Watch the ‘Bugs Bunny Builders’ Ring in the Lunar New Year

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023 Keina C

This weekend, we welcome the Year of the Rabbit as half the globe celebrates Lunar New Year. Fittingly, Bugs Bunny and friends are ready for the spotlight with a stacked slate featuring a Lunar New Year celebration short on Cartoonito, new episodes of Bugs Bunny Builders and HBO Max’s Looney Tunes Cartoons, plus the launch of Tiny Toons Looniversity later this year.

Animation, Interview1 Comment

Uncovering the Secrets of Yorubaland with the Creators of ‘Iyanu’

November 29, 2022November 29, 2022 Mike Manalo

In 2023, the world will meet Iyanu! Based on the acclaimed Dark Horse graphic novel, Iyanu: Child of Wonder, HBO Max is teaming with Lion Forge Animation to bring the world its first Nigerian/Yoruban inspired animated fantasy epic series. And The Nerds of Color was able to get an exclusive look with creators, David Steward II and Saxton Moore.

Animation, DC Comics, Interview

AJ Hudson on Playing Robin in Cartoonito’s ‘Batwheels’

October 20, 2022October 20, 2022 Swara Salih

Batwheels is unique in the Batman franchise for introducing talking cars into the Bat-verse, but its far more significant step is introducing Duke Thomas, the first Black Robin, into onscreen media!

Animation, DC Comics

‘Secret Origin of the Batwheels’ is a Fun Romp Through Gotham City

September 16, 2022September 17, 2022 Keith Chow

Just in time for Batman Day, Cartoonito and HBO Max are introducing the Bat Family and its colorful Rogues Gallery (and their sentient vehicles) to an all-new preschool audience with the half-hour special, Secret Origin of the Batwheels.

Animation, DC Comics

Check Out Ethan Hawke as Batman in this ‘Batwheels’ Clip

August 24, 2022August 24, 2022 Keina C

Today, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network’s preschool-centered programming brand, unveiled a first look at Ethan Hawke voicing Batman in a clip from the upcoming half-hour special, Secret Origin of the Batwheels. Premiering on Batman Day, September 17, Secret Origin is a prelude to Batwheels, launching later this fall on Cartoonito and HBO Max.

Animation, Interview, Television

Eric Bauza and Chandni Parekh Lend Their Voices to ‘Bugs Bunny Builders’

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 Keith Chow

Next week, Warner Bros. Animation is bringing their iconic Looney Tunes characters to a preschool audience with Cartoonito’s Bugs Bunny Builders. We were fortunate enough to speak with the talented voices behind the iconic Bunnys — Bugs and Lola — as they discuss their new show.

Animation, Gaming, Interview

NOC Interview: Reed Shannon is a Voice of the Future

December 20, 2021December 20, 2021 Bray Lawrence

Reed Shannon is the very definition of a performer, and there’s a very good chance you have heard or seen him already. Whether it comes to his acting in the upcoming The Wilds season two, making music like his recent single “Bad Girl,” his stand-up career, or his voice acting as the voice of Cartoon Network and fan favorite Ekko from the hit Netflix show, Arcane, Reed has shown that he is able to do it all and more.

Animation, Interview, Streaming

Finding ‘Courage’ Again: An Interview with Marty Grabstein

September 6, 2021September 6, 2021 Mike Manalo

If you’re anything like me, you grew up watching Cartoon Network cartoons in the late ’90s and early ’00s. There were a ton to enjoy, from Powerpuff Girls to Dexter’s Lab, and even classics like Samurai Jack. However one of the best and most underrated was a little cartoon called Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Animation, Television

Matthew A. Cherry and Chaz Bottoms Bring Us New Animated Series ‘Battu’

July 15, 2021July 15, 2021 Jamal Michel

Cartoon Network Studios is teaming up with award-winning filmmaker Matthew Cherry (Hair Love) and award-winning director Chaz Bottoms (Dear John: Legendary Love Letters) to bring us a beautiful new animated series that celebrates the creative arts culture of Chicago, set to a sonic landscape inspired by hip-hop beats and classical broadway melodies.

Animation, DC Comics, Streaming2 Comments

Two New Batman and Superman Animated Series Coming to HBO Max

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 Keith Chow

HBO Max and Cartoon Network just announced they are bringing their two most iconic superheroes back to the world of animation. Both Batman: Caped Crusader and My Adventures with Superman are sure to bring in a new generation of fans into the worlds of Gotham and Metropolis, while simultaneously giving long-time fans the kind of nuanced and action-packed stories they crave.

