I grew up watching Voltron in the 80′s and loved the shit out of it. 5 five space explorers who pilot robotic lions that combine to form Voltron, an invincible guardian sworn to defend the Universe. What’s not to love? Hehe, oh man…I’m getting all nostalgic replaying the theme opener in my head. Anyway, a live-action Voltron flick has been rumored for years. It will eventually happen and it will undoubtedly suck, no 80′s  gold has been served well in the Noughties ( 00′s). However, fan-films are always there to save the day. And here’s a nifty Voltron short film created by YouTube user alexalbrecht00 called Voltron: The End.

Unfortunately, there is no action, nor shots of Voltron in full. It’s just 3 minutes of the dude who plays Detective Lassiter on Psych (Luke FACT: Psych is in my top 5 fav. shows.) regaining consciousness in a Voltron battle lion after an “accident”. He has to decide does he live a few more minutes or try to tell the world what happened… the end is only the beginning. Something like that.

Uh… is it me or did Lassie say “what whores lay ahead?”

There was more drama in this clip than in the last two Transformers films. As someone growing up with Voltron, this was a satisfying cocktease of what could be.

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Every generation thinks their generation was the best. Being a child of the 80′s, I of course am a defender of the decade. Though, I will admit there are a number of things from those glorious times that haven’t quite held up. Members Only Jackets, Pet Rock, Mullets and Bill Cosby to name a few. One thing that stands true is the cartoons. My god, we had it good! The kids today and their crap anime-style cartoons that are all flash and no substance, have no idea what a quality action-adventure cartoon is. A clear example of effective programing was M.A.S.K. That shit was dope. Literally, it was the dumbest concept. With special power-granting masks and a garage of special militarized vehicles, Matt Trakker and his Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, kept the world safe from Mayhem and the villainy of V.E.N.O.M (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). Yeaaaaa… Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem, I said it was stupid. Regardless of how silly the characters and premise were, the action and heroism hit all the right notes. Plus the theme song was EPIC! *Ahem* excuse me well I get all nostalgic:

“Mask crusaders, Working all the time, fighting crime, fighting crime! Secret raiders, who will neutralise, as soon as they arrive, Trekker’s gonna lead the mission, And Spectum’s got such super vision, M-m-m-MASK! Is the mighty power that can save the day, m-m-m-MASK! No-one knows what lies behind their masquerades! M-m-m-MASK! Always riding on Venom’s trail, Come see the Laser Rays, Fly away”…

Squee! Oh man, that theme song was one of the best. Right up there with Jaycee and the Wheeled Warriors.

Anyway, if you were a fan of M.A.S.K then you will shit your pants in excitement when you hear that it’s being released on DVD on August 9th 2011. Indeedo kiddo!

Here’s the full press release (after the break):

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Every week the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut.

Every Monday (Oops, Tuesday. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!) we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

This week’s edition: the Grillenium Falcon, Dungeons & Dragons cake, Free Portal 2 soundtrack, Star Wars in Lego diorama, DC and Chuck Taylor team up, Lt. Data; soft spoken rapper, Pac-man created with light, Star Wars in 3 minutes with action figures, Green Lantern concept art, Marvel ladies in 80s glam, I choose you, Facehugger!, Chewie Bento Box, learn Klingon, Gamestop’s Batman: Arkham City pre-order bonus, smooth out 8-bit animation, shower with Droids, SNES style Doctor Who intro, Super Mario Bros. soda display, the Doctor’s newest companions, Indiana Jones meet Han Solo.

