culture that in many ways reminded me of shows like Ren and Stimpy in the 90s. Yet I still thought of this as some fringe movement lurking in the dark corners of comic cons — however then I stumbled upon BroNYCon and was blown out of the water!

BroNYCon will be taking place this Saturday and I assumed that it was some sort of small scale event, but then I looked at the website and was amazed. Firstly all of the advanced tickers have been sold out, next looking at the programming they actually have several voice actors (example: Andrea Libman the voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy) from the show and then thirdly they have several tracks of programming including an artist’s alley. Mind you that this has been all organized by the fans who also have a Meetup group as well.

To give you some perspective on this there hasn’t been a standalone anime convention in NYC since New York Comic Con swallowed the New York Anime Festival about two years ago. And keep in mind that New York Comic Con is run by professionals, nota bunch of fans who have days jobs. So having a convention in NYC is a real sign that a fandom has come of age, so be warned world: You’ll be seeing more My Little Pony fandom in the next few years.

This has to be the third or fourth spoof I’ve seen for The Dark Knight Rises trailer, and it’s probably the best one yet. Editor and director, Brad Hansen, decided to sync the audio from the trailer with clips from Disney’s The Lion King. It’s pretty amazing how it all fit together so well. It’s certainly more entertaining than the original trailer, but that’s not too hard to manage.

I admit that I’d rather pick up a copy of The Lion King on Blu-ray than sit through two hours of Batman battling a guy you can barely understand. Yes, I know he’s Bane and he’s suppose to be wearing a mask, but seriously? The guy is about three sizes too small for the role, and that mask just looks silly. Any way, you can check out more of Brad’s videos here.

According to reports, Bandai Entertainment announced that they’re through localizing new anime and manga. While they will continue to sell their current products, Bandai plans to shift its focus to license distribution. Subsequently, all the upcoming anime and manga series they’ve announced have been officially cancelled. If you were looking forward to Turn A Gundam, you’ll just have to hope someone will be able to re-license it once Bandai’s current license expires. This also applies to several upcoming manga titles like Gurren Lagann volume 7,  Code Geass, Kannagi 4, 5, 6 and others.

A shame, really, but I can’t say we didn’t see it coming. Bandai, despite being one of the largest distributors, has had its fair share of issues these past few years. They’ve undergone some recent restructuring and while I had hoped things would improve, this latest move seems to suggest they have not. It makes me wonder if Funimation may be headed the same direction — time will tell.

While walking down Bond Street I spotted this cute Leela on a truck…

Most people haven’t heard of the show, but for kids in the early 80s the Japanese-French animated series Ulysses 31 (宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31) left an impression that would mark a generation. A co-production by DiC and TMS, this program would receive brief exposure on American television via the syndicated weekend cartoon block, “Kideo TV” in 1986. This intentionally-cheesy fan-made homage to the show’s famous intro was produced by Dermot Canterbury, a London-based director who also produced work for such clients as the BBC, The Foundation, RDF, and English Heritage.

What I love about calendars from Japan is that it gives you that something different — something fanboy to look at all year. This season we we handpicked the dozen most interesting annuals from a wide ranging funky field of subject matter. Shown above is the Pixiv calendar, which features anime styled artwork from one of the best amateur illustration sites in Japan.

Being huge Hayao Miyazaki fans this 3D desktop calendar caught our eyes — it’s a Totoro Bus Stop on a Rainy Day calendar.

You’ve spent way too many hours wasting time look at Maru play with boxes on YouTube, so why not let her hang out in your home with this I AM MARU calendar.

If you’re an old school fan of live action Japanese TV there’s no one better to share your office with than Ultraman — and this calendar is aptly called All That’s Ultraman.

Puella Magi Madoka Magca is one of the hottest new school anime shows this year — and kawaii desktop calendar is a great way to get Madoka and her friends to hang out next to your computer.

Masamune Shirow is the artist who created Ghost in the Shell — this calendar celebrates his most dangerous women, thus the title Saber Tooth Cats 4.

This calendar is for Persona 4 which started life in Japan as a videogame and is now an anime series that is currently on the air.

