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   New modern rhino  (25.08.05)

    As promised a couple of days ago, here's our first look at young
    Randolph the rhino. He's the star of Honeycomb Animation's brand
    new toon "Randolph - A Rhino for the 21st Century", which is being
    brought to Cartoon FORUM this year, in the hope of winning a
    broadcast commission, and the Honeycomb folks have passed
    on a quartet of images for our perusal:

               

    Randolph is a thoroughly modern young rhino, with Internet access and
    a penchant for purchasing all sorts of new-fangled gadgets and gizmos
    for use around the African plains. Most of said items have limited appeal,
    it must be said, so that's when Randolph's pals step in. Ruff and Tumble the
    hyena brothers, Marco the antelope, Enid the elephant, Keynar the giraffe
    and Victoria the secretary bird have become rather adept at recycling
    Randolph's purchases into things they can all have fun with!
   
    Randolph was created by Honeycomb's Graham Hayter, and this will be
    his first foray onto the front credits of a series, should that Big Commission
    come calling. Lending his voice to the show will be Danny John-Jules,
    and Honeycomb regular Ed Welch will be providing the music.

    Hopefully, this young rhino will charge down any commissioning hurdles
    and take up residence on our tv screens very soon!

                                   More: Honeycomb Animation  Modern Rhino

 

   Striking back  (24.08.05)

    According to Pete Nash's postings on the Striker 3D forum, it seems
    that the top cg soccer strip is all set to return to a national daily
    newspaper - four months after the weekly "Striker" comic folded...

      

    Muddy Mildred, what a turnaround that would be! - Striker 3D started life
    in the pages of "The Sun". The strip focused on the exploits of Warbury
    Warriors, a fictional football team fuelled by gossip, sexploits, and tabloid
    hysteria. In 2003, the team struck out for glory via a weekly "Striker" comic,
    and over the course of 87 issues gave us almost as many thrills and spills
    off the pages as on them, before evenutally folding in May of this year.

    But now there's Nashy's news. He's keeping tight-liped about the title
    concerned, untill the "i"s are dotted, and "t"s are crossed, but if it comes
    to fruition it means fans will once more be able to oggle the antics of this
    utterly outrageous football team.

    Could the squad be returning to "The Sun"? That would be almost as
    outrageous as the strips, given the animosity that was sparked by the
    strip's original departure. Plus, of course "The Premiership" has sprung
    up in the interim period, as a mockery of its predecessor.

    What ever the outcome, the Striker 3D team have never denied their
    ambitions, and they have to be applauded for their continuing efforts
    to keep the Warbury dream alive...

    "Come on, the Warriors!"

                                                                        More: Striker 3D

 

   Gruesome talk  (22.08.05)

    Simon Bor dropped us a line this morning, direct from Honeycomb
    Animation. Simon and Sara Bor and their Honeycomb team are the
    folks behind those award-winning "Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids",
    adapted from the books by Jamie Rix.

      

    Grizzly viewers will already know that series 3 has recentlly been
    screened again on CiTV, and currently, series 4 is being re-broadcast
    in its full 10minute format (they inexcusably cut the 3D intro from it's first
    run last year- tch). But those same viewers will be even more grizzled
    to hear that two more series of the show are currently in production.
    Series 5 is set to air from January next year, with series 6 following
    in September. And what's more, Granada Ventures are due to release
    a Grizzly DVD early next year.

    But there's yet more news of interest from Honeycomb, with the
    announcement of a forthcoming Binka DVD. Plus, they've a brand
    new toon to take to this year's Cartoon FORUM, in the form of
    "Randolph, a Rhino for the 21st Century". Simon's promised us
    more info on that one very soon - so stay tooned!

                                                        More: Honeycomb Animation

 

   Hi, Bromwell  (19.08.05)

    Bromwell High has finally arrived on Channel 4. Tonight brings the premier
    of this outrageous new toon, here in the UK. And as regular Toonhound visitors
    will know, it's arrived a few months after its launch in Canada, where it's
    been ruffling feathers and rubbing folks' funny bones in equal measure...

    "Bromwell High" (formerly Streatham Hill) is set in a rundown inner city
     school campus, and promises much mayhem and madness from pupils and
     teachers alike. Director Pete Bishop has been keeping The Hound informed of
     developments, and he's kindly passed on a Quicktime Trailer for our viewing
     pleasure, which I've posted below. But just a warning folks, this may be
     school-based, but it ain't preschool - so you should keep your little'uns
     away from the clip:

     

     And that's just a taste of what's to come over the next six weeks. If shooting
     monkeys is your "thing" (and I'm afraid, it works for me!), then you should
     set your video for Channel 4, Friday 19th August, 11.20pm!

