Follyfoot

Follyfoot is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company "TV Munich" (for transmission on the ZDF channel). It aired in the United Kingdom between 1971 and 1973, repeated for two years after that and again in the late 1980s. The series starred Gillian Blake in the lead role. Notable people connected with the series were actors Desmond Llewelyn and Arthur English and directors Jack Cardiff, Stephen Frears, Michael Apted and David Hemmings.
It was originally inspired by Monica Dickens' 1963 novel "Cobbler's Dream" (republished in 1995 as "New Arrival at Follyfoot"); she later wrote four further books in conjunction with the series—"Follyfoot" in 1971, "Dora at Follyfoot" in 1972, "The Horses of Follyfoot" in 1975, and "Stranger at Follyfoot" in 1976.
Background and production.
The series, which was filmed on the Harewood family estate, was set at a home of rest for horses. Despite an apparent appeal limited to young girls with an equine interest, "Follyfoot" was actually aimed squarely at the teenage market and often had challenging things to say about the treatment of horses and animals generally in British society. The ethos of "Follyfoot" generally was to give another chance to both horses and people who had been rejected by the rest of society: the stance of the series was recognisably pro-animal, and characters who resembled the archetypes of the Pullein-Thompson sisters et al were overwhelmingly shown in a negative light. Continuity in the series was assured by the use of mainly one writer, Tony Essex, who wrote 34 of the 39 episodes.
The series' theme song, "The Lightning Tree", written by Francis Essex, the brother of Tony Essex and sung by The Settlers, is well-remembered, sometimes more so than the series itself. The song reached No. 36 in the UK charts in 1971. An album featuring music from the series was also released.
The main actors were Gillian Blake as Dora, Steve Hodson as Steve, Christian Rodska as Ron Stryker, Desmond Llewelyn as the Colonel and Arthur English as Slugger. Several other famous people had minor roles, one being Pam St Clement, the others being Gretchen Franklin as the Colonel's housekeeper and Kathy Staff in two separate bit parts. But what really characterised the series was its rotation of directors, many of whom have since become revered figures in the UK film industry, including Stephen Frears, Michael Apted and even Jack Cardiff who took time out from working overseas with Kirk Douglas to direct two episodes of the series. Also, in the third series, most notably, David Hemmings took the time to appear in one episode, "Uncle Joe" and also to direct two other episodes which took place before and after that episode: "The Bridge Builder" and the final episode, "Walk In the Wood".
The series proved to be very popular and was sold to many countries at the time of the original UK transmission. The first series won the Harlequin award for best production at the 1972 BAFTA Awards, while the second series episode, "The Debt", reached the top 20 in the weekly television ratings—a rarity for an afternoon-timeslot show. During production for the third series, it was intended that this would be the last, a film version of "Follyfoot" was planned, but the idea was ultimately shelved. The children's magazine "Look-in" featured a picture-strip of the series each week as well as regular features, while five annuals were released in association with Yorkshire Television. These ran until 1976—long after the series had finished.
Follifoot (note the slightly different spelling) is a small village just three miles from Harrogate, not far from the Yorkshire Television studios in Leeds.
Home releases.
The first three episodes were released on video in 1995. No further releases ever came to light, and this video has long been deleted.
However, on DVD, Series 1 (episodes 1 to 13) was released in 2007. Series 2 was released on DVD in April 2008, with Series 3 following in October 2008. The DVDs are Region 2 encoded, and in PAL format. A complete boxset of the series was released in late 2008.


Southbound Duckling


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Game Boy Advance)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2003 Game Boy Advance video game, based on the 2003 TV series. In this game each turtle has his own unique set of levels to complete. In addition to the traditional side-scrolling levels, there are third-person view races, a shell-glider level for Donatello and a bike race between Raphael and Casey Jones. The game was also issued in a double pack with its sequel "".
Gameplay.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is a regular beat 'em up platform game. After the player chooses one of the Ninja Turtles, each of whom has a special ability, the character enters a set of four acts, one of which is a vehicle-riding minigame. Leonardo can crawl through small spaces and rides the hovercraft Sewer Slider for a rail shooter minigame. Michelangelo can wall jump, and rides a skateboard through the sewers. Donatello climbs pipes and has a shoot 'em up level using a hang glider. Raphael uses his sai to climb walls and has a motorcycle racing minigame riding the Shell Cycle against Casey Jones.
Plot.
Shortly after a group of mouser robots destroy the Turtles' old home, they begin to attack their new home. Eventually the Turtles trace the robots back to Baxter Stockman's factory, where they save young April O'Neil. Afterwards Michelangelo gets on Raphael's nerves, making Raphael leave to the surface. At the surface, he is confronted by Purple Dragon thugs, and meets Casey Jones, who equally hates that gang. Afterwards Stockman develops for the Foot Clan invisible foot tech ninjas to capture Raphael, forcing the Turtles to rescue them and Donatello to use a cloaking device detector to properly fight the invisible ninjas. Afterward, they are confronted by genetically mutated beings.
Once all four levels are completed, the Turtles strike on the Foot headquarters, where they fight Hun before going after the Foot leader, The Shredder.
Critical reception.
The GBA version received mixed to positive reviews by critics. The graphics and minigames were complimented, but the gameplay was found repetitive and complaints were raised against the lack of multiplayer.


Wally Gator

Wally Gator is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that originally aired as one of the segments from the 1962-1963 block "The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series". The other two segments that compose the series are "Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har" and "Touché Turtle and Dum Dum". The segment consisted of 52 episodes over one year. He will appear in the upcoming HBO Max series "Jellystone!" and will be voiced by Jeff Bergman.
Plot.
Wally Gator (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Ed Wynn) is an anthropomorphic, happy-go-lucky alligator who wears a collar and a pork pie hat. Although his catchy theme song describes him as a "swingin' alligator of the swamp," his home is in the city zoo. Mr. Twiddle (voiced by Don Messick) is the zookeeper who keeps a close watch on Wally, who likes to check out what life is like in the outside world.
Analysis.
Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman noted that "Wally Gator" follows the formula that Hanna-Barbera established in the previous series, such as the Yogi Bear series. The set up in which of these shows placed an animal character within a human-controlled environment and had these characters deal with the social boundaries placed and enforced by humans. An example being: Yogi lives in a park under the care of a park ranger; Wally lives in a zoo under the supervision of a zookeeper. The theme that drives the series is Wally's desire to escape the zoo, a derivative of the "Top Cat" series, where the titular character keeps trying to get away from life in the alley.
Lehman notes a rather depressing underlying theme: the zoo and life in captivity seem to be the proper place for Wally. No matter how much he struggles to fit in the society of the outside world, Wally remains an "Other" and is doomed to fail. The status quo is following every unsuccessful attempt at change.
Home media.
Episodes of "Wally Gator" were released on VHS many times. A DVD set release of the complete series was originally announced for 2006 from Warner Bros. for the Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection but was later canceled due to the poor condition of the masters and was delayed. In 2006, a Warner spokesperson said of the DVDs: "They were pulled because significant remastering work needed to be researched. We are exploring adding them back to the schedule next year." The first episode is available on the DVD set Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol. 2. The show was released on iTunes video in 2017 as part of Hanna-Barbera's 60th anniversary and was released on a made to order DVD set from Warner Archive on June 25, 2019.


