Last week we posted the teaser trailer for the animated movie project starring Johnny Depp called Rango. If you watched the trailer, you probably came away thinking nothing in particular. However, courtesy of HeyUGuys (via FirstShowing) we get a look at Rango himself, the lizard voiced by Depp. And I must say, that is an awesome looking chameleon!

Thoughts? Now that we have something of substance to actually*think* about.

Your guess is as good as mine. All I know about Rango is that it’s an animated project directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) and stars Johnny Depp voicing the main character, whom — according to several short plot descriptions — is a chameleon with an identity crisis.

Watch the teaser below, but also feel free to check out the official movie web site. You’ll be greeted with the same backdrop as seen in the trailer, but there are a lot more things going on. And by “a lot more,” I simply mean the occasional vehicle passing by, tumbleweeds, circling birds and a roadrunner (which may or may not be a character from the movie). Who knows? If you stick around long enough, maybe you will spot some more occurrences of interest.

But I personally don’t have time for that, I have a Smurfs movie to go complain about.

The success of the Penguins of Madagascar spin-off TV series has led to a direct-to-DVD release featuring over 2 hours of “missions.” For faithful viewers of the Nickelodeon series, please be forewarned that this DVD is not a comprehensive collection of aired episodes, rather it contains a smattering of televised shows. However, fans will be glad to find two never-before-seen adventures, “Truth Ache” and “Command Crisis” as well as the television special “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” which is scheduled to air on Nick February 15, 2010.

Consequently, myself and my 9-year old have probably watched “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” a half-dozen times since receiving the DVD. We can’t seem to stop quoting the ever-quotable lemur King Julien. This episode leads off the DVD and certainly sets the tone for an overall fun ride.

Neil Patrick Harris shows amazing vocal range in bringing Penguins nemesis Dr. Blowhole to life

The full list of episodes are as follows:

• Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge
• Truth Ache
• Command Crisis
• Go Fish
• Roomies
• Needle Point
• Launchtime
• All Choked Up
• The Hidden
• Tangled in the Web

The special features are nothing more than promoting all things Nick and DreamWorks.  Really nothing offered in the way of anything too terribly captivating.  The disc contains previews for “Kung Fu Panda World” an online gaming experience still under construction last I checked, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek Forever After trailers among other ads and previews.  There is an online game at Nick.com called “The Devious Dr. Blowhole Game” in which you attempt to thwart the evil dolphin’s “Rings of Fire.”  Ho hum. I don’t believe it would even keep the young ones satisfied for longer than 2 minutes.  And the other main feature is a DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox which allows you to cycle through short videos featuring songs from various DreamWorks films:  Shrek — “I’m a Believer,” Over The Hedge — “Rockin’ the Suburbs” (Over the Hedge Version), Madagascar — “I Like to Move It, Move It,” Kung Fu Panda — “Kung Fu Fighting,” Bee Movie — “Here Comes the Sun.”

In short, if you have kids that are Penguins of Madagascar fans…this purchase is a no-brainer.

If you have yet to see the Nick series, certainly go for it!

For those of us older folks who are young at heart, this disc is completely passable.  However, the inexpensive price tag may just be what you needed to warrant grabbing this up for the 2 episodes which never aired on Nick.

We have compiled a list of animated movies and specials that will be airing during this holiday season.  The shows listed are based solely on the movies and characters regularly covered on DTW.  Gather the family and enjoy!

NBC      Sat. Nov 28, 8:30 PM - The Incredibles: Now fighting boredom in suburbia, a former superhero and his family get a chance to save the world. (Zap2it.com)

ABC      Mon. Nov 30, 8:30 PM - Shrek the Halls: The ogre’s plans for a cozy family Christmas go awry when Donkey, Puss in Boots and the rest of the fairy-tale gang try to join in the fun. (Zap2it.com)

DISN    Tues. Dec 1, 8:00 PM - Happy Feet: Born without the ability to sing, a young emperor penguin expresses himself and hopes to attract a mate through his amazing dancing talent. (Zap2it.com)

DISN    Wed. Dec 2, 8:00 PM - Happy Feet

AFAM  Wed. Dec 2, 7:00 PM - Pixar Short Films: A collection of 20 computer-animated short films includes “Rescue Squad Mater,” “Jack-Jack Attack,” and Oscar-winners “For the Birds,” “Geri’s Game” and “Tin Toy.” (Zap2it.com)

A snowman pulls out all the stops in attempting to break out of his snowglobe in Pixar's short "Knick Knack."

