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Paramount recently released a DVD set featuring Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials by Alvin and the Chipmunks. I shall review each disc as their respective holiday arrives.Disc One: Trick or TreasonAlvin is most anxious to join the Monster Club, known for its many tricks and not so many treats (and stylish jacket), and his poor brothers are eventually pulled into the mess along with him. Nobody more so than Theodore, who befriends a lonely and misunderstood kid named Michael, whom the Monster Club cruelly dubbed "Pumpkinface" due to a birth defect. When Alvin is pressured into pulling a prank (or "mash") on him, he'll have to decide what's most important, and what to believe.Also featured are 4 episodes from the 1980s TV series:Babysitter Fright Night - When Dave leaves for the evening to work, he hires a babysitter who's more military sergeant than caretaker.Theodore's Life as a Dog - Sick of Alvin's pranks, Theodore and Simon decide to give him a taste of his own medicine. Because Alvin tricked Theodore into eating a dog biscuit earlier, they'll now pretend the rotund sibling is actually turning into one as a result.Nightmare on Seville Street - Disobeying Dave, the chipmunks sneak into a scary movie screening and can't sleep that night, thinking the main character will haunt their dreams.No Chipmunk is an Island - The three brothers have had enough of living in the same room, so they branch out into other parts of the house. Dreaming of peaceful solitude that night in their sleep, they come to find out being alone may not be all that great.If you're a huge fan and will buy anything Chipmunks, I don't think you could pass this up. If you're anxious to see episodes from the 80s TV series finally in DVD format, I would also suggest you not pass this up. It's a terrible shame that the whole TV series isn't out at this point, but maybe I can be hopeful and it'll someday happen. Overall, however, it's nothing to get too terribly excited over. Trick or Treason is rather dull and not very remarkable, so if you're indifferent/undecided about it, I'd check out something else instead to get your Halloween fix.
Ranma is back for his 21st round of adventures.
-After Happosai returns home one day, beaten and covered in ink, it's discovered that Pantyhose Taro has once again returned for revenge. This time he's brought water from "Spring of Pious Man" to do the trick - or so he thinks. It's actually from "Spring of Drowned Twins," and who could ever want two Happosais? One is more than enough! Ranma and the gang must make sure not a drop hits the little man's head.
-Ranma is thrust into a "Cinderella" story when a young man, searching for a pig-tailed girl who stepped on his head, holds a party in his castle to find her. Unlucky for Ranma he holds an uncanny resemblence to Yohyo's beloved, both in appearance and feet.
-At the same time Kasumi falls ill, Ranma's mother, Nodoka, comes for an unexpected visit. She offers to cook for them, and Akane wishes to help. But Akane's cooking can be downright toxic, so Ranma (in female form as his alterego, Ranko) joins in to make sure nothing goes wrong.
-Ryoga buys a "fishing pole of love," hoping to reel in Akane's love once and for all. But he accidentally catches Ranma, and then strange things start to happen. His sworn enemy begins cooking for him, doing his laundry, even asking if they could at least be friends. It's making Ryoga incredibly uncomfortable, and Akane is completely confused about the whole thing.
-Gosunkugi thinks he's finally found what he needs to defeat Ranma in mail-order armor. Little does he know it has one fatal flaw.
Over the years, many TV specials and movies have been created to celebrate this much loved and infamously scary holiday. These are just a few that have been done. Whether you like the ax murderer thriller, or cute kids getting candy, there will probably be something on this list that interests you.
1. Disney's Halloween Treat A Halloween themed clip show featuring Snow White's the Magic Mirror as narrator.
2. Hocus Pocus Disney film. It stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy (think Sister Act) as the Sanderson sisters, whom teen Max Dennison accidentally releases on Halloween night. Max, along with his sister and love interest, must stop them before they suck out the souls of all the children in Salem to gain immortality.
3. Garfield's Halloween Adventure Animated TV special. Garfield discovers the idea of free candy, and drags Odie along to get twice the bounty. But they decide to take a boat ride to find more houses, and end up on a mysterious island with an old man who claims pirate ghosts are coming to claim their treasure at midnight.
4. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Animated TV special. Pretty much an American tradition to watch it.
5. Nightmare in Retroville Special episode of Jimmy Neutron. Jimmy invents a special monster making machine, which enables a person to become almost any creature of their choosing. Carl is a Vampire, Sheen is a Werewolf. Things are going fine until the two boys begin to really act like their new selves, such as Carl desiring blood and turning into a bat. Jimmy has to stop them before it turns into the worst Halloween ever!
6. Arnold's Halloween Special episode of Hey Arnold! in which Arnold and Gerald pull a prank on the boarders by rigging a radio and claiming that aliens have landed in the city. A media employee picks up on the radio frequencies and all hell breaks lose! Soon Arnold's friends, who've dressed up as aliens for Halloween, are being threatened and chased by an angry mob!
7. The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile Animated TV special. Stars dolls Raggedy Ann and Andy. Ann and her brother work together to bring a lonely boy who never gets to celebrate Halloween a special pumpkin.
8. Halloweentown Disney Channel Original movie. Marnie and her two siblings are thrown into the world of magic when their grandmother comes for her annual Halloween visit. It seems they have the power of the witch in their blood, something their mom has tried to hide all these years.
9. October 31st Special episode of Kim Possible. Kim bails on her parents and Ron in order to go to a Halloween party. But she gets nervous when she lies, and a special bracelet she got stuck on her wrist reacts to it, covering her body in special yet humiliating armor. 10. The Devil and Daniel Mouse - Two young mouse friends, Jan and Dan, have a dream of playing and singing to their heart's content. But what they do, just isn't popular anymore (the "in" thing being rock and disco), and money is running dangerously low. Depressed and desperate for stardom, Jan makes a deal with a shady character, who turns out to be the devil. She gets what she wants, but at the cost of her soul. When Dan finds out, he strikes a deal to save her, but it may not turn out for the best in the end.
-The "perfect four" come up with a new strategy to get Sunako to behave more like a real lady. It seems that she's willing to put up with hardship in order to get what she wants (like drinking something she hates just to get the prize that comes with it). So, they talk her into hanging out with Noi for the day, thinking if she witnesses the special treatment her pretty friend gets, she'll want it as well. -Kyohei and Sunako are forced into taking up competitive ballroom dancing after accidentally injuring Mori High's top pairing during a typical scurmish. But Sunako is having the most difficulty - after all, she has to look the "creature of the light" directly in the eyes! Can the landlady's promise that they'll finally live rent free if Sunako wins be enough motivation?-The landlady, fed up with Kyohei's "wasted gifts," makes him go through "gentleman training," hoping it'll knock some sense into him and make him worthy of Sunako (she has it in her head that Sunako is head-over-heels for Kyohei). -The mansion is being remodeled, so everybody has been temporarily relocated to a luxury hotel. Sunako, however, hates it, and runs off to live on her own in a tiny, dirty apartment (just the way she likes it). Kyohei is sent to find her, but if he wants to come back, he has to share a suite with the gloomy girl (courtesy of her "Auntie"). Neither are willing to do that, and the alternative is only slightly better.
(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006
Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).
Episode 87:
Now it's Kirari's turn - Black Wood wants her to join his new company! Smartly, she refuses. But it's nowhere near over. Black Wood is gaining more and more power, dominating the TV waves with his celebrities, and basically manipulating the head honchos into cancelling appearances from other companies. He then contacts Kirari again, telling her that if she doesn't join him, Muranishi and all the other talents in it will suffer until there is no fame for anyone at all.
Episode 88:
Kirari has quit Muranishi and joined Black Wood to save her friends. But this "new life" is proving to be more painful than she could've imagined. Not only have they banned her from eating sweets, she is trained to walk a certain way and can't, under any circumstances, break a smile. In other words, she must be the complete opposite of what she once was, conforming to a specific image Black Wood has laid out for her.