                                                                          More: Channel Four

 

   Boom! Boom! - Freebies for you...  (17.08.05)

    Time for another giveaway! - This month, the generous folks at
    Universal/Right Entertainment have handed over three shiny Basil Brush
    DVDs for your enjoyment...

      

   "Basil Brush: Sports Spectacular" features three fun-filled episodes of
    Basil's new show, plus some boom-booming extras. Of those episodes,
    "Revenge of the Mummy" is the best. It's packed with pop culture references,
    from Universal horror films to "Indiana Jones", and even "The Italian Job"!
    The gang regularly step off camera to remind us of the absurdities. And there
    are one-liners here aimed directly at a more knowing audience. As for the
    Brush himself, well, he's never looked better. He happily dons all sorts of
    outlandish attire, and takes on crazy caricatures with a twinkle in his eye.

    Yes, yes, this may be no-frills television, but you know, it's funny. If you
    throw enough jokes at the wall, some of them have to stick. And that's the
    case here. There's a whole lot going on in each episode, and Basil and his
    human pals throw themselves into  the pantomime scripts with gusto.
    Never mind if something doesn't work, Basil and friends have already moved on.
    It's not the same Basil of old, of course, but times have changed. Our foxy
    friend has had to adapt to today's teatime tv world. And what's more, he
    seems to  have done it superbly....

    Well, that's The Hound's opinion, anyway. "Basil Brush: Sports Spectacular"
    is available to buy now. But why not win yourself a copy instead?
     
                                                             More: Basil Brush Giveaway

 

   Old Mule, new tricks  (07.08.05)

    Would you believe Muffin the Mule is about to turn sixty? Well, he is, and
    Adrienne Hasler has been in touch to talk about the hoss, and more importantly,
    her rather nifty new book about him. No one knows Muffin like her, it seems, and
    her celebrational tome is touted as being "the first accurate and comprehensive
    record of the history of Muffin the Mule". To support the claim, the book is divided
    into three distinct sections. The first details the character's tv history, then we
    have a section recalling the memories of Ann Hogarth's daughter Sally McNally,
    before we are given a guided tour through the many and varied Muffin collectibles
    that have been produced over the years (even the fakes!). It's also packed with
    plenty of exclusive photos...

        

    The book - simply titled "Muffin the Mule", so you know exactly what you're
    getting - was written with the support of Derek McNally, the original Muffin
    owner and copyright holder, and at the moment, it's available exclusively
    via the Muffin the Mule collector's club. That said, there are hopes that copies
    will also be available from stalls at the NEC Memorabillia exhibition in Birmingham
    on the 21st August, and at other similar events. Adrienne says the retail price
    is officially £15.00, but collector's club purchasers can pick it up for the
    web-only price of £13.00 (plus P&P).

    Sadly, Sally McNally passed away before the book hit the presses. Which
    means she has also missed the long-planned "Second Coming" of Muffin.
    courtesy of Maverick Entertainment. They've cut Muffin's strings and turned
    him into a toon for their 26 x 10mins series, which hits the BBC very soon.
    In addition, to celebrate Muffin's sixtieth, they're releasing the original
    production on DVD, with a rather classy cover. Goodness, that little mule
    has come so very far...
    
                                                  More: Muffin the Mule collector's club
   
 

   Give it away now  (04.08.05)

    Judging by the number of entries received, I'd say last month's War Game
    Giveaway was a hit with visitors. Hopefully, our five lucky winners are cracking
    open their DVDs, kicking back and indulging in that fabulous little film, even
    now, as you read this. It's something you can get used to, isn't it?

    Well, I hope so, because it looks like there'll be more of the same coming soon.
    You see, your faithful Hound here, is regularly contacted by folks in the PR
    game, eager to promote their latest news and releases. And an off-shoot of
    of that has been prize offers. That's right, DVDs and their ilk to give away
    to you and yours, gratis. Now I've always shied away from that area,
    fearful of falling into some foul coroprate quagmire. But Revelation Films
    were so keen and accommodating with last month's experiment, and you
    folks so responsive, that I've decided to open the door wide...

    Which is why you'll see regular Giveaways here at Toonhound in the future.
    Indeed, right now, I'm putting together a BOOM-BOOMING new prize-draw
    guaranteed to get your fur in a fizz. And I've a CRACKING notion for October
    too. So now there's even more reason for you to keep checking back here...

    Till next time!    

             thehound@toonhound.com

 
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