Eulalia!

Eulalia! is the 19th book in the "Redwall" children's fantasy novel series by author Brian Jacques and illustrated by David Elliot. "Eulalia" ("Victory") is also the war cry used by the fighting hares and badgers in the "Redwall" series. It comes from "Weialala leia", the lament of the Valkyries in Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung, as quoted by T. S. Eliot in "The Waste Land".
The novel was going to be released in 2006 (to continue the pattern that a new Redwall book is released every year), but was delayed. It was released on October 4, 2007 in the US and UK. Brian Jacques attended a book signing for "Eulalia!" in Newark, Delaware's Borders on Sunday, October 14 and again in Minneapolis, Minnesota's Wild Rumpus on October 27.
Summary.
In the far, cold Northern Isles, the fox captain Vizka Longtooth and his Sea Raiders plunder a lonely farmhouse where the young badger Gorath and his grandparents live. Vizka knocks Gorath unconscious with his chain and mace and puts him on board his ship, the "Bludgullet". Vizka's brother Codj locks the two old badgers in the house and sets it on fire.
Meanwhile, at the mountain stronghold Salamandastron, the Badger Lord Asheye has foreseen that an unknown badger (which turns out to be Gorath) will succeed him in autumn. He sends a young hare, "Mad" Maudie, to search for the badger. After a series of events, Maudie finds herself trapped by sand lizards. At the same time, a young hedgehog called Orkwil Prink is expelled from Redwall Abbey due to thieving.
Meanwhile, the captured Gorath swears to kill Codj for the deaths of his grandparents, and the crew soon realize Gorath is a dangerous beast when he kills a taunting weasel. The ambitious Vizka decides to recruit Gorath into his crew. Maudie, meanwhile, has been rescued from the sand lizards by an owl named Asio Bardwing. He agrees to lead her to the Guosim shrews who will take her to Redwall, where Lord Asheye ordered her to go. They locate the Guosim; however, Asio is killed rescuing a baby shrew from an adder.
Vizka soon realizes that Gorath would rather die than join his crew, so he simply starves him. However, before Gorath dies, Codj captures Orkwil Prink, who befriends Gorath. Being a thief, Orkwil soon frees himself and Gorath. During the escape, Gorath kills Codj, thereby avenging his grandparents.
Maudie and the Guosim are being tagged by another vermin band: the Brownrats, headed by the fat Gruntan Kurdly, who wanted the Guosim's logboats. They meet up with Barbowla the otter, his holt, and the squirrel Rangval the Rogue. A baby shrew is kidnapped by the Brownrats; Maudie and the Log-a-Log (leader) of the Guosim rescue him, but the Log-a-Log is killed in the process.
Gorath and Orkwil have made it to Redwall and have warned Abbot Daucus and Skipper Rorc of the approaching Sea Raiders. They are then joined by Rangval, Barbowla and his otters and the Guosim. Maudie appears later, bringing the baby shrew and the news that the Log-a-Log was killed. His son becomes the new Log-a-Log and swears revenge on the Brownrats.
Vizka had captured a mean vole and ordered him to disguise himself to gain entrance to Redwall, which he wants to conquer. This scheme fails, and the vole is captured by the Redwallers. Vizka then decides to tunnel his way in. However, his crew encounters the scouts of the Brownrats, who chase them to the north. Gorath has seen Vizka besieging the Abbey and gets restless. He escapes during the middle of a feast and Orkwil, Rangval and Maudie set out in search of him. However, just as they were leaving, the vole kills a Sister of Redwall, steals the Sword of Martin the Warrior and runs off.
Gorath, who is in the grip of a berserk rage, sweeps in on a horde of Brownrats, killing dozens. Soon afterwards, one of Vizka's Sea Raiders encounters the vole. He kills him, steals the sword and heads back to Vizka's force. Orkwil, Rangval and Maudie find the vole's body. Vizka, who is nearby, hears the trio talking and captures them. A little later, the Sea Raider with Martin's sword returns to Vizka, who promptly kills him because he wants the sword. Vizka leaves with his horde, telling 3 vermin to guard Maudie and her companions; however, the haremaid and her friends easily overpower them and escape, knowing that Vizka has Martin's sword.
Gorath faints after the berserk rage leaves him. When he comes round, he finds himself in company with two badgers: the young female Salixa and her mentor the Tabura. They return to Redwall, where Gorath and Salixa leave the Tabura. The two young badgers, who are both falling in love with each other, head out looking for Vizka and his crew. The duo soon are surrounded by the vermin on top of a plateau with the Guosim, Barbowla and no rations. Maudie, Orkwil and Rangval, disguised as vermin, join Gorath's army on the plateau. In the process of sneaking up to it, at some point they lose Orkwil; Maudie and Rangval make it to Gorath's force, however.
Gruntan Kurdly, meanwhile, has been killed by a swan. Vizka takes control of the Brownrats and orders them to besiege the plateau. Just as Gorath's army is about to be annihilated, Orkwil reappears leading a horde of Redwallers. They kill the Brownrats and the Sea Raiders, but Vizka and five vermin escape. Gorath pursues Vizka through Mossflower Woods. Vizka's vermin desert him, and Vizka returns to the "Bludgullet", anchored in the River Moss. However, Gorath is already there and kills Vizka in an amazing fight with his friends watching. The "Bludgullet" is renamed the "Eulalia" and Gorath, Salixa, Orkwil, Maudie, Rangval and the Guosim sail down the River Moss to Salamandastron, where Lord Asheye gives the title of Badger Lord to Gorath.
In the celebrations that follow, Lord Asheye realizes that it is near autumn and that he must depart Salamandastron. To cheer Asheye up, Salixa sings a song that the Tabura composed. Asheye suddenly recognizes the song, and realizes the Tabura is his long-lost brother Melutar. Asheye and his friend Major Mullein sail to Redwall.
Gorath and Salixa marry, and have a daughter named Rowanbloom.


Gaming for Gold

Gaming for Gold is a novel by Australian writer Arthur Wright which was published in England. It is about a New Zealand racehorse that participates in the Melbourne Cup.
"The novel is not a convincing picture of Australian conditions", said the critic from the "Advertiser".


The Shark Hunter

The Shark Hunter (), also known as Guardians of the Deep, is a 1979 Italian adventure film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
Plot.
Mike Di Donato, an Italian-American man with a mysterious past, leads a solitary life in an anonymous sea island. His unusual work is the hunting of sharks, from which his partner derives handicrafts for the local market.
Everything appears normal, until the arrival of several men of an unidentified organization in search of an unreachable booty of one hundred million dollars. Mike would be the only man able to retrieve it, but he is not willing to cooperate.
The film saw the coining of the phrase 'Mooney Maiming'. It describes the artful way in which a shark can be maimed by spearing the upper reaches of his open mouth as it surfaces. This term is now widely used in the Great White Shark hunting community.
Production.
According to Franco Nero, producer Enzo Doria wanted to direct the film himself. But on Nero's insistence, Castellari was hired. The script was written in Italian. An English translation was to be brought over to the shooting location in Cozumel, in the Gulf of Mexico, by actor Eduardo Fajardo, but because his luggage got lost, the shooting started without a script. The story was recreated on the spot. Actor Michael Forest helped with the English dialogue.
The underwater photography was done by Ramón Bravo. According to Nero, sharks were caught at night and put in cages underwater. "The next day we would go in the water with the tanks to film the scenes", Nero said. "The shark would be almost dead. They were harmless, because they had no more strength."
Release.
"The Shark Hunter" was released in Italy on 24 December 1979.
In 2013, RetroVision Entertainment announced that they would be releasing the film on Blu-ray and DVD with a brand new high definition transfer from the original negative.
Location.
The movie was shot in Cozumel an island near coast of Mexico.