From Hello! Online:
It was announced on the Hello Project website today that as of March 31st, 2009, all of the members of Elder Club will be leaving Hello! Project.
Mass graduation or mass firings? You make the call.
The exact members graduating are as follows:
Morning Musume OG:
Nakazawa Yuuko
Iida Kaori
Abe Natsumi
Yasuda Kei
Yaguchi Mari
Ishikawa Rika
Yoshizawa Hitomi
Tsuji Nozomi
Konno Asami
Ogawa Makoto
Fujimoto Miki
Inaba Atsuko
Satoda Mai (Country Musume)
Saito Hitomi (Melon Kinenbi)
Murata Megumi (Melon Kinenbi)
Ohtani Masae (Melon Kinenbi)
Shibata Ayumi (Melon Kinenbi)
Maeda Yuki
Matsuura Aya
Miyoshi Erika
Okada Yui
Ongaku Gatas (presumably, Korenaga Miki, Noto Arisa, Sengoku Minami, Sawada Yuri)
For statements from Tsunku and Yuuko Nakazawa, visit the above link. All I can say is that this shocked and saddened me, and I'll sincerely miss quite a few of them. H!P won't be the same ever again. Hopefully I'll still be able to keep track of their projects - if they even get any, for those that were hardly utilized in the first place.
-Narumi and Kiri crash into each other during the two legged race portion of the stylist competition, accidentally kissing. They still earned their place and right to get to the next portion/elimination challenge, but the drama caused all around them by this little act starts a wave of jealousy, confusion and anger. And the tournament still isn't over yet!-Kiri's mom has been admitted to the hospital, and in a fit of worry her dad rushes out of the country to be with her. Narumi, who has unfortunate timing, is asked to watch after Kiri until his return. At first freaked out and unwilling, he becomes concerned after a city-wide blackout occurs and finds her hiding under a table. What else can he do but stay? She doesn't even think to lock doors!-The other members of the S.P. find out about Narumi's babysitting duties and come over to make sure nothing happens. Then something so big and dramatic between Kiri and Ochiai happens (at least Narumi thinks so), it's enough to send a life-long friendship over the dark edge. Who will earn Kiri's heart?
It's Halloween, and Scooby and the gang visit the Coolsville Halloween carnival where they go to see a magician called "The Amazing Krudsky." But when the second-rate snob forbids Scooby from coming inside, Shaggy and the Great Dane hatch up a scheme to show the audience how much of a fake he is. This makes Krudsky so angry and frustrated with his nowhere career that he hatches up a magical scheme after catching Princess fairy Willow in his dressing room. With her under his total control he can gain the scepter of the Goblin King to become more powerful than he ever could've dreamed. Now it's up to Scooby and Shaggy to go to the hidden world of werewolves, witches, vampires and fairies and stop him before he can make the fatal trade.
I gotta say, I expected more from this. When I saw the trailer I honestly thought Velma, Fred and Daphne were turned into Halloween creatures, and Scooby and Shaggy had to go somewhere to find the "cure." It turned out to not really be like that at all.
The first problem is that there's absolutely no mystery anywhere. At least in their earlier direct-to-video movies, like Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost, which also featured "real" monsters, there was something to figure out, something to solve. It felt so empty without that structure to it. In Goblin King, the huge threat of what could happen when Krudsky gets his prize is unclear, and there's no sense of real danger from anything Scooby and Shaggy do. Another problem is that, unless you're a huge fan of our "cowardly duo," you're out of luck. The other three are barely in this movie at all, and they prove to be pretty useless at that. Not to mention I sense they were trying to push some kind of "courage" moral in the story using the boy and his dog. When has Scooby Doo ever spun a moral from their usual exploits? 
