D'oh! Homer and Marge to split on 'The Simpsons'

D'oh! Will Homer and Marge split after more than 25 years together on "The Simpsons"? Or are their creators just teasing us?

The hit cartoon comedy's writers appeared Wednesday to damp down divorce speculation, despite the executive producer announcing the couple's separation in an interview.

In a link on the show's Twitter feed, Al Jean said it will emerge at the start of the show's 27th season in September that their relationship has been strained for some time.

"In the premiere, it's discovered after all the years Homer has narcolepsy (a sleep disorder) and it's an incredible strain on the marriage," he told industry journal Variety.

"Homer and Marge legally separate, and Homer falls in love with his pharmacist, who's voiced by ("Girls" creator and star) Lena Dunham," he added in the comments, published earlier this week but not widely picked up on.

But the tweet did urge readers to "read more about what @AlJean is teasing for #TheSimpsons."

And maybe "teasing" was the operative word because five hours later they tweeted a picture of Bart Simpson in a school classroom, writing, "Homer and Marge are not breaking up" repeatedly on a blackboard.

"RT and stop the rumors!" read the new tweet.

The Homer-and-Marge-split tease was not the only dramatic "Simpsons" news announcement of recent days.

At the weekend Entertainment Weekly reported that Homer and Marge's adventure-prone son Bart will be killed during the next season, which premieres on September 27.

Sideshow Bob -- Krusty the Clown's evil former sidekick -- will finally fullfil his long-held dream of dispatching Bart, it said.

"I (hate) frustration comedy so we'll scratch that itch," Jean told EW.

But fear not: the execution will take place in the annual Halloween episode -- which by Simpsons tradition doesn't fit into the usual format of the show, meaning Bart can subsequently be revived.

"The Simpsons" -- which first aired in December 1989 -- averages 7.7 million viewers on television and online in the United States. Millions more enjoy the show in foreign markets, according to US parent network Fox.

Last month, Fox announced that it had renewed the series for two more seasons, reinforcing the cartoon sitcom's status as the longest-running scripted series in American primetime television history.

In his Variety interview, the executive producer said one advantage of the show being renewed is that its main star can vote in next year's US presidential elections.

"We're definitely going to have Homer vote in 2016. One aspect of the pickup (by Fox) that made me happy is that Homer can vote again," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Review: History comes alive in 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman'

At first I was not interested to watch this film since the poster looked absolutely juvenile. The characters and the title did not appeal, looking and sounding so old-fashioned. My kids did not really want to watch it as well. However, good initial reviews got me intrigued to see it.

Mr. Peabody is special little white dog who wore round-rimmed glasses and a red bow tie. He can talk, read tomes, graduate from Harvard, and earn a Nobel Prize -- a veritable Jack-of-all-trades who can do anything under the sun. He adopts an abandoned baby boy named Sherman due to his desire to give the boy what he never had growing up, a home.




Mr. Peabody and Sherman share a secret activity together, traipsing around history with an amazing time machine. This invention by Mr. Peabody can take them to any time in history he likes, allowing them to meet and be friends with all the great figures in history.

On Sherman's first day at school, a sassy little blond girl named Penny bullies him, and he retaliates by biting. This altercation leads to a series of events which may cost Mr. Peabody not only his custody of his beloved Sherman, but may alter the whole fabric of human history as we know it.

The whole absurd concept of a genius dog adopting a boy really did not ring well with me. Thankfully, the execution of the story about them travelling through history did sustain my interest. As a history buff, I enjoyed seeing the various periods in history and the characters come alive and interact with our protagonists.

Kids who have no interest in history will have a good time laughing at the crazy visual comedy as the unlikely pair go to Ancient Egypt, to Troy, to Florence during the Renaissance, to Versailles during the French Revolution, etc., and probably learn some things along the way.

The animation is okay, a bit on the old-fashioned style. Dreamworks characters do not really grab you at first sight. "Shrek," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Croods," I almost did not watch because of the unconventional artwork for the characters. Luckily I was convinced to see them anyway because of good word of mouth, and I ended up loving them. This one I liked, not really love. 7/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why Cha-Ching is a success in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - A growing number of Filipino kids are learning how to be money-smart through animated musical cartoon Cha-Ching.

Cha-Ching is Prudential Corp. Asia's (PCA) early financial literacy program, which was launched in seven Asian markets - Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in 2011.

Cha-Ching, which airs on Cartoon Network, tackles four core money concepts - earn, spend, save and donate - in a fun and entertaining way. Through a series of animated music videos about a band of kids with different money-spending habits, children can learn practical money-smart skills.

In the Philippines, PCA's local unit Pru Life UK has introduced the Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids program to several public and private grade schools. The Philippines was the first country to integrate Cha-Ching in the grade school curriculum, via a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education.

Sean Rach, PCA regional director for brand and corporate affairs, said Cha-Ching has been most successful in the Philippines.

"There's a combination of reasons why, there's a cultural component - the music, the cartoon, Cartoon Network is very popular here as well. Also the partnership beyond Pru Life UK, Cartoon Network and Dr. Alice Wilder - the government and schools were quite open. That's been very successful for us," Rach said in an interview with ABS-CBNnews.com.

The Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids program includes 34 partner schools nationwide - 19 public schools and 15 private schools, where grade 2 and 3 students learn basic financial concepts. Teachers have been trained and guided by DepEd-approved lesson plans, while kids use Cha-Ching workbooks in both English and Filipino.

Creating Cha-Ching

Dr. Alice Wilder, an internationally recognized children's education specialist and co-creator of Cha-Ching, recalled how she first talked to kids before starting the project to find out what they know about money.

