Animation News Round Up #2 - New Batman and Superman Shows, a Scooby-Doo Reunion, and more!
Our animated dynamic duo, Mike and Cameron, are back with another animation news round-up! The CW reunites the Scooby-Doo cartoon cast and brings back Beebo from Legends of Tomorrow; Dreamworks preps The Boss Baby: Family Business for its Peacock streaming premiere; Netflix reveals their original anime series Trese with a new trailer, and announces three new animated projects from Asian-American creators; HBO Max and Cartoon Network have announced two new superhero projects with My Adventures with Superman (starring Lois Lane and Clark Kent), and Batman: Caped Crusader, which is produced by Bruce Timm, JJ Abrams, and Matt Reeves; and finally, Adult Swim has announced two new original animated series called Royal Crackers and Smiling Friends. Lots of stuff to cover with this one, so let's get started!
Think they’ll animate them like this? Nahhhh.
First up is the CW’s offerings, starting with The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special. According to our friends at Animation Magazine: “After 52 years of solving mysteries, The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special sees the Scooby gang reunite at Warner Bros. Studios to reminisce about their favorite cases and how they were filmed. But it turns out that the backlot may have its own monster problem! Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo investigate this mystery while celebrating the legacy of the franchise during this one-hour special.” Sounds like a fun time!
Next is the Beebo Saves Christmas special, starring everyone’s favorite stuffed toy that becomes a giant kaiju, Beebo! Once again, Animation Magazine delivers the synopsis: “When Sprinkles, an efficiency-obsessed elf, decides that Christmas would run better without Santa Claus, Beebo and his friends travel to the North Pole to help discover what truly makes Christmas meaningful.“ Could be enjoyable for kids, especially with the legendary Victor Garber serving as narrator.
Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby: Family Business has moved from its previously announced theatrical release date of September 17 to July 2, where it will see a same-day streaming release on Peacock, and at no additional cost for existing premium subscribers. The film centers around a new duo of super smart kids, one named Tina (the infant who’s also a secret agent) and the other, Tina’s seven-year-old sister, Tabitha (who stands at the top of her class at the Acorn Center for Advanced Childhood), and their misadventures as they attempt to uncover the true purpose behind Tabitha’s school. I want you all to know that I’m trying very hard not to be snarky about this. Anyway, enjoy this smart-sounding flick on July 2nd on the streaming service with the greatest name in the known world, Peacock.
Moving on, we have a cool-looking trailer for Netflix’s upcoming anime series, Trese, starring Shay Mitchell in the title role and a great cast of supporting actors like Dante Basco, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Nicole Scherzinger. Here’s the synopsis: “Netflix has released the official trailer for Trese, the highly anticipated Netflix Original Anime series based on the Philippine graphic novel created by Budjette Tan and KaJO Baldisimo, premiering with all six episodes on Netflix June 11. Set in a Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld made up of malevolent supernatural beings.“ I really love the look of this series and the character designs, plus the setting is really interesting and unique and cool. I’m not familiar with the source material, but I definitely want to check this out on June 11th!
But wait, Netflix ain’t done yet! They’ve also announced three new animated projects by Asian-American creators and talents. First up is the action-comedy produced by filmmaker Stephen Chow, The Monkey King: “Inspired by China’s famous legend Journey to the West, the film tells the story of a very special Monkey, and his magical fighting Stick, who team up to fight against gods, demons, dragons, and the greatest enemy of all, Monkey’s own hubris!” The poster looks very, very cool! Second is Boons and Curses, created and produced by Jaydeep Hasrajani and Jake Goldman: “In the magical land of Maya, a cosmic war is on the horizon. The Raj and his monstrous army threaten to destroy any who stand against them! The universe itself hangs in the balance and our only hope is… three feet tall and made of butter. Claiming to be a cursed warrior from another time, Baan may have been transformed into solid ghee but he won’t let that stop him! Teaming up with Rani, a young thief with delusions of grandeur, Baan must use every arrow in his quiver if he wants to defeat the Raj. Heavily inspired by ancient South Asia, Boons and Curses is an adventure-comedy highlighting the myths and legends that have enraptured generations.” A fascinating setting and intriguing storyline are the highlights here. And finally, we have Mech Cadets, based on the Boom! Studios comic Mech Cadet Yu, co-created by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa. The series is being produced by Boom!, Japanese studio Polygon Pictures Inc., and Aaron Lam, who is head writer on the series. Here’s the synopsis: “Fifty years in the future, after a terrifying alien species attacked our planet, teenager Stanford Yu works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. But he’s only dreamed of one thing his entire life — to pilot a Robo Mech, giant robots from outer-space who came to our aid. When he finally gets his shot, Stanford and his classmates must put aside all personal differences and work together as a team in order to defend humanity against a new invasion of aliens.” A pretty cool sci-fi yarn, I think.
Next up is Warner Bros. Animation’s newest take on the early careers of Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and Jimmy Olsen in My Adventures With Superman, a new series which has already garnered a two-season order at HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Synopsis: “Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and based on characters from DC, My Adventures with Superman catches up with 20-somethings Clark Kent, the bright and driven Lois Lane, and their best friend Jimmy Olsen as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet.” It appears to be a very youthful show, and I do like the art style and character designs. I support it!
Also from WB Animation comes the latest animated version of the Dark Knight himself, Batman: Caped Crusader, produced by legendary Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm, along with JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves, the director of the upcoming film, The Batman. While HBO Max and Cartoon Network seem to be skewing younger with the Superman series, Caped Crusader appears to be more in line with Timm’s original animated take on the character, as the series “will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters,” according to a statement from executive producers Timm, Abrams, and Reeves. Judging by the poster, fans of B:TAS will be excited, as the art direction seems inspired by Timm’s very recognizable style. I can’t wait to see this one!
Finally, we have two original series from Adult Swim, entitled Smiling Friends and Royal Crackers. While the former deals with two representatives from Smiling Friends Inc., a group that lends a helping hand to any city inhabitant who calls their hotline, no matter the absurdity of the problem or issue. The series follows Charlie, the cynic, and his star employee partner, Pim, as they seek to aid those who call upon them for help. Sounds vague, but intriguing. Meanwhile, Royal Crackers follows two brothers, the bass guitar-playing Theo Jr., who longs to relive his glory days, and Stebe, a family man who is married and has a child. Together they live in their comatose father’s house, waiting for him to pass away, though he never seems to, so that they may inherit his cracker company empire. Geez. Well, that’s definitely sounding like an Adult Swim kind of show. Above is the trailer for Smiling Friends, while we’re still awaiting the big reveal for Royal Crackers.
I’m really fascinated by Trese, in particular.
Well, that about does it, my friends! Thank you for joining us, and thank you to Mike and Cam for doing an awesome job with the show, as always. Please share this episode around and like it if you can, support us on Ko-fi, and rate and review us on Podchaser! Much love to you all, and be safe out there until next time, Renegades!
-Neoplasmic, writer of notes
