The Angry Birds movie received a major boost when it was announced that Jon Vitti was hired to write the screenplay for the upcoming animated feature film based on the popular video game. Vitti is an animated industry veteran and has written five episodes of King of the Hill, 25 episodes of The Simpsons as well as a foray into live-action with two scripts for The Office [including the episode where Michael proposed during Steve Carell’s final season on the series]. Unfortunately, he is also responsible for writing the screenplay for Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – but we won’t hold that against him. Angry Birds is currently scheduled to be released on July 1, 2016.

North Dakota advertising agency H2M Inc. has filed a civil lawsuit against The Annoying Orange creators Dane Boedigheimer and Spencer Grove, accusing the two North Dakota natives of stealing the talking orange character from an ad campaign created between 2005 to 2009 for a North Dakota Department of Transportation advertising campaign. In their claim, H2M states that the two co-creators returned to the North Dakota area to visit family while the ads were airing, and that the characters are "substantially similar," consisting of an orange with a superimposed mouth and an obnoxious voice. Boedigheimer stated in 2011 that he was first told of H2M's concerns that year, but that he had never seen the "Talking Orange" commercials and thought the two characters weren't very similar. The suit seeks an unspecified award of damages based on the profits made by the character since becoming a YouTube hit, leading to merchandise, a...

Back in 2009, Batman: The Brave and the Bold parodied the reaction of a particular brand of Batman fan in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", with a tirade about how Batman is best suited in a role of "gritty, urban crime detective" and going on to rant about the show's specific brand of silliness before harumphing, "I'm sorry, but that's not my Batman." I advise those Batman fans who agreed with that fan to turn away from LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite as well, since if anything, this movie is probably even sillier than an average episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The rest of us with a sense of humor and an open mind will find a fun, enjoyable, and rather silly film that serves as a nice tie-in to the latest LEGO Batman video game. In LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC...

It's bad enough that the Wolverine [played by Hugh Jackman] had to kill Jean Grey [Famke Janssen] in their last X-Men flick spent together - now he has to relive that painful memory all over again in the first few seconds of the newest trailer released for the upcoming film "The Wolverine". Jackman has sprouted whiskers, moved to Japan and left no forwarding address but somehow the Silver Samurai and the deliciously seductive Viper [Svetlana Khochenkova] track him down - seems they have heard his mutant healing abilities aren't what they used to be and this may be their lucky day. But "that day ain't here yet" - it's on July 26, 2013...

The only thing missing from Microsoft’s unveiling of the new Xbox One gaming console system was dancing Vegas showgirls. The company announced their new entertainment and gaming console system live on Spike network with a presentation that would have been right at home in Vegas. After boring everybody to tears with the usual preamble about the amazing technological progress, Microsoft’s role in it and the chronological history of gaming, we finally cut to the chase with the specifics of the new “all-in-one” eight Gb Xbox One. First up is the vocal recognition feature which can recognize a user’s voice and bring up his/her personal home screen where the user can select a variety of pathways – watching TV or a movie, playing video games, listening to music, going to the internet – all of which can be done simultaneously in what is called “snap mode”. When you leave and come back, the...

Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney Company have released the following trailer for Marvel's Avengers Assemble, the upcoming new animated series uniting up Marvel's greatest superhero icons for a team to take on threats no single one of them could handle alone. The series is set to have a special one-hour preview on Sunday, May 26, 2013, at 11:00 AM (ET/PT) on Disney XD, with the official premiere coming July 7, 2013, at the same time and channel. OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS The Biggest Heroes. The Biggest Threats. The Biggest Stakes! It’s the most anticipated new animated series to launch this year and this July, Marvel’s Avengers Assemble reunites Marvel’s most iconic Super Heroes – Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow & Falcon! Featuring the team that took the world by storm in Marvel’s The Avengers, no fan can miss the action-packed adventures of Earth’s Mightiest as they must protect the Marvel Universe...