This One Piece calendar appealed to our inner pirate.

K-ON! is an anime series about cute girls in a band, and this calendar allows you to share tea time with them.

Vertical has done a nice job of bringing the Chi’s Sweet Home to America, so if you fancy cat themed manga this calendar is the cat’s meow.

Of course if you’re not a cat person (shame on you!) this calendar for The Dog All-Star would be very fetching. Arf! Arf!

And lastly old school videogame fanboys will get a kick out of the Capcom Heros 2012 Calendar.

By pure chance I came across this amazing music video by a band called Goldfish — and while the music is pretty nice what really blew me away was the animation which feels like a cross between Gary Baseman and Keith Haring. The animator/artist behind the video is Mike Scott and his work is wondeful:

In the early 80s two short animation films created for the Diacon science fiction convention would give a start to an animation studio that would become known as Gianax. I first watched these animations on well worn VHS tapes in that era and all these years later the animation still holds up. But it seems that some younger otaku have adopted the shorts and made them their own by doing a recreated and updated 3D version which looks pretty nice — check it out:

And here is the classic version:

And here is some original character design artwork as well:

At first I didn’t take the Bronies too seriously, but this has made me change my mind: Operation Winter Wrap Up is a site started by My Little Pony fans with the objective of “Bronies donate Ponies to children in need” with a holiday toy drive. Currently the Operation Winter Wrap Up site includes detail information on where to donate, toy suggestions and other ways that people can help: And there’s also a Facebook page as well.

Oh sure any fanboy can buy a mere Mobile Suit Gundam model kit and put it together — but only a hardcore fanboy like Taras Lesko can hand craft a seven foot tall Gundam out of paper! Shown below is the step-by-step assembly and a video that he made:

Found via labaq.com and technabob.com.

At long last the One Piece x Hello Kitty goodies are hitting the shelves in Japan for all of those kitty pirates who want something cool for Christmas! This collection includes a line of phone charms, ear buds, a notebook and of course and iPhone case which can be purchased online (of course your ill need to know how to read Japanese):

Found via natalie.mu/comic.

This cute little Chewtoro adorns this t-shirt which is created by riptapparel.com. Found via Takashi Akimoto.

Friendship is magic — but even more magical in Japanese! Below is a very cute fan made Japanese dub of My Little Pony:

And course once upon a time the pony toys were available in Japan — here’s a greta retro commercial:

Fan dubbed pony found via マケッズアントニオ.

This is really bad news if you love old school claymation: Aardman the studio behind Wallace and Gromit is now talking about outsourcing their animation process. This BBC news article has this very depressing quote: “When a company like Aardman is considering offshoring stop-frame animation, which we are at the moment, something’s got to be wrong.”

Garrett Hedlund’s made a name for himself based on his starring role in Disney’s highly successful TRON: Legacy, but it looks like he might start getting typecast. No, not based on the role he played, but on the vehicle he drove! He might be trading in his lightcycle for a Neo-Tokyo motorcycle, according to reports, as he’s been offered the lead role in…oh, no. Not this again. The live-action Akira remake? Wasn’t this thing dead in the water, like, months ago? Why do the Warners want to throw so much money at this project? Oh well. At least Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter got offered parts as well. Maybe they can class up the joint.

Michael Sacco is a freelance editor and writer.

Mark Hamill may have gotten famous portraying Luke Skywalker, but his acting career never quite took off afterward. Hamill found another route to the hearts and minds of a new generation, though — portraying the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series. Say what you want about Nicholson’s or Ledger’s or even Romero’s Joker, but TAS Joker is the defining Joker for most people my age, and at the very least the very first voice that comes to mind when someone says “The Joker.” Now, Hamill’s ready to say goodbye to the role after his performance as the Clown Prince of Crime in the recently-released video game Batman: Arkham City. For those who’ve been following along at home, Hamill also said this after he wrapped up Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009, but he ended up sticking around for the sequel after its developers promised him that this Joker role would be something special. Everyone give Joker a nice buzzer handshake on his way out.

Michael Sacco is a freelance writer and editor.