Adventure in Time

Adventure in Time is text adventure for the Apple II published in 1981 by Phoenix Software. An Atari 8-bit family version was released in 1983.
By means of text descriptions and two word text commands, the player travels through four locations in time, attempting to find and kill Nostradamus before he assembles a world destroying weapon.
Development.
"Adventure in Time" was the first game released by Illinois software company Phoenix Software, after developer Ron Unrath contacted programmer Paul Berker about writing an adventure game for the Apple II in 1980.
Reception.
Rudy Kraft reviewed "Adventure in Time" in "The Space Gamer" No. 49. Kraft commented that "Although the game does provide a little fun, there are many better games on the market. Your money would be better spent on one of them." Mike Flyn of "Hardcore Computing" commented that while it was relatively easy, "I also found it to be rather entertaining, and on that note I do recommend it." In "The Book of Adventure Games", Kim Schuette commented that "The crisp, quick response, tongue-in-cheek style, and save option further add to the game's appeal."


Hawaiian Aye Aye

Hawaiian Aye Aye is a 1964 Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" animated short, directed by Gerry Chiniquy and written by Tedd Pierce and Bill Danch. The short was released on June 27, 1964, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.
Sylvester and Tweety's voices are provided by Mel Blanc, while Tweety's owner Granny was voiced by June Foray. That was the final theatrical cartoon to feature the duo of Sylvester and Tweety together, and the last appearance of Tweety in a theatrical cartoon until "Carrotblanca" in 1995. It was also the last Merrie Melodies cartoon produced by the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio before it closed down in 1963, as well as the last Merrie Melodies short to have the target titles and the last to use "Merrily We Roll Along" at the beginning and end of the short The title was inspired by a TV series produced by Warner Bros. Television called "Hawaiian Eye".
Plot.
In the state of Hawaii, on one of the islets, Granny is off to join a luau, wearing a muumuu, leaving Tweety to look after himself. A peckish Sylvester spots Tweety and tries to get him, but only one thing stands between Sylvester and his prey: Granny's pet shark, Sharkey. Sylvester's attempts with a rubber raft, a zip-line, an air pumping diving suit and a pair of stilts, all fail. Just then, Granny and Tweety leave on a cruise boat as they finished from their vacation. Determined not to lose Tweety, Sylvester rows in a canoe after the cruiser with Sharkey behind him all this time.


La Chatte

 "La Chatte" is a short novel by French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. Released in 1933, the book tells of a love triangle involving Camille Malmert, her husband Alain Amparat and his Chartreux cat Saha. Camille loves Alain, but Alain loves his cat, whom he has had from childhood, more than he could love any woman. The book mainly focuses on Alain and his refusal to leave the memories of childhood; his cat is the embodiment of his childhood.
In the story, Camille and Alain get married and temporarily move into one of Camille's friend's flats. Alain does not like this, as he is away from his childhood home and his cat. Eventually, Camille becomes so annoyed at Alain's obsession with the cat that she pushes Saha from the balcony of the flat, to what she hopes is her death. The cat survives and Alain, furious, leaves Camille to move back in with his mother and his cat.
Alain is rumored to be based upon Colette's own brother. Saha is based upon a Chartreux cat that Colette once owned called "La Chatte."


Mermaid Man


The Old Lady and the Pigeons

The Old Lady and the Pigeons () is a 1997 animated short film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. It tells the slightly surreal story of a starving policeman who dresses up as a pigeon and tricks an old lady into feeding him. The film was produced through the French company Les Armateurs with support from companies in Canada, Belgium and the United Kingdom. It was Chomet's debut film and won several awards including the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Plot.
An emaciated Parisian policeman discovers an old lady who feeds pigeons in the park excessively. After having a nightmare ending in giant pigeon-men pecking at his stomach, the policeman constructs a pigeon mask, which he wears to the old lady's home. She welcomes him inside and, despite his rude behavior, allows him to gorge himself. As weeks pass, the policeman grows increasingly fat. As he goes up flights of stairs to the woman's home each day, he passes a maid sweeping the floor.
Eventually, the policeman discovers the old lady's other pet: the woman who swept the floor, dressed as a cat. When the old lady spots the police man, she begins to pursue him with a large pair of shears. He tries to remove his fake pigeon head, to reveal himself as human, but it has become stuck around his neck. As the old lady is cornering him, the policeman falls out the window and onto the street, among a small group of pigeons. In the final scene the policeman, skinny once more and without his pigeon suit, is seen behaving like a pigeon in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Dialogue.
In Tati-esque fashion, the bulk of the film is without any dialogue at all. And what there is in English: supplied by overweight American tourists in the opening and closing scenes.
Production.
Sylvain Chomet had been based in London and worked as an animator in advertisement since the 1980s. He returned to his native France in 1990 and, inspired by Nick Park's "Creature Comforts", set about making his own film. Chomet pitched "The Old Lady and the Pigeons" to Didier Brunner, producer at Les Amateurs, with whom he began to work on the film in 1991. The producers had difficulties raising enough money, but decided to start anyway, with money from the National Center of Cinematography. The backgrounds were designed by Nicolas de Crécy, who had studied with Chomet and previously collaborated on comics projects. The team produced the film's first four minutes at the Folimage studios in Bourg-lès-Valence. They then attempted to use the finished footage to attract more investors, but failed. In 1993 Chomet relocated to Canada in hope of a fresh start; however, Brunner suddenly managed to pre-sell the film to the BBC and several other broadcasters, and production could continue. Five years after production started the film was completed.
Reception.
The film competed at the 1997 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. On 27 May 1998 it was released theatrically in France through Les Grands Films Classiques. It was screened together with the animated short film "Bob's Birthday", directed by Alison Snowden and David Fine. Bernard Génin reviewed "The Old Lady and the Pigeons" for "Télérama" and called Chomet's directing "brilliant". He also complimented Crécy's background art, and wrote: "Paris streets, cozy interiors, characters' puffy faces – each shot is a beauty! Yes, the traditional, handmade cartoon can still surprise us."
Accolades.
The film won the Grand Prix for best short film at the Annecy Festival. It went on to win the British BAFTA Award and Canadian Genie Award for Best Animated Short. It was nominated for best animated short at France's 1998 César Awards, and the United States' Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 70th Academy Awards.


