Warner Bros. + DC Entertainment Launch New Global Kids Websites ScoobyDoo.com, LooneyTunes.com & DCKids.com

Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) and DC Entertainment, announced today the launch of the all-new ScoobyDoo.com,LooneyTunes.com and DCKids.com, three new entertainment destinations for kids that will engage fans with all their favorite Warner Bros. characters and DC Comics Super Heroes in a dynamic immersive experience, featuring original new content.

“Now, more than ever, providing universal access to a world of content is key to engaging even our youngest fans,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “We are excited to offer this new entertainment experience that delivers fun and engagement for kids across multiple digital platforms.”

With key interactive features designed to offer exciting content to kids any time they want from any Internet-connected device in the format they have grown to expect in today’s digital environment, ScoobyDoo.com, LooneyTunes.com and DCKids.com are now launched and will allow kids to experience immersive worlds 24/7 and connect with Warner Bros.’ beloved franchise animation characters and the famed universe of DC Comics.

The WB Kids character driven environments, ScoobyDoo.com and LooneyTunes.com, will inspire imagination and encourage interaction with many of Warner Bros.’ most recognizable franchise animation characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and the Gang, engaged through fan-favorite content, exclusive videos, interactive and downloadable activities, comics and exciting games.

“With DCKids.com our goal is to provide a kids-focused online destination that delivers unparalleled access to our iconic characters such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in a way that is fun, engaging and appropriate for our younger fans,” said Amit Desai, SVP Marketing and Global Franchise Management, DC Entertainment. “We know kids have an affinity for our characters, and that interacting with DC Super Heroes can be inspirational and a powerful source of imagination and play.”

DCKids.com will feature DC Comics’ most iconic Super Heroes, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and more, in exciting games and interactive ways to play. Original digital shorts from Batman Unlimited and DC Super Friends will be featured on the site.

Developed for kids aged 4-11, the discoverable digital ecosystem offers relatable entertainment for kids through these immersive worlds that feature components such as original content, videos, downloadable activities, games, quizzes and contests. Additionally, an international market rollout in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the UK is planned for the coming months. 

Please visit at:

www.dckids.com

www.scoobydoo.com

www.looneytunes.com

8BitDrum.com Launches Videogame Podcast "Game Cast"

Our good friends at 8BitDrum.com have launched their podcast show which is now on Itunes entitled Game Cast. In episode 1 "We Got Our Podcast Name." The staff talk about the recent cancelled Silent Hills, WWE games and many more. You can subscribe to the show on Itunes using the following link here https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/game-cast-8bitdrum/id989652831?mt=2

Leiji Matsumoto Creator Of Galaxy Express 999 Knighted in France

Leiji Matsumoto, renowned creator of the celebrated manga Captain Harlock, has been honored with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on October 23^rd, 2012 for the series’ wide influence on French popular culture. The ceremony took place at the French Embassy in Tokyo. 

Established in 1957, the “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” recognizes luminaries across literature, film and music. Significant title holders include T.S. Eliot, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Takeshi Kitano, Emir Kusturica and Patti Smith.

Born in 1938, Mr. Leiji Matsumoto drew his first manga at the age of five. He began his career in 1954 with his comic strip Hachimitsu no Boken which earned him the Best New Writer prize for a long narrative, in the first Manga Shônen awards ceremony.  His first success came in 1971 with Otoko Oidon, followed by Galaxy Express 999 which was adapted for television and film. His works recount a journey of discovery - or how "a man can grow up" – with space and science-fiction themes as a backdrop. The following year, he won the Kodansha Cultural Price, in the child manga category. A man’s fight against misery is what Matsumoto seems to develop as his favorite topic. His career launched, he published several hit titles: “Gun Frontier” (1972), “Space Battleship Yamato” (1974), “The Cockpit” (1975), “Space Pirate Captain Harlock” (1977), “Galaxy Express 999” (1977), “Danguard A” (1977), “Queen Emeraldas” (1978).

Reputed for his sci-fi tales, he similarly ventured into many other genres: comic strips about animals, war stories or shôjo manga, for young girls. Executive Director of the JCA (Japan Cartoonists Association), Mr. Matsumoto heads up their copyright department and has a seat on the Takarazuka University of Fine Arts' council. Meanwhile his work on the French group Daft Punk's music videos helped him to reach a worldwide audience.

Leiji Matsumoto is also taking part in the upcoming Captain Harlock remake project.  For this new movie, “SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK” (to be released in 2013), the latest techniques and the most talented artists in the world worked together in Japan, to offer both the new and the former generations the best of today’s animation! A new chapter of Leiji Matsumoto’s legend is about to be written!

Adult Swim Launches ThingX.com

Here is some news from our friends at Adult Swim.

Adult Swim launched today a new digital comedy website called Thing X (www.ThingX.com), which is led by former Onion editor Joe Randazzo and several other members of the popular humor site.

Thing X uses the conceptual launch point of a click-hungry web portal to satirize everything on the Internet through exclusive videos, columns, interviews, reviews, e-mails, blurbs, bleeps, cybersnips, and podcasts. The site also boasts an active social media presence, as well as original interviews and performances from comedy friends such as Tim Heidecker, Gregg Turkington, Dave Willis, and others.

“We are thrilled to be working with some of the best comedy writers in the country,” said vice president of Adult Swim Digital and Games, Jeff Olsen. “It’s an amazing talent pool and a perfect fit for our digital business.”

“This is a unique opportunity for us to create something totally new and original that is very much a product of the digital age,” said creative director Randazzo. “The content we’re making for Thing X is kind of insane. It’s going to be unlike anything else out there.”

Joining Randazzo on the creative staff are:  John Harris, head writer (former senior writer at The Onion and The Onion News Network on IFC), Joe Garden, writer/producer (former features editor of The Onion and author of The Dangerous Book for Dogs), Chris Karwowski, writer/producer (former writer/producer of Onion Radio News); Matt Kirsch, writer/producer (former digital product manager for The Onion and creator of Duder), Jason Roeder, writer/producer (former senior writer at The Onion and writer of Sex: Our Bodies, Our Junk); Steve Beslow, managing editor (former senior digital editor at Golf Magazine) Audubon Dougherty, digital director (research affiliate at MIT Comparative Media Studies and former senior communications specialist at 1199SEIU), Tom Witte, art director(Wonder Pets, TV Fun House, Humongous Entertainment), Nick Gallo, creative producer (former graphics director atThe Onion and executive producer of Girlhattan), and Sascha Stanton-Craven, post director (former lead editor and writer for ONN and The Onion News Network on IFC).