"When I started to talk with kids, I wanted to find out what are the questions and what they think about money. One 10-year-old said to me, 'Does money really grow on trees?' There was another kid who said, 'When you go to the ATM, the money is printed there'... Once we started to understand what they were thinking, we could figure out how to actually teach them," she said.

Wilder, who was also head of research for Nickelodeon's hit show "Blue's Clues," noted that much of what kids see about money is invisible, so they had to figure out how to show these concepts in a concrete way.

"What kids often see related to money is spending. Saving is invisible. Using a credit card is invisible... So if what they're seeing is spend, how can we use the medium to make the content more concrete. So we created the four pillars - earn, spend, save and donate," she said.

The key factors for Cha-Ching's success, Wilder said, are the story, repetition of concepts, technology and music.

Wilder was impressed by the program's success in the country.

"I'm thrilled to see how Cha-Ching has developed over the past years into something that lives beyond the screen. Each character and story was carefully designed to both entertain and leave a lasting impact in kids' lives, and it is extremely rewarding to see children learning and using the core money concepts," she said.

Money-smart students

So far, the Cha-Ching program is having a positive effect on the students in participating schools in the Philippines. A third party assessment by NGO Knowledge Community has shown grade 2 students in the participating schools have grasped lessons on financial literacy over a 10-month period.

"The students understood and practiced the concepts of proper spending, savings, effective budgeting, and being money-conscious with special emphasis on creating a distinction between ‘need’ and ‘want.’ With the positive outcome, we expanded to more schools,” said Pru Life UK senior vice president and chief marketing officer Belle Tiongco.

PCA estimates over 42,000 children and educators have benefitted from the Cha-Ching school programs in the 7 Asian markets.

Now on its third season, Cha-Ching expands on the money concepts which can be applied in real life situations. The new episodes will air on Cartoon Network during weekday afternoons and weekend mornings.

A new episode, "Big, Big Waste of Money,” shows kids the folly of wasting money on unnecessary purchases, while another episode "So Yesterday," encourages children to question passing fads and trends.

Pru Like UK and PCA emphasized their commitment to helping a new generation of kids in Asia and the Philippines grow up to be money savvy.

"Our commitment to financial literacy, to the Cha-Ching program, is coming from a deep desire to aid in building our nation. Imagine what a financially literate generation can do for our country: money-smart kids developing into money-smart adults, more adept at financial management. We dream of a day wherein saving, investing and financial protection are basic practices for every Filipino. And this is our way of making that dream come true,” said Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio de Rosas.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Exciting new year for comic book cartoons

MANILA, Philippines — While 2011 had been a huge year for comics, the year 2012 looks to be an even bigger year.

Cartoons may seem childish to teenagers and young adults, but animated films and TV series are an effective gateway for people to get into comics. The secret to good animation is finding the balance between adapting its original source and translating the essence of a comic into the screen, taking the viewers’ mindset into consideration.

Looking back

Last October, DC came out with its animated adaptation of “Batman: Year One.’’ The film was a very faithful take on Frank Miller’s original work. The producers said it was easy to turn the comic into a cartoon because of Miller’s cinematic style of writing.

What made “Batman: Year One’’ so unique and fascinating is how it delves into the life of James Gordon. The film acts as an origin story for Batman, but it spends just as much time detailing the pressures that Gordon fights through, as he finds himself stuck in a corrupt police system. The film takes us into his personal life as well, exploring his relationship with his wife and child.

What also makes Year One thrilling is its depiction of Catwoman, especially in the bonus short film, starring our favorite cat burglar with a heart. It turns out that more than a simple desire for money and jewelry, Selina Kyle is really Ijust trying to protect the women of Gotham City.

“Thor: Tales of Asgard’’ was Marvel’s 2011 animated release that tells the story of a young Thor who learns the consequences of great power, and the responsibility that goes with it. The plot is very traditional, and Thor as a character is pretty dull. But what I really appreciated was how Loki is made into such a likable, innocent, and caring brother. The end of the film foreshadows his dark future, but most of the movie has Loki aiding Thor and performing heroic tasks.

Party like it’s 2012

DC has so many animated projects in the coming year, it gets me giddy every time I think about it.

“Justice League: Doom’’ will come out early 2012. The animated film is a loose adaptation of Tower of Babel, the famous JLA storyline that had the World’s Greatest Heroes systematically beat down and humiliated by their enemies who are using Batman’s files to devise their strategies. Finding out that Batman is keeping dangerous, intrusive files on his teammates creates a rift in the team, making Batman an untrustworthy figure.

The movie has sentimental value as well. The project was Dwayne McDuffie’s last, as he wrote it right before his death in February 2011. McDuffie was the creator of Static Shock, and he also wrote and produced Justice League Unlimited.

Also in the works is an animated film adaptation of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns.’’ This is sure to either make fanboys rejoice or shake with fear. Along with Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns is considered by many as a classic to top all classics. So while the potential for such a project is mind-blowing, fans around the world will surely be critical.

I guess the best advice is for viewers to accept any animated adaptation as a separate piece of work from its original source. It’s hard to enjoy a movie when you’re constantly comparing it to the comic books. We have to look at animated films as a whole different entity. Of course, that is easier said than done.

On TV, “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’’ will start its second season early 2012. The show boasts of an all-star line-up featuring the likes of Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor. Lesser known heroes like Hawkeye, Black Panther, Wasp and Hank Pym also play major roles in the TV series. Obviously targeted at kids, adults will nevertheless enjoy the cartoon because of its fast pace, sleek animation, and big action.

There are a lot more animated comic book adaptations scheduled for 2012, so do try to keep yourselves posted on the newest releases. Always buy original. Either buy the original copies of the cartoon, or catch it on TV. Let’s give the animators more incentive and more reason to keep on coming back with new, progressive projects.

Happy new year to all of you, and may the force be with you!

source: mb.com.ph