Warner Bros Home Entertainment has released a new video clip and stills from LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite, a new direct-to-video feature from Tt Animation and Warner Bros. that is a tie-in to the popular video game. The clip features Robin (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) giving chase to Catwoman: Click any thumbnail below to enlarge LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite is available now on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Download. For more information, check out Toonzone's earlier coverage here.

NICKELODEON RELEASES ‘BEHIND-THE-SCENES’ FEATURETTE OF NEW ANIMATED SERIES SANJAY AND CRAIG, EXCLUSIVELY ON iTUNES   Nickelodeon today released an epic nine-minute featurette of its newest animated series, Sanjay and Craig.  Available exclusively on iTunes free of charge, The Rad Awesomeness of Sanjay and Craig gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the sidesplitting series before its on-air premiere on Saturday, May 25, at 10:30a.m. (ET/PT). Sanjay and Craig follows the misadventures of Sanjay, an excitable and irreverent 12-year-old boy (Maulik Pancholy, 30 Rock) and Craig, a smooth-talking snake and master of disguise (Chris Hardwick, Nerdist, The Talking Dead).   The Rad Awesomeness of Sanjay and Craig is narrated by Matt Jones (Breaking Bad), who also lends his voice to Hector Flanagan – Sanjay’s eye-patch-wearing, unflappable, underrated and unselfconscious friend. Go to iTunes.com/SanjayandCraig to learn more about the larger-than-life and hilarious adventures of this rad-awesome dude-snake duo t and get a peek into their rad lives. Sanjay and Craig is a brand-new, creator-driven animated series that blends a comedic and...

After opening the series with a three volume mega-saga, the fourth volume of Dragon Ball Z offers some variety. Things kick off with the extended filler tale that is Garlic Jr. In Japan, DBZ saw yearly movies which reworked the current plot elements into standalone original stories. The first of these, inspired by Goku and Piccolo uniting against Raditz at the start of the series, saw them unite to save Gohan from the sinister Garlic Jr, eventually knocking him into a pocket dimension. A stellar alignment has allowed the malevolent midget to escape his prison and he sets his sights once again on claiming the planet. One of the stronger elements of this arc is that Goku is still missing in action, leaving it up to Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo to save the day. Garlic is also one of the best challenges as in his previous appearance he gained the DBZ villain...

FIRST-TIME VOICES OF BATMAN, SUPERMAN & JOKER SET NEW ACTION-PACKED, HILARIOUS TONE FOR LEGO BATMAN: THE MOVIE – DC SUPERHEROES UNITE Troy Baker, Travis Willingham, Christopher Corey Smith & Charlie Schlatter take on iconic roles for new animated film coming to Blu-ray on May 21 The first day on a job is never easy. It only gets that much more difficult when you’re following a legend. Such was the case for Troy Baker, Travis Willingham and Christopher Corey Smith – three talented young voice actors who stepped into the recording booth – and some very large shoes – for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite. The trio was tasked with creating the voices of Batman, Superman and the Joker, all the while remaining respectful to the landmark performances of some very well-loved actors that had come before. Early reviews say the three actors hit their mark, as well as outstanding notices for the...

Manga Entertainment UK will be selling an exclusive limited edition bundle of their first One Piece DVD collection at MCM London Comic Con this weekend, 24-26th May. The bundle includes the first complete dual-language DVD set of 26 episodes along with a tote bag containing various exclusive extras. The collection is the start of the first ever UK release of the popular Japanese comedy action serious, focussed on the adventures of a crew of misfit pirates led by their eccentric captain Monkey D. Luffy. Further discussion of Manga's plans for the convention can also be found in their latest podcast.