Overall, it feels like a huge disappointment, full of bad jokes (especially on the part of the talking Jack O' Lantern - you read right) and over-the-top goofyness. Apparently they spent so much money on the stars for the voices (Jay Leno, Tim Curry, and Wayne Knight, to name a few) they forgot to focus some on the WRITING. Small children will probably like it but I'd advise Scooby fans to avoid this if possible. They need to stick to solving mysteries! It's what they do! Did I forget to mention there's also singing?BUY IT HERE
From Hello! Online:
Former Morning Musume members Yoshizawa Hitomi and Ishikawa Rika have been paired up together for the new unit "Hangry & Angry".
They'll release their debut mini-album "Kill Me Kiss Me" on November 19, 2008. "Kill Me Kiss Me" is also the title of their first single.
Hangry & Angry is a collaboration with a Harajuku fashion store which goes by the same name.
Also check out the following link:
Official MySpace Page
Gong Fu Chu Shen, or Kung Fu Chefs, is Kago's first movie deal since returning from her two year long hiatus. Though it is a Chinese film, there are plans to release the film in Japanese theaters by the end of the year.
WATCH TRAILERS
While some people like to dig out the horror movies this time of year, something like this should not be ignored, no matter how "grown up" you think you are. Released in September, this newest Pucca DVD consists of a Halloween episode (Them Bones), along with a few "creepy" episodes to go with the theme.Episodes:1 Them Bones 2 Ghost Of A Kiss 3 The Usual Ching 4 A Force Of Won 5 The Cursed Tie 6 Invisible Trouble 7 High Voltage Ninjas 8 Ninjasaurus 9 Unfortunate Cookies 10 Itsy Bitsy Enemy Within 11 Funny Love Eruption Never before and probably never again will you see things such as a skeleton jumping right out of the skin portrayed in such an adorable manner. I enjoyed every minute of it and will try to make it a tradition from now on.
I definitely recommend this if you're looking for a cute, safe escape from the usual Halloween fare. It was made for children, but adults can enjoy it as well, especially if forced through babysitting and the like. It will make you laugh - and if you don't, you have no soul! And if you're unfamiliar with sweet but sassy Pucca, this is a great place to start learning.BUY IT HERE
Watch Intro Today's Special was a TV show that ran in the 1980s. It starred a mannequin named Jeff who comes to life at night in a Toronto department store, and his friends, Jodie the display designer and Sam the security guard - lest we forget Muffy, the mouse who lives in the walls and only talks in rhymn. If you'd like to see it released on DVD after years of obscurity: Go to TV Shows On DVD and vote for it. This site is actually helpful in getting the attention of companies, so it's worth a shot. It only takes a few minutes to make an account and it doesn't hurt to try.You can also check out this helpful fansite for more information.
(きらりん☆レボリューション) 2006
Kirari (voiced by Koharu Kusumi of Morning Musume!) is a middle schooler who LOVES her food. So much so that it's scary! While girls her age swoon over idols, Kirari swoons over her dad's cooking, and couldn't care less about the life of a celebrity. But when she saves the pet turtle of Seiji of pop group SHIPS and falls in love, she decides to become an idol herself so that they can be together (or so she hopes).
Episode 85:
When asked just why she went into the idol business, Kirari is too afraid to tell the truth. How can she simply confess that it was all because she fell in love with Seiji? And without Hiroto around to keep things more level between them, Kirari is blushing more than usual (at least as it is lately). But then, a shocker is revealed after coming back to the office from a job - Seiji is from a very wealthy family, and his parents want him to quit the idol business and get married. Unwilling to throw SHIPS into the trash (especially without Hiroto's consent), the idea comes up that Seiji should use the excuse that he likes someone else to get out of the arrangement. Who is chosen to be that girl? Kirari, of course!
Episode 86:
Mr. Blackwood is back to his old tricks again, asking Aoi, a fellow idol and friend of Kirari's, to "start a revolution" with him. A mysterious black building, saying only "Black Wood Coming Soon," pops up in the city, and ads about it are everywhere. And then other idols, like Fubuki and Mochi, start to go missing. Nobody knows what's going on. But when it's finally revealed, it's enough to make even the most successful businessman quake in their designer shoes.