Svengarlic

Svengarlic is a 1931 short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and one of the many cartoons featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat. The film is a parody of the 1931 film "Svengali" which in turn is based on the 1894 novel "Trilby".
Plot.
A crazed labrador, who is a musician, plays some music on his piano (one of which would be repeated by Krazy in "Seeing Stars"). When his piano collapses due to being overplayed, the labrador gobbles some garlic pieces, and delivers a breath onto the instrument. Surprisingly, the piano returns to its normal shape, and the canine musician is able to play again. When he is finished playing, he spots someone outside singing with a voice he finds pretty.
Out in the street, it appears the one singing is the spaniel girlfriend of Krazy Kat. She then comes to a hotel, looking to get a room. The hotel guests find her likable as they courteously hurl their keys at her feet. One of the guests is Krazy who instead lowers a rope from his window to pick her up.
Inside his room, Krazy could not help looking constantly at his sweetheart. He then asks the spaniel to stand on a platform where he tries to paint a portrait of her. Their meeting, however, gets interrupted when the labrador comes unexpectedly. The labrador, who is also skilled in hypnosis, uses his spell to lure the spaniel out of the building, much to Krazy's surprise.
The labrador then lures the spaniel into a theater and onto a stage. Under the labrador's conducting, the spaniel sings in the style of a soprano. Although the conductor receives a bit of harassment from Krazy, the act continues. When the spaniel has trouble making the high notes, the labrador uses his garlic breath once more to improve her performance. But before he could hear the final notes, the labrador is sprayed ether on by Krazy. Krazy then sneaks behind the curtains, and jerks the spaniel at the back, causing her to let out a high note which the spectators find impressive. Krazy and the spaniel celebrate the act with a kiss.


The Adventures of Sebastian the Fox

The Adventures of Sebastian the Fox is a 1963 Australian children's series. The show combined a string puppet, a mischievous fox named Sebastian, who was placed in real-life settings. It was among the first shows of its kind produced in Australia, as it was very different from earlier Australian children's series like "Peters Club" and "Tarax Show". The Sebastian puppet was designed and operated by puppeteer Peter Scriven.
The music was composed by George Dreyfus, who became a leading Australian composer. The score was subsequently arranged by Dreyfus for various small ensemble combinations for performance by young musicians as a complete concert.


Fortune Dogs

 is a manga series by Shuji Kishihara and Yasuharu Tomono serialized in Nakayoshi, about the lives of 48 puppies. An anime television series was produced based on the manga.
The main character's story presents the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies and religions (the Monomyth), a theory developed by Joseph Campbell in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces".
Plot.
A French Bulldog is adopted from the Happy Kennel by a girl named Ai and is given the name Alex. She tells him stories and reads to him from a book titled "The Adventures of Freddy" about dog who leaves home to find the Fortune Tree.
However, he is separated from Ai when he mistakenly follows a girl wearing the same clothes as Ai on a bus. Adopting the name Freddy, after the hero in Ai's storybook, Alex begins his quest to return to Ai. But before he can return to his owner, Freddy and his new friends must find the Fortune Tree and save it from dying, otherwise all the humans in the world will lose their good will and no longer care about their pets.


Benjamin the Elephant

Benjamin the Elephant (original German name: "Benjamin Blümchen"; "Benjamin Blossom") (1988-2002) is an animated children's television show produced by Kiddinx Studios in Berlin. The show is based on audio stories by Elfie Donnelly. The audio series has been running since 1977 and has 142 stories as of 2019. On the show, the eponymous main character resides at the Newtown Zoo, with friends Otto and Stella. The adventures Benjamin gets involved in often require slipping into various roles, learning new jobs, or discovering new and distant places.


The Drinky Crow Show

The Drinky Crow Show is an American adult computer-animated cel-shaded animated television series created by Eric Kaplan and Tony Millionaire, based on the latter's comic strip "Maakies". The pilot episode aired on Adult Swim on May 13, 2007. The series premiered on November 23, 2008 and ended its run on January 25, 2009. The cancellation of the show was confirmed by a Maakies comic.
Dino Stamatopoulos provided the voice of the title character and David Herman the voices of Uncle Gabby and Captain Maak. Millionaire's wife Becky Thyre co-starred as the voice of the Captain's Daughter and Phoebe Bird. Pamela Adlon provided the voice of Mademoiselle DeBoursay, as well as many of the other female characters. Creators Tony Millionaire and Eric Kaplan also provided additional voices. They Might Be Giants perform the show's theme song.
Setting.
The show centers on Drinky Crow (an often drunk crow) and Uncle Gabby described as a drunken Irish monkey. It has a 19th-century nautical setting, where the main characters are constantly at war with the French, who are mostly alligators. It is characterized by graphic violence and surreal humor, so it normally is rated TV-MA-V for graphic violence.
Production.
The animation is somewhat unusual in that, although it is CGI-animated and rendered in 3D using Maya, its resolution and its color palette are deliberately kept low. This gives the show a more traditional cel-animated look, reminiscent of 1950s children's TV cartoon shows. Matt Danner and Eddie Trigeruos are show animators, while physical production is handled at Mirari Films.
International broadcast.
In Canada, "The Drinky Crow Show" previously aired on G4 Canada's ADd block, and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.
Home release.
Although "The Drinky Crow Show" has never been released on DVD, all episodes, excluding the pilot, are available on iTunes. The entire series, including the pilot, has been made available for streaming on the official Adult Swim website.


Man About Dog

Man About Dog is a 2004 Irish comedy film starring Allen Leech, Ciaran Nolan and Tom Murphy. The film was distributed by Redbus Film Distribution and directed by Paddy Breathnach.
Plot.
The film's main characters are Mo Chara, Scud Murphy and Cereberal Paulsy, all from West Belfast. They have an interest in dog racing, which the narrator, Mo Chara, informs us, is very important in Ireland. A hooky booky makes a proposition to them, to help him win a race through underhanded methods and in exchange, he'll give them a dog. After sabotaging the race as requested, they find out that the dog, 'Boots' as they call him, is useless as a racing dog. When propositioned by someone else to help sabotage the booky's attempts to win a very important race, they receive a dog, Cerberus as a reward.
They decide to test out Cerberus' ability and enter him in a race. However, instead of racing, Cerberus lies down inside the box and does not move, losing the boys some money. Outside the track after the race, the boys argue over what to do with the dog, when they are kidnapped and put in the back of a van. When they wake up, they find themselves hung up in a dog-food processing plant with the bookie and his henchman, Mooney in front of them. The bookie says that because they sabotaged the race his dog was in, which had a prize of £50,000, that they owed him that amount. He gives them a week to pay it.
The boys decide to go 'down south' to the Republic of Ireland in order to escape their pursuers. While in the south, they see a local fair and decide to race the dog so as to win some money. The dog loses and angers Scud, who sells him to some travellers who are there, against Mo Chara's wishes. Later, it turns out that the dog is actually a great racer, which Mo Chara puts down to him only chasing real hares, not plastic ones. And the only place they use real hares is in Clonmel at the annual all-Ireland dog coursing championship. The three leave just after a fight breaks out between Scud, Paulsy and the rest of the fair and go in search of the travellers and their dog.
They manage to steal the dog and get away from the traveller camp, after a brief chase down Irish country roads, they get away from the travellers and make their way towards Clonmel. On the way, they lose the dog out the back door of the van so they turn around to catch him again, after running over a dog which they're relieved to find isn't Cerberus, they find him again.
The lads eventually get to Dublin and get some money by applying to test drugs at a clinic. That same night they find and have sex with three Polish girls, except for Scud who gets erectile dysfunction when he's called to perform.
They eventually get the dog and race him in Clonmel. After the dog wins several of his races, the hooky booky again appears and once again demands what he says they owe him. As the boys are discussing what they should do, the travellers appear on the scene again and hold the boys over a cliff, about to kill them. At the last minute Mo Chara offers them a deal where if the dog wins, the boys get to keep the dog, but they'll give the travellers the money they bet on the dog, plus half the prize money and if the dog loses, they'll pay the traveller's what they think he's worth, which they say is 50 grand in an unspecified currency. They can't win the money themselves because the dog is in the boys' name.
After some tense moments, the dog eventually wins and the travellers get their money and the boys get theirs. Paulsy ends up opening the first hash café in West Belfast, Scud gets a brand new shop van, Mo Chara builds a dogtrack and Cerberus is put out to stud.


