* - First off, new "Hobbit" trailer! New "Hobbit" trailer! New "Hobbit" trailer!!!
* - Oh dear lord, this XKCD strip... Don't miss the zoomable version.
* - My Year of Flops takes on the biggest flop of the year and attempts to parse the thinking behind the truly insane "Oogieloves' Big Balloon Adventure".
* - Speaking of insane ideas for movies, Warner Bros. (*sigh*) is going to make yet another attempt (*sigh*) at a Looney Tunes movie (*sigh*... Believe me, I'd like to be optimistic for this. But after years of "Space Jam", "Baby Looney Tunes", "Loonatics Unleashed", "Back in Action", those recent weird Flash and CGI cartoons, and other, worse things, I'm pretty much conditioned to anticipate any officially sanctioned new thing involving these characters with dread.)
* - If you happen to be at Walt Disney World on the week of October 1, don't miss the special events being held to celebrate Epcot's 30'th anniversary.
* - Passport to Dreams Old and New shares the strange history of the segment of WDW's Magic Kingdom now known as Storybook Circus, observations on it's current incarnation, as well as where the look of Toontown in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" might have come from.
* - Holy crap, "Saving Mr. Banks" is actually happening! With Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, yet!
* - Geek Dad reviews the "Chuck Jones' Mouse Chronicles" DVD collection.
* - TetZoo informs us that iguanas may have a far more complicated social life than you'd think. (Yes, I squeed at the fraternal behaviors.)
* - Emily Willoughby met a Green Heron and pondered the implications of heron necks.
* - Comics Alliance brought attention to concept artist Ashley Stoddard, who in turn came up with an alternate version of "Willow" that would have been fascinating.
* - Tor.com shared another inspirational seasonal art gallery, this one, naturally, themed to autumn (some NSFW images).
* - I'm starting to put together my four-part(!?!) Disney Cruise trip report. Here's the beginning of a much more cynical (but hilarious) take on one of the newer boats by TeevTee at Parkeology.
* - I finally got to see "Brave" recently. I was going to write a full review but Lili Loofbourow's essay, "Just Another Princess Movie" expresses my feelings more eloquently than I ever could (my review would have just been, "Y'all are high! 'Brave' is great!" over and over.) It is by far the most intelligent reaction to the film I've seen. (Spoilers galore!)
* - Tim Brayton of Antagony and Ecstasy has just launched into his own Disney sequel marathon. Given his hilarious take on "Belle's Magical World" (oh my God, the whole bit about Crane the writing paper), we are in for a hell of a ride. I wish him Godspeed, and good luck!
* - If you're a "Brave Little Toaster" fan, you're going to want to see the film's director Jerry Rees' extensive website, filled with memorabilia and information. Rees also recently hosted an open Q+A with fans. (LOL at the people who thought Toaster was male...)
* - And finally, The Rotoscopers/Animation Addicts posted their incredible interview with Don Bluth, in which he talks about his work on "Sleeping Beauty", his surprising new career as a teacher and theater director, and gets downright philosophical about art. Definitely a must-listen!
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Sketch of the day!