Interview, Streaming, Television

NOC Interview: Sean Giambrone on Everyone’s Favorite Comedy, ‘The Goldbergs’

April 28, 2021May 15, 2021 Sophia Soto

The ABC sitcom stars Sean Giambrone as Adam F. Goldberg, which is currently on season 8 with new episodes airing Wednesdays at 8 PM ET. Throughout the series, we see Adam use his video camera to document his family and their lives. What makes this so unique is at the very end of each episode, viewers get to see real footage of the actual Goldberg family, many of the videos or photos being what was just seen in the episode.

Animation, Television

Check Out What the New ‘Powerpuff’ Girls Really Look Like

April 12, 2021April 12, 2021 Keith Chow

Last week, the internet went bananas when set photos from The CW’s upcoming live action Powerpuff Girls adaptation leaked. While those cartoon-accurate getups drew scorn and ridicule from some corners of social media, we have an exclusive look at what Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault will really look like when Powerpuff eventually debuts.

Animation, DC Comics, Music1 Comment

Teen Titans Soul: De La Go!

February 20, 2021February 23, 2021 Shawn Taylor

One of the the greatest cultural tragedies of the digital era is that De La Soul’s early music isn’t streaming. An early victim of the sample-clearance wars (over 70 on their masterful debut, 3 Feet High and Rising), De La’s cultural impact — and promise — has never been allowed to be fully realized. Not only has the streaming era proved to stifle De La’s early output, their contracts only covered physical media releases as no one anticipated that streaming would become the primary way we’d all experience media.

With new modes of delivery, new contracts have to be made for those previous albums. And De La has tried to do this in good faith, but Tommy Boy Records, the label De La was originally signed to, has refused to give them a mutually equitable deal. Tommy Boy would take the lion’s share of the profits, even though all of De La’s albums have recouped (made back initial production/investment costs).

Reviews, Streaming, Television

First Impressions of HBO Max

May 27, 2020May 15, 2021 Keith Chow

After months of anticipation, HBO Max has finally arrived. And while we’re still a year out from Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the latest entrant into the Streaming Wars has a lot to offer, and a few things to work out. Granted, it’s only been available for a few hours, but many of the bells and whistles promised during a WarnerMedia event in October — such as the ability to combine viewing profiles and celebrity-curated recommendations — were not ready at launch.

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Animation, Star Wars, Television

Action, Depth, and Poetry Mark the End of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’

May 5, 2020May 8, 2020 Lauren Lola

Warning: The following contains spoilers from the recent and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Twelve years following its premiere to initially hesitant audiences, the now beloved Star Wars animated series, The Clone Wars, has at last received the proper ending it deserved. Set after Attack of the Clones and concluding sometime after Revenge of the Sith, the brainchild of Star Wars creator George Lucas and supervising director Dave Filoni explored stories of a wide variety of characters — both familiar and new faces — during the war that was previously more of a backdrop to the fall of Anakin Skywalker.

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Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel, Music

Hard NOC Life: Feels Like the End of Summer

September 7, 2018May 8, 2020 Hard NOC Media

This week on Hard NOC Life, Shawn and Keith discuss the news from the waning days of summer, including Childish Gambino’s latest, the new Jack Ryan series on Amazon, and the reveal of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

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Animation, DC Comics, Movies1 Comment

One-on-One with ‘Teen Titans GO! To The Movies’ Star Khary Payton

July 27, 2018October 17, 2018 Keith Chow

Opening in theaters everywhere today, Teen Titans GO! To The Movies is the superhero film we need right now. Blending the animated series’ mix of satire, pop culture references, and all-around wackiness, TTGTTM deserves to be DC’s highest rated movie since last year’s Wonder Woman. I got a chance to have a chat with one of the stars of the film, and one of the most iconic voice actors in the business, Khary Payton, about being Cyborg.

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Animation, DC Comics, Movies, Reviews3 Comments

‘Teen Titans GO! To the Movies’ is Fun for Kids and Their Grown-ups

July 20, 2018September 8, 2019 Jason Sperber

As a geek parent, I, for the most part, have been unsuccessful in passing on my enthusiasms to my teen and tween daughters. Sure, my eldest is now a confirmed Potterhead, but only years after her mother and I bequeathed her our books, which she refused to read because they were ours. She discovered and fell in love with Stranger Things on her own, too, which I guess is what works with her — if we’d told her to watch it, maybe she wouldn’t have listened. Her younger sister is a bit more open to my suggestions, and loves anything with magic and the fantastic, and she happily displays my gifts of Pop! figures of strong female characters on her shelf. However, she scares very, very easily, so attempts to watch Star Wars movies, for example, are interrupted by frequents runs out of the room or outright refusals, no matter how much likes likes the characters.