FIRST-TIME VOICES OF BATMAN, SUPERMAN & JOKER SET NEW ACTION-PACKED, HILARIOUS TONE FOR LEGO BATMAN: THE MOVIE – DC SUPERHEROES UNITE Troy Baker, Travis Willingham, Christopher Corey Smith & Charlie Schlatter take on iconic roles for new animated film coming to Blu-ray on May 21 The first day on a job is never easy. It only gets that much more difficult when you’re following a legend. Such was the case for Troy Baker, Travis Willingham and Christopher Corey Smith – three talented young voice actors who stepped into the recording booth – and some very large shoes – for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite. The trio was tasked with creating the voices of Batman, Superman and the Joker, all the while remaining respectful to the landmark performances of some very well-loved actors that had come before. Early reviews say the three actors hit their mark, as well as outstanding notices for the...

After opening the series with a three volume mega-saga, the fourth volume of Dragon Ball Z offers some variety. Things kick off with the extended filler tale that is Garlic Jr. In Japan, DBZ saw yearly movies which reworked the current plot elements into standalone original stories. The first of these, inspired by Goku and Piccolo uniting against Raditz at the start of the series, saw them unite to save Gohan from the sinister Garlic Jr, eventually knocking him into a pocket dimension. A stellar alignment has allowed the malevolent midget to escape his prison and he sets his sights once again on claiming the planet. One of the stronger elements of this arc is that Goku is still missing in action, leaving it up to Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo to save the day. Garlic is also one of the best challenges as in his previous appearance he gained the DBZ villain...

Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney Company have released the following trailer for Marvel's Avengers Assemble, the upcoming new animated series uniting up Marvel's greatest superhero icons for a team to take on threats no single one of them could handle alone. The series is set to have a special one-hour preview on Sunday, May 26, 2013, at 11:00 AM (ET/PT) on Disney XD, with the official premiere coming July 7, 2013, at the same time and channel. OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS The Biggest Heroes. The Biggest Threats. The Biggest Stakes! It’s the most anticipated new animated series to launch this year and this July, Marvel’s Avengers Assemble reunites Marvel’s most iconic Super Heroes – Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow & Falcon! Featuring the team that took the world by storm in Marvel’s The Avengers, no fan can miss the action-packed adventures of Earth’s Mightiest as they must protect the Marvel Universe...

FIRST-TIME VOICES OF BATMAN, SUPERMAN & JOKER SET NEW ACTION-PACKED, HILARIOUS TONE FOR LEGO BATMAN: THE MOVIE – DC SUPERHEROES UNITE Troy Baker, Travis Willingham, Christopher Corey Smith & Charlie Schlatter take on iconic roles for new animated film coming to Blu-ray on May 21 The first day on a job is never easy. It only gets that much more difficult when you’re following a legend. Such was the case for Troy Baker, Travis Willingham and Christopher Corey Smith – three talented young voice actors who stepped into the recording booth – and some very large shoes – for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite. The trio was tasked with creating the voices of Batman, Superman and the Joker, all the while remaining respectful to the landmark performances of some very well-loved actors that had come before. Early reviews say the three actors hit their mark, as well as outstanding notices for the...

Finally Releasing from the Disney Vault for the First Time on Blu-ray™! Return to Never Land Available For Purchase Nationwide Beginning August 20, 2013 Synopsis: Let your imagination soar as your favorite characters from Peter Pan, Disney’s classic adventure, Return to Never Land! Now, for the first time through the magic of Blu-ray, experience all the thrilling action with digitally restored picture and spine-tingling high-definition sound! Wendy’s very practical and no-nonsense daughter, Jane, begins the adventure of a lifetime when the infamous Captain Hook whisks her away to the enchanted island of Never Land. It’s up to Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys to help Jane believe in faith, trust and pixie dust. With the first-ever Lost Girl at his side, will Peter Pan finally defeat Hook and his swashbuckling band of pirates? Share the power of believing with your family in Return To Never Land—now more spectacular than ever on Disney Blu-ray! Cast:...