Age of Dinosaurs

Age of Dinosaurs is a 2013 low budget science fiction action film directed by Joseph J. Lawson and starring Ronny Cox and Treat Williams.
Plot.
Using flesh-regeneration technology, Genetisharp (a biotech company) creates a set of living dinosaurs. The creatures escape and terrorize Los Angeles. These dinosaurs include a giant Ceratosaurus, raptorlike Carnotaurus, building-climbing Spinosaurus, and brutal Pteranodon. The final battle is on the Hollywood Sign, and the dinosaurs are all destroyed.


Angry Birds Toons

Angry Birds Toons is a Finnish animated television series based on Rovio's Angry Birds. This animated series follows the adventures of the birds as they guard their eggs against the piggies who want to steal them for their king to eat, as well as adventures from within each group. With episodes having been released weekly.
Production.
Rovio announced a TV series based on the "Angry Birds" video game series of 52 short episodes. The series was produced by Finnish animation studio Kombo, which Rovio bought in June 2011. "I am happy to say we are going to roll out a weekly animation series this year of short format content," said Nick Dorra, head of animation at Rovio. The series was made available worldwide on "Angry Birds" apps, selected video-on-demand services, and selected smart TVs.
Home Media.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (who coincidentally later released "The Angry Birds Movie" through Columbia Pictures) is the DVD/Blu-ray distributor for the series. While the first season got a Blu-Ray release, later releases starting with season two were only available on DVD.
Specials.
On 21 October 2011, prior to the series starting, Rovio made a Halloween special as the trailer for the Angry Birds Seasons episode of Ham'o'ween, and as the backstory of how the bird Bubbles joined the flock of birds; later in the same year, Nickelodeon showed "Angry Birds: Wreck the Halls", a Christmas special that aired on 17 December 2011, and which was included as a bonus feature on the Season 1, Volume 1 DVD; on 20 January of the next year, "Nickelodeon showed Angry Birds: Year Of The Dragon", a special celebrating the Chinese Year Of The Dragon, and the Angry Birds Seasons episode of the same name; and "Angry Birds Space", an animated prequel to the video game of the same name in March 2012.
Book Adaptation.
On January 1st 2016, Rovio And Kaiken Entertainment Ltd (Now Ferly Ltd) published a series of 4 books written by Les Spink called Angry Birds Toons Tales. The books contained more in-depth written versions of the first twelve episodes of the series, although the visuals shown in the books are the same as the visuals which appear in the animated versions of the episodes.
Spin-offs.
"Piggy Tales".
On 11 April 2014, Rovio released a series titled "Piggy Tales" on their multi-platform broadcasting channel, Toons.TV, with the first episode called "Trampoline". The series show the minion pigs' life, with other exclusive characters to appear in various episodes, but no other pigs or birds were featured.
The first two seasons used clay animation to depict the pigs as they appeared in most "Angry Birds" games, with the latter two seasons shifting to computer-generated imagery and focusing on the pigs as they appeared as in "The Angry Birds Movie".
"Angry Birds Stella".
Based on the puzzle video game spin-off of the same name, the series is based around Stella, the pink bird, along with her friends Luca, Willow, Poppy, and Dahlia, as they work their way against Gale, the former friend of Stella, that currently is the queen of the pigs in Golden Island.
"Angry Birds Blues".
Another spin-off series, titled "Angry Birds Blues". The series shows The Blues' life, along with the Hatchlings, and is set between the events of "The Angry Birds Movie" and its sequel. It premiered on 10 March 2017 on Toons.TV.
"Angry Birds BirLd Cup".
In the summer of 2018, on the eve of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Rovio announced a new series, titled "Angry Birds BirLd Cup", which leverages a partnership with the UK soccer/association football team Everton FC, in which Premier League stars hold a special contest between two teams of children, representing Red and Chuck. The teams compete in special challenges to win the titular "Birld Cup", with the pigs keeping score.
"Angry Birds on the Run".
In the fall of 2018, Rovio announced a new series, titled Angry Birds on the Run, which leverages a partnership with Blink Industries, to create the first live action Angry Birds series. The series shows that Red, Chuck, and Bomb fall out of a girl's phone, and they try to find the kid to get home before Rovio replaces them. The show was released on 17 November 2018 on YouTube. In the Spring 2020, Rovio Entertainment announced the second season for the series with the first episode released on 13 June 2020.