Food trucks are all the rage right now. There are taco trucks, cupcake trucks, even trucks with food based on hit television series (HBO’s Game of Thrones). But can those food trucks make the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs and deliver on tasty grilled cheese? (blastr)

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The big screen adaptation of Fraggle Rock has been kicking around pre-production hell for some time now. Why it hasn’t made any progress I don’t know, now is the time to adapt properties from the 80s, everyone else is. But it seems if we have anyone to blame it’s The Weinstein Company. Cory Edwards is attached to direct the Fraggle Rock movie and he’s made a post on his blog explaining the delay,

Many, many, many of you have repeatedly asked for some kind of update on the Fraggle Rock movie. The truth is, I got nothin’. There’s nothing to report except that The Weintstein Company has everything they need to move forward, and the ball is in their court. They’ve talked about getting a new writer, which I’m willing to do. They’ve talked about starting over from scratch, which I’m willing to do. But I have not heard a peep from their camp in almost a year. I completely sympathize with all of you that are waiting for a movie, but let’s all remember that the next best thing to making a Fraggle movie is avoiding making a BAD ONE. So at least we’re doing that. Until something new happens to awaken the project from its deep coma, we can at least enjoy the untainted TV series on DVD and The Hub Network. As for me, I’m already working on new things. I hope you’ll stick around and check in here… I’ll be announcing my next project very, very soon.

It’s also possible The Weinstein Company is waiting to see how Edward’s next film, Hoodwinked Too! a sequel to his the first Hoodwinked film he directed, performs before they make a final decision to go forward. Or maybe they’re waiting to see is Disney’s upcoming Muppet movie starring Jason Segal is a hit before they decide to make their own puppet movie. Who knows, it’s Hollywood and the logical answer is rarely the right answer.

I’d be thrilled to see a Fraggle Rock movie but I also fear they’d just muck it up. Fraggle Rock is brilliant as it is and attempting to gear it for more mature audience will only ruin it. Sadly, I’m sure to be in the minority because not making a Fraggle Rock movie also does not make money. In the meantime you can enjoy classic Fraggle Rock on channels like The Hub, so we’ve go that going for us, right?

source: /Film

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Memba that God of War Indie Movie Trailer done in a style reminiscent of Wes Anderson? Well, if you thought that was wistfully bemusing, then you need to see Gamervision‘s latest ‘What If?’ video.  Off the cusp of their Star Wars Christmas Special (the special everyone really wanted), the funny bastards at Gamervision wondered what a live-action adaptation of the popular Nintendo video game The Legend of Zelda would be like if it was made in the 80′s, John Hughes style.

In this charming critically-acclaimed tale of first love, Link (Jon Tomlinson), an eternal optimist and adventurer, seeks to capture the heart of Zelda, an unattainable high school beauty and straight-A student (Zane Bauer). He surprises just about everyone-including himself-when she returns the sentiment. But the high school’s over-possessive, megalomaniacal Principal Ganondorf (Dominic Moschitti) doesn’t approve and it’s going to take more than just the power of love to conquer all. Perfectly capturing the essence of what it means to be a teenager in the 80s, Nick Murphy, Mike Sadorf, and Dom Moschitti reimagine one of the most celebrated video game franchises of all time with the heart, charm, and wit that only they could. It’s the legend of high school. It’s the legend of love. It’s The Legend of Zelda.

Channeling the days of sequined gloves, parachute pants, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald, this faux trailer certainly tickles my 80′s sensibilities. The references get me all nostalgic and the concept I like.

Spoofing video-games through film while mocking a director and or era style  is entertaining in every way possible. Whole films based on this concept would probably fair a hell of a lot better than any of the direct adaptation we’ve been subject to.

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Ahoy fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We have a brief update regarding the rumored live-action reboot. Last year it was reported that Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures have teamed up with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company to re-imagine the popular film series. Brad Fuller, a producer from Platinum Dunes, recently stated that he is currently working on “a handful of films”, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake. Fuller confirms that a script for TMNT is currently being worked on and “hopes to have many more details [for fans] in 4 to 6 weeks.”

The original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film is far and above the most under-rated cartoon/comic-book adaptation of all time. Though the film is more in touch with the toned-down animated series, its roots are squarely in the original comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It sacrificed the kiddie stuff in favor of a darker, more brooding film. It’s been watered down and goof-ified since. I know there is a new generation of TMNT fans, but being how good the original was I do not wish to see it get rehashed.

