We all know that Marvel has their Marvel Universe and their Ultimate Universe, and we know that DC has 52 different universes all in
constant flux, but did you know that Archie Comics – yes, Archie Comics – started three more brand new universes in the past
several months?

That brings their total up to at least five; six if you count the one that DC has been renting for a while. There’s the ongoing America’s Typical Teen-Ager universe and there’s their new-look more up-to-date and somewhat more realistic universe. To this they have added a universe in which their 1950s characters such as Super Duck and Cosmo The Merry Martian
live – they crossed over into the mainstream universe this past winter – and now they’re adding a universe in which Archie married Betty and another in which Archie married Veronica.

Yep, they’re adding two on-going spinoffs to Michael Uslan’s recent “what if” story arc wherein Archie married each of his long-time girl friends. No, no… separately, kids, separately. The new books are titled (get this) Archie Loves Veronica and Archie Loves Betty. Heck, I used to think Archie loved them both. Separately, kids, separately.

I don’t know if those last two will have legs, although Betty and Veronica certainly do. But right now they’re quite timely.

Over the many years, Archie Comics has shown a many attempts at very creative and sometimes even courageous projects, although most lasted only briefly. Given their newfound editorial prerogatives, can we expect Senator Reggie Mantle, Mister Lodge’s Ponzi Schemes and, ultimately, Archie’s Divorce Comics?… And, as we suggested in our own Munden’s Bar, maybe even Archie Marries Jughead?

Well, progress is one thing, and blasphemy is quite another.

Here’s something you don’t hear every day – a TV producer saying he is fine with his new reduced budget.

Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat said he is not too concerned about the budget cuts on the upcoming season, which has been largely filmed already. Moffat told Digital Spy “Budget cuts are tough. I don’t like them, but they force you to be creative.
No one is going to say the show looks cheaper because it doesn’t.”

This man will get as much work from the BBC as he wants …
but he might not ever get a budget increase again.

Moffat went on to say “There will never be enough money to
make Doctor Who. We could spend Avatar’s budget and still ask for more, because it’s a show that’s set in every point in history and every place in the
universe.” He did acknowledge he could easily spend any amount allocated for the program.

The new season of Doctor Who starts in Britain on April 3
and in the United States on April 17.

There’s a documentary about to open, [[[Waking Sleeping Beauty]]], focusing on the decade that saw Walt Disney Studios regain their mojo and produce a new generation of wonderful animated films beginning with [[[The Little Mermaid]]].  I’m really looking forward to seeing how that happened but we all know how it ends. Pixar’s CGI efforts arrived with [[[Toy Story]]] and suddenly 2-D movies looked like something from a fairy tale, old and tired. Disney shuttered the animation department.

When Pixar and Disney merged, the best thing to come from that was John Lasseter coming home and declaring that hand-drawn animation was far from dead. That statement became a fact last November when The Princess and The Frog
was released. Now on home video from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, it is a worthy addition to the family library.

John Musker and Ron Clement, who will get their due in the documentary, return as co-directors and it feels like they have not missed a beat. The movie follows what has become a standard template for a Disney film but they wisely spice things up much like the gumbo seen in the movie itself. Rather than adapt the tale and setting it in Europe, they felt a new venue was in order. New Orleans in the 1920s was an inspired choice, allowing them to feature people of color, along with the attendant dialects and influences.

The latest princess is not the first of color, a designation that more properly belongs to Princess Jasmine from Aladdin but having a largely African-American cast was long overdue. Fortunately, New Orleans has always been a real gumbo, mixing a little bit of everything and everyone so it’s the first truly multi-racial cast.

The story is entertaining with lessons learned and laughs to be enjoyed. The power of love proves more magical than anything conjured up by the malevolent Doctor Facilier. Also magical is the music from Randy Newman. While none of the numbers seem to be breakout hits, they do serve storytelling purposes and does give a number of performers, including the great Doctor John a chance to reach a wider audience.

Disney also uses a nice diverse vocal cast and the standout is Anika Noni Rose as Tiana. Everyone else is fine and well cast.

The movie is available in the now-standard combo pack so you get the Blu-ray, standard and digital disc in one nice package. Visually, the animation is bold and bright and eve more colorful on Blu-ray. The look and sound are ideal in this format.

The extras are a mixed bunch with solid commentary from co-directors Musker and Clement, along with producer Peter Del Vecho. For interested fans, there are a series of deleted scenes that never got beyond the pencil test and there’s interesting discussion as to why each moment wound up excised. Magic in the Bayou: The Making of a Princess is a nice 22 minute making of featurette.  After that, though, the others are shorter and far less engaging, including The Return to Hand Drawn Animation, The Disney Legacy (which references the Nine Old Men but doesn’t name them all), Disney’s Newest Princess, The Princess and the Animator, Conjuring the Villain, and A Return to the Animated Musical. The exception being Bringing Animation to Life, where Clements and Musker delve deeper into the process.

The Blu-ray is rounded out with Art Galleries and an interactive game, What do you See? for the younger crowd. 

(more…)

Lucasfilm Ltd. is in pre-production on a series based on the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes, a line of Star Wars toys aimed at younger kids. According to IESB, the series is reportedly operating under the working title Squishies, and there is a director on board.  There is currently no word about any network deal, nor is there any word on what era of Star Wars history will be covered.

Any bets that they were inspired by the success of Marvel’s Super Hero Squad?