Dino Crisis 2

 is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It is the second installment in the "Dino Crisis" series.
After the events of the previous game, unsafe research into time-distorting Third Energy has resulted in an entire research base, military institution, and fictional metropolis of Edward City to be transported to another time; along with all of its inhabitants. Secret Operations Raid Team operative Regina returns as one of the main playable characters, sent along as an adviser to the rescue team that travels through time to find survivors of the time displacement and recover data on the Third Energy experiments. Dylan Morton, the rescue team leader, is the second playable character. Despite Dylan and Regina initially going their separate ways, they end up joining forces to find a way back to the present. The player switches between controlling Regina and Dylan at specific points during the story.
Gameplay.
"Dino Crisis 2" is an action-adventure game that uses predetermined camera angles. Capcom Production Studio 4 changed the series' focus from the survival horror of the first "Dino Crisis" by creating a more action-packed arcade-style experience that featured more open areas, greater varieties of weapons and enemies and less emphasis on puzzles.
As players kill dinosaurs in succession, countering attacks and avoiding damage in areas, they can earn "Extinction Points" a form of in-game currency that tally up as player moves between locations. Throughout the game, the player can locate and use computer stations that act as a save point where players can save and load games. They can also spend Extinction Points on new weapons, upgrades, health packs and ammunition. There are also bandages (used to stem bleeding). This type of injury occurs when a player takes damage from certain attacks, and it results in slow draining of the health bar.
There are two forms of weapons in the game, main and sub-weapons; the player can only equip one of each at a time. Main weapons provide the most damage and are used for the majority of attacks, for example shotguns, flamethrowers and rifles whereas sub-weapons are used to get past obstacles, like the machete for cutting plant vines and the firewall gun that creates a temporary wall of fire against foes. Over the course of the game players switch roles between Regina and Dylan, the two have different weapons, making some passages blocked for one but accessible for the other.
Among the action-adventure gameplay are sections of on rails shooting, such as a chase where the player shoots at dinosaurs that are chasing an automatically driven vehicle and, like the previous game, several puzzles. Throughout the game, the player finds data files and documents that progress the story and give details of certain areas. Hidden "Dino Files" can also be found; these go into detail about each dinosaur in the game. Upon collecting all the available Dino Files, the player is granted unlimited ammunition for weapons on the next play through.
Extra Crisis.
Upon completion of the main game, there is an unlockable mode known as Extra Crisis with two gameplay modes: "Dino Colosseum" and "Dino Duel". Colosseum is a survival mode where a chosen character with their own pre-set weapons fight off series of attacks by certain dinosaurs, the larger and more deadly being the latter. Upon completion the player is graded and awarded a trophy on how well they performed. Dino Duel is a mode that allows the player to take control of a dinosaur and battle another in the style of a fighting game. Completion of the game on harder difficulties allows more characters and dinosaurs to become available for purchase, using the final Extinction Points gathered from that play through. These include Gail and Rick, two characters from the first game. Dinosaurs can also be used in Dino Colosseum, but they must be unlocked by completing the game in normal or hard mode.
Plot.
On May 10, 2010, the United States Army's TRAT unit is deployed to investigate the disappearance of Edward City and its surrounding countryside. Their mission: Travel through the Time Gate, locate 1300 survivors and collect data remnants on the Third Energy Project. Intelligence operative Regina is brought along as an adviser due to her past experiences. During insertion, the team's camp is attacked by a pack of "Velociraptor", leaving Lieutenant Dylan Morton, Regina and TRAT operative David as the only survivors. The velociraptors flee when a "Tyrannosaurus rex" attacks the group. David damages the tyrannosaur's eye with a rocket-propelled grenade to ensure Dylan and Regina's escape. Regina returns to the transport ship while Dylan heads into the jungle, spotting a mysterious helmeted figure while investigating a military facility. Upon arrival, he is confronted by the wounded "T. rex". While escaping to the barracks, he is shot at by helmeted attackers. Later, he attempts to retrieve a key card, triggering a security alert that imprisons him.
Regina receives Dylan's distress call and rescues him. While rescuing Dylan, Regina captures one of the mysterious attackers, a blonde teenage girl who is unable to speak. When they return to their ship, they find the engine room ransacked, stranding the heroes in the past, while the teenage girl exhibits a familiar connection to Dylan.
At the Research Facility, Dylan discovers human containment chambers and a starter battery for the ship in order to get it mobile. Dylan returns to find the girl has escaped and theorizes that the helmeted attackers could be from a different time period. They use the repaired ship to reach the offshore Third Energy facility.
Regina uses a diving suit at the facility to investigate the underwater reactor. Once topside, she and Dylan receive a distress call from David, who has found survivors at Edward City. However, Dylan and Regina arrive too late. Upon splitting up, Dylan engages the "T. rex" with a tank before being jumped by another helmeted figure. The blonde girl saves Dylan and runs away. Deciding they have no business at Edward City anymore, Regina heads to a missile silo in the jungle.
Regina discovers the Third Energy data at the silo, but is confronted by the "Tyrannosaurus". Her savior is a "Giganotosaurus" that kills it. The "Gigantosaurus" follows Regina inside the missile silo, causing damage that triggers a countdown to launch. Regina ignites gas vents to incinerate the "Giganotosaurus"'s head, rendering it comatose. Regina stops the countdown, but the beast awakens and smashes the missile to the ground, destroying the base. While evacuating Regina, Dylan is attacked and injured by an "Allosaurus". In order to save him, David sacrifices himself by throwing Dylan into the river before getting eaten.
Dylan arrives at another research facility and encounters the blonde-haired girl. Inside, she plays a hologram recording of an elderly Dylan from 2055 and learns the origins of the disaster. The overload in 2009 caused time alterations to the Cretaceous Era, affected the earth's history dramatically, creating an alternate timeline where humanity did not exist. To fix this, an international organization enacted the "Noah's Ark Plan": utilizing the Timegate technology, they would transport the living organisms of the Cretaceous to a different time period, three million years in the future, with similar environments, where they could thrive unaffected by the alterations. With the distortions prevented, the organisms would then be returned to their original time period. However, when the Noah's Ark team attempted to return, the gate overloaded and was destroyed, stranding both the dinosaurs and humans in the future. The helmeted attackers are revealed to be the only remaining children of the survivors, who were brought to the safety of a facility and placed in special life support chambers for growth and learning. The side-effects of the chambers cost the children's ability to speak and allowed them to co-exist with the dinosaurs, attacking anyone who threatened them. Dylan also learns at this point that the blonde girl is his future daughter, Paula. The hologram instructs Dylan there is a basic gate they can use to go home, but it will work only once, asking Dylan to take Paula with him.
The facility's self destruct system is activated by the sole surviving helmeted figure, causing the "Giganotosaurus" to appear. The helmeted figure is killed, while Dylan incinerates the Giganotosaurus with an orbital laser. While attempting to evacuate with Regina, an earth tremor leaves Paula trapped by falling equipment. Unable to free her and with the building ready to explode, Dylan stays with his daughter, telling Regina to return home with the Third Energy data and save them at an earlier time period.
Reception.
"Dino Crisis 2" was met with mostly positive reviews, with an average score of 80.70% based on 22 reviews for the PlayStation version and an average score of 57.33% based on 3 reviews for the PC version at GameRankings and an 86/100 based on 13 reviews for the PlayStation version at Metacritic. It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best PlayStation Game" and, among console games, "Best Adventure Game" awards.
In their review, GameSpot commented that the first "Dino Crisis" was as if Capcom "replaced the zombies with carnivorous dinosaurs" for a "Resident Evil" spin-off. However, they found "Dino Crisis 2" "an original, enjoyable experience that can no longer be considered just another entry into the survival-horror genre", as it "avoids the stereotypes of the genre and delivers one of the most refreshing takes on the action-adventure genre to date". IGN concurred that the game had been "stripped of its slow-paced "Resident Evil" shell and its haunting, creepy shockeroo tricks". They had even more praise for the game: "The creatures and the design are both excellent, and the jungle backgrounds, and especially the underwater environments, are simply top-notch". "GamePro"'s review commented that "sound is solid, with an unobtrusive musical score that blends well with gaming effects, i.e. the telltale rustle of foliage preceding a raptor's leap for your throat isn't drowned out by J-pop".
"The Cincinnati Enquirer" gave the game four stars out of five: "Overall, "Dino Crisis 2" is a fantastic sequel that delivers more adrenaline-pumping action, beautiful scenery and a hearty dose of terror". The newspaper added that "tasks such as running around looking for keys can be tedious. And some of the action portions of the game can get repetitive, too".
Game Revolution felt the "arcade-like" gameplay "detracts a bit from the whole survival-horror theme". They also noted that "the back and forth gameplay gets tired after a while", and that it can be "very easy to get distracted from the storyline and get sucked into the process of amassing an arsenal".
Greg Orlando reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "beautiful graphics, solid control, and furious action still can't overcome the dull protagonists and severely foreshortened running time".
Like its predecessor, "Dino Crisis 2" was a commercial success, with the PlayStation version selling 1.19 million copies worldwide. Capcom would later re-release the game for PC, and bring it to PlayStation Network in the US and Japan.