Knowing that Platinum Dunes (Michael Bay’s production company) is responsible for the film, are any of you excited for the reboot?

Speaking of Platinum Dunes, they are also putting their cultural death grip on another beloved cult 80′s film. The 1987 horror/comedy film Monster Squad, which followed a society of young pre-teens who idolize classic monsters and monster movies, is also facing a reboot; and Fuller says the screenplay should be ready for review within the next few weeks.

It was a campy 80’s flick, that while loved by some, is not gospel… reboot or not, as long as they keep the fun of the original… I don’t mind so much if it’s remade for today’s modern audience. Not everything from the 80′s was pure gold. Regardless, if they leave out “Wolfman’s got nards!”, I will be very pissed!

source: thedailyblam

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Love Transformers? Shit kid, who doesn’t? Know Em’ all? Aha, this is the question that separates the posers from the true, ‘get a life’ fans. I dare you to name off every Autobot (just the Autobots) from the original Transformers cartoon, which aired in the mid 80′s. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

How’d ya do? Well, don’t ask me. I’m just a poser. He-Man was my go-to cartoon. To check your nerd street credit have a look at this handy inforgraphic that visualizes all the Autobots (cars and other land vehicles). You get bonus points it you take notice to depictional inaccuracies. Like how Optimus Prime was a cab-over semi, not a needlenose Kentworth.

Hit the jump to see the full infographic

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Anime Thundercats. Rawr!

In my opinion the original ‘Thundercats’ cartoon (The 80′s seem so long ago. Fuck, I’m old.) hasn’t aged well or at least not to my friends and I who watched it as kids. I ask myself “This shows about a curmudgeony old fart (Mumm-Ra) who just wanted these damn kids (Thundercats) to get off his lawn (3rd Earth). I really liked this?” Regardless, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Last June, a Warner Bros. press release revealed that a new ‘Thundercats’ animated series was in production for Cartoon Network , co-produced by Japan’s Studio 4°C. We haven’t heard much since. That was until a display at the London Toy Fair offered fans their first look at the re-imagined designs for Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro and Tygra (above) as well as the Sword of Omens and vehicles for the subsequent toyline (after the jump).

No Snarf? BULLSHIT! Personally, I like the look of Panthro and am lovin’ the new Cheetara (Am spankin’ it to her as we speak). Lion-O looks far too Anime and, if I dare say… too much of a pussy.

I hope they remain naked on the first episode, just like in the original series.

HIT THE JUMP for more Promo Stuff

source: ThunderCats Lair and Poe Ghostal

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Luke is the He-Man fanatic around here.  I never really got into the whole He-Man craze when it first aired.  It wasn’t until the Masters of the Universe movie came out that I got interested.  Well, interested in Meg Foster.  Oh Evil-Lyn, you can mind control me anytime.

Nate Cash put together a great little animated Holiday Special for He-Man.  Watching the video below is what got me thinking about Masters of the Universe, particularly on how it was nothing but one big product placement.

Regardless, one of the things I have always liked is when new artists take a crack at the old series and re-image older characters without losing the originals feel.  Click the jump to check out some of my favorite He-Man makeovers.

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I can see the way you shake and shiver.

You know how when you start reminiscing about cartoons, their theme songs always end up sticking in your head? Don’t hate me, but I’m about to supply some glue.

“Ducktales.” “Digimon.” “Thundercats.” Swedish guy covers these cartoon theme songs and more in a a seven-minute Fredrick LarssonYouTube video. Need some amphibian action? Larsson sings “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for you. Thinking about a frightened canine? Old Freddie has a “Scooby-Doo” chanson that’s right up your alley. And I have no idea what “The Raggy Dolls” is, but he sings about that, too.

Larsson isn’t a hack — the guy actually is a pretty good singer, and he plays a guitar, to boot. Sure, he’s got weird fake-bearded friends supplying back-up vocals, but who doesn’t?

Check out Larsson’s cartoon medley below, and then head to his YouTube channel for more cover goodness, including songs from video games!

Source: Mashable

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