AFAM  Thu. Dec 3, 6:00 PM - The Polar Express: A train conductor guides a boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus to the North Pole. Based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg. (Zap2it.com)

AFAM  Thu. Dec 3, 8:30 PM - The Polar Express

NICK    Sat. Dec 5, 11:00 AM - Back at the Barnyard (It’s an Udderful Life): When Santa gets a case of ferret fever, Otis and the animals vow to make toys and deliver them on Christmas Eve. (Zap2it.com)

NBC      Sat. Dec 5, 8:30 PM - The Incredibles

ABC      Wed. Dec 9, 8:00 PM - Shrek the Halls

NICK    Wed. Dec 9, 7:00 AM - Back at the Barnyard (It’s an Udderful Life)

DISN    Wed. Dec 9, 8:00 PM - Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King gives the yuletide season a touch of Halloween in an animated tale from the mind of Tim Burton. (Zap2it.com)

DISN    Thurs. Dec 10, 12:00 PM - Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

DXD      Fri. Dec 11, 5:00 PM - The Polar Express

NICK    Sat.  Dec 12,  11:00 AM - Back at the Barnyard (It’s an Udderful Life)

DXD      Sat. Dec 12, 8:30 PM - The Polar Express

AFAM Wed. Dec 16, 8:00 PM - Happy Feet

AFAM Fri. Dec 18, 7:30 PM - Cars: A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. (IMDb.com)

AFAM Sat. Dec 19, 8:00 PM - Ratatouille: Remy is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. (IMDb.com)

AFAM Fri. Dec 20, 8:30 PM - The Incredibles

DISN   Mon. Dec 21, 8:00 PM - The Polar Express

DISN   Tues. Dec 22 8:00 PM - Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

FAM    Wed. Dec 23, 10:00 PM - The Polar Express

AFAM Fri. Dec 25, 6:00 PM - The Incredibles

DISN   Fri. Dec 25, 3:30 PM - Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

Source(s):
Holiday TV specials [Cincinnati.com]
ABC Family (magazine ad)

All times are Eastern Standard Time and programming may vary.  Check your local listings.

Director: Steve Oedekerk Starring: voices of Kevin James, Courtney Cox, Sam Elliot, Danny Glover Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Theatrical Release: August 4, 2006 Shop for Barnyard Merchandise

Plot Summary

From Steve Oedekerk and Nickelodeon Movies, creators of “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,” and filmed entirely in CGI comes this hilarious look at what really happens in a barnyard when the farmer’s back is turned. “The Barnyard” is a lighthearted tale centering around Otis (voiced by Kevin James), a carefree party cow, who enjoys singing, dancing and playing tricks on humans. Unlike his father Ben (voiced by Sam Elliott), the respected patriarch of the farm, and Miles, the wise old mule (voiced by Danny Glover), Otis is unconcerned about keeping the animals’ humanlike talents a secret. But when suddenly put in the position of responsibility, the irresponsible cow finds the courage to be a leader…
(from MovieWeb.com)

Film Review

From the warped mind that brought viewers comedies like Kung Pow, and even helped write Bruce Almighty and its upcoming sequel Evan Almighty, comes the CGI-animated feature film Barnyard. With the success of computer animated films in recent years, it’s no wonder there’s been a literal flood of new feature films using the same format hitting theaters nearly every month now. Barnyard follows the story of an immature party-minded cow who is forced into the role of leadership against his will. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses his brand of silly and off-the-wall humor to take what is a relatively common story to quite amusing lengths.

King Of Queens star Kevin James voices Otis the cow who is the film’s central character. Otis is an irresponsible fun-loving cow who was raised on the farm by Ben, the barnyard’s leader – a wise, no-nonsense cow who had adopted Otis as a baby some years before. The humor of Barnyard is goofy and tongue-in-cheek, offering quite a few laughs while leaving plenty of room for some heart as well. At times the more tender moments can feel a little forced, but it adds a little more depth to a story that otherwise would be udderly ridiculous (sorry… I just had to).

The entire voice cast turned in great performances. While some fared better than others (Courtney Cox and Sam Elliot’s efforts were somewhat dry at times), several voice actors who’ve made a living providing well-known voices for popular cartoon shows lend their talents to Barnyard as well. I enjoyed picking out Rob Paulsen’s (Animaniacs’s Yakko, Pinky & The Brain’s Pinky) signature voice as Peck the rooster and trying to place other familiar voices. Character actor David Koechner (Anchorman) provided the voice of the head coyote Dag who did well to make the villain quite sinister and intimidating. With that said, the coyotes as the film’s source of trouble with the barnyard team made for some pretty intense scenes. Specifically, there’s a sequence where the coyotes terrorize the chicken coop and attack a cow that will most likely be too much for the younger viewers. The finale also involves a showdown that has the vicious looking predators threatening the story’s heroes.

Because some of the movie’s more tenderhearted moments felt a bit unnatural in a few scenes, the film’s charm seemed to come when the animals were just plain goofing off. From a bit of revenge played out from a group of cows on a cow-tipping snotty kid to all-out barn raves held after dark (the fat, rapping rat named Big Cheese is brilliance), the mischief is where the fun lies in Barnyard. But the mix of mediocre serious moments with complete silliness is what leaves the movie feeling a bit undercooked. While I’m all for more heartfelt moments in an animated film, it has to be done just right, and the resultant approach left this film feeling a bit too schizophrenic and disjointed. Perhaps if it leaned more consistently to the unbridled style of humor, it would have made for a stronger animated movie.

Nitpicks aside, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals is a fun little trip to the Summer cinema. With flops like Monster House disgracing the silver screen, save your money for the more family friendly nature of Barnyard… just be warned that the coyote scenes may be a bit much for younger kids.