The Killer Shrews

The Killer Shrews is an independently made 1959 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon, directed by Ray Kellogg, that stars James Best, Ingrid Goude and Ken Curtis. The film co-stars Gordon McLendon, Baruch Lumet and "Judge" Henry Dupree.
"The Killer Shrews" was filmed outside of Dallas, Texas back-to-back with "The Giant Gila Monster". Now in the public domain, the film has had multiple DVD releases and was featured in the fourth season of "Mystery Science Theater 3000".
Plot.
Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and first mate Rook Griswold ("Judge" Henry Dupree) deliver supplies by boat to a group on a remote island. The group, consisting of scientist Marlowe Cragis (Baruch Lumet), his research assistant Radford Baines (Gordon McLendon), the scientist's daughter Ann (Ingrid Goude), her former fiancée Jerry Farrel (Ken Curtis), and a servant Mario (Alfred DeSoto), welcome the captain and his first mate. Before the two visitors can get too comfortable though the islanders, to their surprise, begin to insist that the ship leave immediately and take Anna with them, even though a hurricane is fast approaching the island. Thorne however insists that the storm will be too severe for them to leave that night and so instead goes with the researchers to their compound, while Griswold stays with the boat, saying that he will come ashore later.
Over cocktails at the compound, Thorne soon becomes aware of a menace threatening all their lives and the reason for why the Doctor and company were so eager for the ship to leave quickly: Marlowe Cragis as it turns out has been performing well-meaning genetic research and has been using shrews as test animals due to their short life spans allowing him to track his research's progress over multiple generations. The Doctor's purpose in these experiments is to isolate and manipulate the genes responsible for growth and metabolism in order to eventually shrink humans to half their size so as to reduce world hunger because (he reasons) being smaller, the modified humans will consume less food in a world with a limited food supply. Unfortunately, the Doctor's experiments have instead created a batch of mutant giant shrews that have escaped due to Farrel's drunken negligence and which are now reproducing in the wild, growing larger and more voracious by the day. Due to this, the group must now barricade themselves inside their compound every evening before the sun sets due to the creature's nocturnal feeding habits, with the hope being that the shrews will inevitably kill and cannibalize each other once they have eaten every other living animal on the island.
Gradually as they talk Thorne and Ann become more and more attracted to each other, causing Jerry to become jealous. Meanwhile, the giant shrews having run out of smaller animals to hunt and devour become ravenous and begin to venture out during the day in a desperate attempt to find food. As a result when Griswold comes ashore, the mutants attack and kill him. Shortly afterward the storm makes landfall and the shrews dig through the floor of the compound's barn and begin attacking the livestock. Hearing the sound and mistaking it for Rook, Thorne nearly opens the door to let him in but is stopped from doing so by Jerry and Marlowe who make him realize the truth of the matter. Marlowe then attempts to reassure Thorne that they are safe in the building from the shrews but his attempts quickly falter when Thorne points out a fact the Doctor has overlooked. As Thorne explains, while the main building's floor is indeed too hard for the shrews to dig through, the walls of the building are adobe and at the current rate, the storm will soon turn it to soft mud making the Doctor's plan to simply wait out the shrews impossible. Recognizing the truth of his statement the group makes a plan to leave the moment the storm is over. Later that night though one of the mutant shrews takes advantage of a broken window and makes its way into the basement. Mario and Thorne hearing the noise and realizing one of the creatures must have forced its way inside follow it downstairs. Mario discovers the mutant and shoots at it, but not before it bites him. The giant shrew is subsequently finished off by Thorne who then attempts to treat Mario's wound only for him to die regardless. Radford later discovers Mario's death was due to a highly toxic venom in the dead shrew's saliva, the result of the creatures adapting to the poisoned bait the researchers had placed in the wild in a previous attempt to kill them off. As day breaks and the storm fades, Thorne and Jerry attempt to scout the path out of the compound so the whole group of survivors can hopefully make a break for the boat. During this mission, the two of them discover Rook has been eaten by the creatures and Jerry's jealousy over Anna's attraction to Thorne leads him to try and shoot his rival only for Thorne to disarm Jerry. The shrews then suddenly attack the two and Thorne and Jerry race back to the compound. Jerry reaches it first and tries to leave Thorne locked outside to die but Thorne just barely manages to scale the compound's fence in time. Enraged by the multiple attempts to kill him Thorne beats Jerry senseless and nearly throws him to the shrews but thinks better of it and spares him instead. After dragging Jerry back into the main building the survivors regroup to try and come up with another plan. Before they can do so though, another mutant shrew is able to get in and bites Radford before they can kill it. As he dies, Radford, ever the dutiful researcher, records the symptoms of the venom on his typewriter, right up to the moment of his death.
As more and more of the giant shrews begin to chew through the now soft adobe walls, Thorne hits upon the idea to fashion impromptu armor by lashing together empty 50-gallon chemical drums and then duckwalking to the beach. Due to his claustrophobia though, Jerry refuses to get into the makeshift armor and remains behind, isolating himself on the roof and watching the mutants chase after the lashed-together drums. When the coast seems clear Jerry attempts to flee but is cut off and killed by another group of shrews. Thorne, Ann, and Marlowe meanwhile manage to reach the shoreline and after ditching the armor they swim out to the boat. Safely aboard and confident that the giant shrews will eventually die out from consuming one another, Thorne and Ann share a long kiss.
Production.
Principal photography took place outside of Dallas, Texas.
Special effects were provided by first-time director Kellogg, who served as the head of 20th Century Fox's special effects department throughout most of the 1950s. Close-ups of the shrews were filmed using hand puppets, and for the wider shots, coonhounds were costumed as the shrews.
This low-budget feature was regarded as one of the more successful "regional films". Unlike other regional films, however, it received national and even foreign distribution.
Release.
Home video.
A colorized version of "The Killer Shrews" was released on DVD by Legend Films as a double feature set with the creature feature "The Giant Gila Monster". The satirical TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" riffed on the movie in an episode during its fourth season. "MST3K"s version of "The Killer Shrews" was released on DVD by Rhino Home Video as part of the show's Volume 7 boxed set. The gags were focused on the movie's main flaws: the lack of conflict in its first hour (which was mostly focused on the "living room" of the island's compound, as the characters talked back and forth to each other), the silly appearance of the shrews (coonhounds dressed up in long-haired wigs), and how most of the dialogue was difficult to understand due to the regional accents of the actors.
Reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, "The Killer Shrews" holds an approval rating of 50%, based on , with a weighted average rating of 4.6 out of 10.
Leonard Maltin awarded the movie 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "an inventive but silly sci-fi tale".
Despite mixed reviews, the movie was a commercial success. Unlike many American creature features of the time, it was released internationally adding to its profits.
Sequel and remake.
The sequel "Return of the Killer Shrews" was produced in 2012, again starring Best as Thorne Sherman. Bruce Davison took the role of Jerry. The movie also stars John Schneider and Rick Hurst, Best's co-stars in "The Dukes of Hazzard". The length of time between the original movie's release and the sequel's release (more than 50 years) is one of the longest time periods in movie history between original movies and sequels.
The remake/parody "Attack of the Killer Shrews" was released in 2016 by White Lion Studios. Directed by Ken Cosentino, it was filmed as a horror comedy with "deliberately awful...horrible shrew puppets" and a different cast of characters.