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Animation, Guest Post5 Comments

Why Are We Forgetting About Korra?

November 12, 2014November 12, 2014 Guest N.O.C.

by Gabrielle Smith

A month ago, at New York Comic-Con, I attended a panel for The Legend of Korra. It was full of sneak peeks, laughs, and goodbyes (considering this is likely their last panel for the series) but there was also a reminder — that Platinum Games is making a video game derived from the series. It takes place between the second and third books of the series, where Korra is stripped of her bending by a chi-blocker, and must regain her abilities throughout the game.

What I’ve found is that people aren’t really talking much about the game. I even forgot myself, considering it was a nice reminder at New York Comic-Con. The creators basically mentioned it as a passing thought, but that may have been due to time constraints. The game isn’t meant to be long (it’s about four to six hours to play), and is a digital download, so that’s likely an aspect of it. The game isn’t a full-fledged entity, but a charming addition to the series. It’s not the most important thing. However, forgetting Korra… this isn’t exactly new. Let’s talk about how Nickelodeon has been treating the series.

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Animation, Marvel, Television3 Comments

Black Captain America vs. Black Jesus

July 21, 2014July 23, 2014 David F. Walker

Originally posted at BadAzz MoFo

Once again, I find myself on the slippery slope of pop culture commentary, in a position that requires full disclosure. Recently, I wrote a piece about Marvel’s announcement that Sam Wilson, a black man better known as Falcon, will be taking over as the new Captain America. I also admitted that I know writer Rick Remender, who will be chronicling the adventures of Black Captain America. With that in mind, it is only fair that I admit to knowing Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, as well as a new television series that is about to debut, Black Jesus.

My relationship with McGruder is far more complex than my relationship with Remender, to the extent that I’d say at one point Aaron and I could’ve been considered friends. We haven’t spoken in a long time, and based on his work as of late, I’d say that we exist in differing ideological universes. If that’s not the case, he is more than welcome to get in touch with me, as I’m sure he still has my number, and we can talk about how his work often makes me want to vomit in the corner.

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Animation, Guest Post, Television2 Comments

Get Ready for Harold & Kumar: The Animated Series

July 15, 2014August 22, 2014 Guest N.O.C.

by Phil Yu | Originally posted at Angry Asian Man

It’s on, my friends. The Harold and Kumar animated series is on. We’ve known that an animated series based on the comedy trilogy was in the works, with John Cho and Kal Penn returning to provide the voices for the titular stoner duo. This week, the cast reportedly reunited for the show’s first table read.

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Animation, Television5 Comments

Revisiting The Boondocks Part Two: The Show

May 28, 2014May 30, 2014 Shawn Taylor

Yesterday, we ran through a brief history of the characters that inhabited The Boondocks comic strips that I loved. That roll call was all prelude to why I don’t love the animated “adaptation” on Adult Swim.

When I first heard of a ‘Docks cartoon, I was elated. If I could never have a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, I was owed a ‘Docks one, right? Like damn near all my friends, I was glued to the television. The first episode, “The Garden Party,” started off promising with a Huey Freeman voice over: “I’m not a prophet. But sometimes I have prophetic dreams; like then one when I was at a garden party.” Huey walks out on stage at this lily-white garden party, and drops the following jewels, “Jesus was black. Ronald Regan was the devil. And the government is lying about 9/11.” A riot ensues. The white folks can’t handle the truth. Despite my finding the anime/manga style stilted, this scene was rendered well. What a way to launch your first episode.

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Comics5 Comments

Revisiting The Boondocks Part One: The Strips

May 27, 2014September 29, 2016 Shawn Taylor

The inter-webs — and my crew — are all a-chatter about how the fourth and current season of Adult Swim’s The Boondocks signals the demise of a once great animated property. With the series creator Aaron McGruder no longer involved, people are arguing that the magic is gone. While his presence and involvement during the last two seasons is debatable, having it publicly confirmed that McGruder is no longer associated with his creation seemed like the proper invitation for folks to start shitting on the show. The shitting should have happened a long time ago as the demise of this property started when it first jumped from strip to screen.

Before we get into everything wrong with the show (that’s for tomorrow), let’s first look back at what was right with the strips.

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