Lucasfilm has announced that production has begun on a new Star Wars animated series called Star Wars Rebels. The show, a production of Lucasfilm Animation, will cover events in the nearly 20-year-long gap separating Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in the days when the Rebel Alliance comes into being as the Galactic Empire subjugates the galaxy. In fall 2014 the cartoon will premiere with a one-hour special on the Disney Channel, to be followed by a regular televised showing on Disney XD. The creative team for Star Wars Rebels is headed up by a team of three executive producers: screenwriter & producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Star Wars: The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni, and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man). Furthermore, Lucasfilm's announcement promotes Star Wars Rebels as "...featuring...

Back in 2009, Batman: The Brave and the Bold parodied the reaction of a particular brand of Batman fan in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", with a tirade about how Batman is best suited in a role of "gritty, urban crime detective" and going on to rant about the show's specific brand of silliness before harumphing, "I'm sorry, but that's not my Batman." I advise those Batman fans who agreed with that fan to turn away from LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite as well, since if anything, this movie is probably even sillier than an average episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The rest of us with a sense of humor and an open mind will find a fun, enjoyable, and rather silly film that serves as a nice tie-in to the latest LEGO Batman video game. In LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC...

NICKELODEON RELEASES ‘BEHIND-THE-SCENES’ FEATURETTE OF NEW ANIMATED SERIES SANJAY AND CRAIG, EXCLUSIVELY ON iTUNES   Nickelodeon today released an epic nine-minute featurette of its newest animated series, Sanjay and Craig.  Available exclusively on iTunes free of charge, The Rad Awesomeness of Sanjay and Craig gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the sidesplitting series before its on-air premiere on Saturday, May 25, at 10:30a.m. (ET/PT). Sanjay and Craig follows the misadventures of Sanjay, an excitable and irreverent 12-year-old boy (Maulik Pancholy, 30 Rock) and Craig, a smooth-talking snake and master of disguise (Chris Hardwick, Nerdist, The Talking Dead).   The Rad Awesomeness of Sanjay and Craig is narrated by Matt Jones (Breaking Bad), who also lends his voice to Hector Flanagan – Sanjay’s eye-patch-wearing, unflappable, underrated and unselfconscious friend. Go to iTunes.com/SanjayandCraig to learn more about the larger-than-life and hilarious adventures of this rad-awesome dude-snake duo t and get a peek into their rad lives. Sanjay and Craig is a brand-new, creator-driven animated series that blends a comedic and...

It’s a mad race between the Autobots and Decepticons when they discover a fossilized Predacon skull. With the chaos and sense of hopelessness of the last four episodes over, the Autobots have a chance to breathe and focus on their new mission: locate the fossilized Predacons before the Decepticons do. Fortunately for them they’re all located on Earth, established in a rather needlessly complicated backstory, though I do like that they may have inspired Earth mythology.   “Project Predacon” lays the groundwork for a lot of character explorations while neatly moving the plot along. The main story centers primarily on Optimus, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, the former spending most of his time flying around advertising his new flight mode while the latter two get the meat of the development. Smokescreen struggles with his return to rookie role after the whole Prime candidate fiasco, eventually asking Bumblebee why a skilled guy like...

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from "Phineas and Ferb" [on the Disney Channel, like you didn't know] will try to sell his newest ominously named invention - The Shrinkinator - to the five panel judge on ABC's "Shark Tank" series finale tonight. Unfortunately, he will fail but perhaps he should have used a different pitch - since the panel includes the NBA's Dallas Mavericks' owner, he might have touted the invention's ability to shrink the San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets, allowing the Mavericks to win their division and make the playoffs this year. Alas, he chose to go this way...

Manga Entertainment UK will be selling an exclusive limited edition bundle of their first One Piece DVD collection at MCM London Comic Con this weekend, 24-26th May. The bundle includes the first complete dual-language DVD set of 26 episodes along with a tote bag containing various exclusive extras. The collection is the start of the first ever UK release of the popular Japanese comedy action serious, focussed on the adventures of a crew of misfit pirates led by their eccentric captain Monkey D. Luffy. Further discussion of Manga's plans for the convention can also be found in their latest podcast.