Retroblog

Hey Boo-Boo! We’re In the Movies!

By Matt

Posted Nov 6, 2009 – 2:05 pm | 4 Comments »

Variety reports that the Hanna-Barbera classic character Yogi Bear is headed to the big screen, with some big names in talks to be attached!

Anna Faris (every “Scary Movie” installment to date), may play a documentary filmmaker visiting Jellystone Park, where apparently the bears wear neckties and only eat from neatly packed wicker pik-in-ik baskets. Dan Aykroyd(!!!) is lined up for the voice role of the bear who charts higher than the median intelligence for ursines in general, and Justin Timberlake (numerous Sony commercials) is in talks to be the voice of Yogi’s diminutive and conscience-burdened buddy, Boo-Boo.

The script is by Brad Copeland, whose former credits include episodes of “Arrested Development” and “News Radio”… we think that might be a good sign! The movie will be a combination of live action and CGI wizardry… and we don’t know what to think about that. A 3D talking bear might seem more terrifyingly freakish than the crafty scamp we remember…

What do you think? Tell us in the comments!

Happy Anniversary, Sesame Street!

By Matt

Posted Nov 4, 2009 – 12:05 pm | No Comments »

“Sesame Street” celebrates forty years of educational fun and wonder when their new season debuts on November 10, 2009!

The series, which began as a proposal to the Carnegie Institute by educator Joan Ganz Cooney in 1966, essentially created the children’s educational television genre. “Sesame Street” has become a truly cross-generational phenomenon, making its mark far beyond the confines of that mythical urban neighborhood populated by kids, muppets and grown-ups.

Without Sesame Street, we wouldn’t have American standards like “Bein’ Green” (a hit for both Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles), “Rubber Duckie,” and “Sing” (a hit for the Carpenters). Sesame Street launched the careers of Jim Henson (creator and voice of Kermit the Frog, Ernie and many others, and the brilliant mind behind the films “Labrynth,” “The Dark Crystal” and all of the contributions of the Jim Henson Creature Workshop) and Frank Oz (director, actor and the creator and voice of Yoda!) Most importantly, “Sesame Street” proved that television could be engaged as an interactive learning tool for children — the show literally improves the cognitive abilities of the kids who watch.

There so many great moments from the first four decades of “Sesame Street,” we wouldn’t know where to begin. So let’s look ahead. Here’s a taste of what you’ll see in the first of the next forty years of “Sesame Street.”

For more happy goodness and iconic moments from the history of Sesame Street, check out the Sesame Street YouTube channel, which is also linked from Retroland’s own video channel.

What has “Sesame Street” meant to you? Tell us about it in the comments, or join the conversation in the Retrotalk forums!

Red Cape Versus White Hood – Guess Who Won?

By Matt

Posted Nov 2, 2009 – 4:16 pm | No Comments »

From the quirky and wonderful Mental Floss comes this story full of everything we love: retro, old time radio serials, the triumph of good versus evil, and Superman!

Check out the remarkable story of how a young writer took his hard-fought inside information about the Ku Klux Klan to the only folks brave enough to publicize it — the writers of the hit radio serial “The Adventures of Superman!”

From the Mental Floss article “How Superman Defeated the Ku Klux Klan:” “As the storyline progressed, the shows exposed many of the KKK’s most guarded secrets. By revealing everything from code words to rituals, the program completely stripped the Klan of its mystique.”

Listen to the original “Clan of the Fiery Cross” episodes, as well as many more installments of “The Adventures of Superman,” courtesy of the Internet Archive!

This example of how the views of society could be shaped for the better through the deeds of a fictional character makes us think about the ways our own moral development has been influenced by costumed heroes. What about you? Tell us about it in the comments!

A New John Hughes Documentary

By Matt

Posted Oct 30, 2009 – 5:23 pm | No Comments »

Author and friend of Retroland James Melzer tipped us to this worthy project: “Don’t You Forget About Me: A Tribute To John Hughes.” Here’s the trailer:

We love the idea that, first of all, so many people agreed to talk with these indie filmmakers… and that the film isn’t just about Hughes, it’s about the quest to actually find and interview the influential writer / director.

The film is released on DVD in Canada on November 3rd, 2009, and a United States release is pending. Find out when and read about the making of “Don’t You Forget About Me: A Tribute To John Hughes” at the official website.

The work of John Hughes, especially his North Shore teen comedies, was a huge influence on us. What about you? Tell us about it in the comments!

Cube Cartoon Strategy To Lower IQ Of Puzzle Fans?

By Matt

Posted Oct 29, 2009 – 5:21 pm | 3 Comments »

We discovered this today — thanks goes to Bubbledog by way of Pop Culture Junk Mail:

Um… what, now?

We were sixteen when “Rubik the Amazing Cube” debuted on Saturday mornings — a couple years north of the target audience. Plus, based on the intro, the target audience was kids who could solve the puzzle in, like, five seconds flat. That, we have to confess, was not us, either.

Digging around IMDB.com, we find that the plot of this cartoonercial involved a magic Rubik’s Cube (bet you figured that part out) lost by a mean magician. The episodes involved the magician trying to get the Cube back, only to be thwarted by Rubik’s magic powers.

If you poke around in your brain for a few minutes, you’ll remember… that’s basically the plot of the Rankin-Bass holiday classic, “Frosty the Snowman.” Magician looses magic hat, magic hat brings snowman to life, snowman befriends children and spends 23 minutes dissuading magician from recovering said magic hat.

All in all, “Rubik the Amazing Cube” was a pretty lazy attempt to wring a little more money out of an admittedly ingenious puzzle toy that, while it survives to the present, had already passed its peak.

Which makes us wonder (and cringe over) what, exactly, they’re going to do when (no joke!) they come out with the ViewMaster movie in a few years..?

Let’s here it from you, folks: pitch us your best (and by “best” we mean “most ridiculous,” naturally) retro toy movie or television series ideas in the comments!