Tiny World

Tiny World is an English nature documentary television series created by Tom Hugh-Jones, and narrated by Paul Rudd. The series premiered on October 2, 2020 on Apple TV+, with a second season premiering on April 16, 2021.
Premise.
"Tiny World" "showcases nature’s lesser-known tiny heroes. Spotlighting small creatures and the extraordinary things they do to survive, each episode is filled with surprising stories and spectacular cinematography."
Production.
"Tiny World" creator Tom Hugh-Jones says filming took about one year, but if all filming days were added up, it would total nearly 10 years of shooting to capture nearly 200 species of small animals. Altogether, they filmed about 3160 hours of footage with around 20 teams at different locations around the world.
The idea to have Paul Rudd narrate "Tiny World" came from his recent role as Ant-Man.
Critical reception.
"Tiny World" has been universally acclaimed. "Decider" said, "the spectacular cinematography on "Tiny World" is more than enough to tune in, but the storytelling and Paul Rudd’s narration support the cinematography well." "TV Insider" called the series "visually captivating". saying it "will convince you to look closer at the world's more minute inhabitants."


DinoCity

DinoCity is a platform video game developed and published by Irem Corporation for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game is loosely based on the 1991 made-for-television American film "Adventures in Dinosaur City" by Smart Egg Pictures, and borrows many of the film's characters, settings, and basic plot while providing its own unique art direction and style. Initially released in July 1992 for Japanese audiences, the game was later made available in North America the following September. The game centers on two friends, Timmy and Jamie, young children who are accidentally transported to a world resembling prehistoric Earth populated by anthropomorphic dinosaurs. While a device which will allow them to return home exists in this environment, a critical component has been stolen by Mr. Big, leader of a gang of Neanderthals known as The Rockeys, leaving the player to guide Timmy or Jamie to his castle to retrieve it. They are assisted by Rex, a "Tyrannosaurus", and Tops, a "Protoceratops", each with their own play-styles.
Gameplay.
"DinoCity" is a traditional platformer-style action game where the player must move their character from left to right across the screen while avoiding obstacles, jumping on platforms, and defeating enemies. Players are given the choice of controlling Rex with Timmy or Tops with Jamie at the beginning of the game as well as at the start of each new level. While Tops can throw darts to damage enemies from a distance, Rex is confined to close combat by punching them or swinging his tail. Each dinosaur character can defeat enemies by jumping on them, and at any point the player may relegate control to their human riders, who can freeze enemies in place by using a special energy device. While controlling the children, the dinosaurs become immobile and may be used as platforms themselves to reach otherwise inaccessible items. The game supports up to two players who are given alternating turns at play each time the other loses a life.
In order to pass each of the game's six levels (and one secret level), players must navigate through a number of screens joined by doors. Each screen resembles a different environment, and can include caves, jungles, grasslands, ice caverns, volcanoes, or cities. Once a player has passed enough screens they must battle a boss character before advancing. If a character loses enough lives, they are given the option to continue up to three times before the game is over. During gameplay a player may collect eggs which grant an extra life if enough are obtained, as well as hearts that restore lost health. The game utilizes a password system that allows players to return to the start of any level from the title screen.
Development.
"DinoCity" was developed and published by Irem Corporation in 1992, and was led by project directors K. Okada and Y. Takashima. The game was based on the American film "Adventures in Dinosaur City" which has been released worldwide earlier that year, with the Japanese title "Dinowars Kyōryū Ōkoku e no Daibōken" being the same name as the Japanese version of the movie. While many of the game's characters including the heroes Rex, Tops, Timmy, Jamie and villains Mr. Big and The Rockeys were taken directly from the film, they were largely re-designed into a more anime-based style by staff artists using the pseudonyms "Munou no Hito" and "SDR 200". Much of the game's art direction utilizes a colorful, cartoon-like approach to environments and enemies as opposed to the darker presentation of the original film. The music for "DinoCity" was produced by Irem in-house composer Hiroshi Ebihara, who had previously collaborated on the score to "Super R-Type". Although no official soundtrack was released, select tracks were made available for listening from in-game sound test menu accessible from the title screen.
The North American version was originally marketed by Irem America under the title "Dinosaurs" shortly after the game's Japanese release in July, with the finalization of the game's title coming just before its English release. Although the title was originally marked for an August release, it would later be pushed back to the following September. Beginning in early 1993, Irem America held a magazine promotion where players could receive an official "DinoCity" t-shirt featuring Rex by sending in two UPC labels from specified Irem games.
Version differences.
While the majority of the game remains unchanged from one region release to another, a few graphic and gameplay changes exist between the English and original Japanese versions of the game. The cavewomen enemy character "Cindy" was originally designed as a large-busted woman whose character sprite was altered for the North American release due to Nintendo of America's policy against overly-sexual depictions of women on their consoles. The Japanese version also includes the option to select "Normal" or "Hard" difficulty settings at the beginning of the game. While the Hard setting represents the default play mode on the English version, the Normal setting grants the player five health points instead of three, as well as unlimited continues.
Reception.
"DinoCity" received mostly good to average reviews during its North American release. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" was impressed with the game's "colorful" graphics and "cute" character designs, stating that it "seems geared for kids, but adults can play too." However, the magazine ultimately declared that "although [the game] enjoys some of the nicest SNES wallpaper yet, the theme is less than while the pace remains stuck in molasses ... the overall execution of this title was cooler than it should be." "GamePro" magazine similarly declared that "the colorful cartoon-style graphics create an ancient, humorous atmosphere ... thematically the game seems aimed at the younger set." Despite its target demographic, the magazine still found it to be challenging enough for "intermediate adventurers." "Nintendo Power" praised the game's "colorful and very detailed" graphics and "very good" music, but found the overall experience to be "a little too difficult for beginning players."
A more contemporary review of "DinoCity" from the website Allgame was largely in agreement with earlier editors, referring to it as "a (relatively) challenging and interesting game featuring a mind-boggling variety of levels." The game's vibrant graphics were once again touched upon, with the website calling them "not only adorable, [but] sophisticated as well. The backgrounds vary greatly from level to level and the characters are nicely animated and drawn in a cartoon-like manner. Also, the game is colorful to the extreme.". IGN placed the game tenth on its "Top 10 Prehistoric Games" list in February 2007, stating that "If you never got a chance to play Dino City on the SNES, we feel bad for you." "DinoCity" maintains a 69% average score from the aggregate review website GameRankings.
"Entertainment Weekly" gave the game a B+ and wrote that "With a tail-wagging reptile straight out of Super Mario World, cavemen reminiscent of the Flintstones, and peril-laden scenery popularized by countless action games, most kids will find "DinoCity" instantly familiar. Whether or not they enjoy it will depend on their tolerance for cutesy-poo characters (in this case, a small boy and his dinosaur pal) and a pace more thoughtful than frenetic. "DinoCity" is the perfect introductory cartridge for post-kindergarteners, a brief way station of innocence before they discover the joys of video games' heavy armament." Super Gamer gave an overall score of 78% stating: "A platformer packed with slick graphics and plenty of gameplay but too easy."


The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (1917) is a children's novel written by Thornton W. Burgess and illustrated by Harrison Cady.
Plot introduction.
Paddy moves into the Green Forest, and Sammy Jay starts to complain he is cutting down the trees, but Sammy falls into the water and learns that this did not work out very well. After that Old Man Coyote finds out Paddy is in the Green Forest, and starts to hunt for him, though for three days Paddy outsmarts him. But one day he almost catches Paddy and he would have were it not for Sammy Jay telling Paddy to get into the water. After that Paddy and Sammy become best friends.