It took Jonason Pauley and Jessie Perrotta two years of filming and about three months of prep to create a live-action version of the beloved Pixar film Toy Story, and it only took two days for the YouTube video to get more than 1.7 million views. “I’m kind of blown away,” Perotta, 21, tells EW.
Jan 14
2013
02:08 PM ET
Live-action 'Toy Story': Two fans' love letter to the film
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Jan 11
2013
05:40 PM ET
'Switched at Birth' announces first all sign language episode
ANDREW ECCLES/ABC
When it debuted in 2011, Switched at Birth garnered a lot praise for having multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing regular characters, as well as for scenes shot entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). Now the show is kicking it up a notch in season 2, announcing an episode told entirely in ASL, which they say is a first for a scripted series on mainstream television. It will air on Monday, March 4 at 8:00PM ET/PT.
It will be from the perspective of the series’ deaf characters – with open captions for hearing viewers. The storyline will put the audience in the middle of a student uprising in which the very essence of their deaf identity is at stake. Now that Bay has joined the Carlton school for the deaf’s pilot program for hearing kids with deaf siblings or parents, we can get a sense of how things could get heated.
“I’ve been wanting to do an all-ASL episode since the series began, and the storyline we’ve been focusing on this season gave us the perfect opportunity. It’s an exciting, visual, empowering story of kids who are different fighting back, and it allows our audience to experience the world as our deaf characters do. We’ve been building to this for 39 episodes and we’re all thrilled to be the first to try this,” said series creator and Executive Producer Lizzy Weiss. Season 2 just started on Jan. 7.
More Switched at Birth:
‘Switched at Birth’ first look: Regina and Angelo’s ex share a pregnant pause — EXCLUSIVE
Jan 11
2013
04:01 PM ET
'Austin & Ally' get a little closer: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
Adam Taylor/Disney Channel
Are things starting to heat up with best friends Austin and Ally on their namesake Disney show? The singer-songwriter partners have walked a will they/won’t they friendship line that’s far from the sole domain of grownup shows. The odd couple even have a number of shipper names — my favorite is “Aussly.” Take a look at this teaser below as Ally (Laura Marano) reveals she has a crush on the often clueless Austin (Ross Lynch). READ FULL STORY »
Jan 11
2013
03:00 PM ET
'Ultimate Spider-Man' season 2 Sneak Peek: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
Season 2 of Ultimate Spider-Man is almost here (Jan. 21), so we got you a first look at Spidey as he’s ready to lead his pals-turned-roommates Iron Fist, Powerman, White Tiger, and Nova against iconic Marvel villains like The Lizard, Kraven, Electro, the Rhino and Doc Ock. Check out the video below.
Jan 11
2013
02:09 PM ET
'Marvin Marvin' is getting settled in -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
Robert Voets/Nickelodeon
It’s been two months since Lucas Cruikshank’s alien Marvin landed on Nickelodeon’s lineup and his show Marvin Marvin has been slowly growing its fanbase It’s now number one in its time period for tweens and gaining more traction. The January 5 episode had double-digit gains in key kid demos (compared to the series premiere), drawing 2.9 million total viewers. For those of you with lingering thoughts of Cruikshank’s earlier high-pitched, hyper alter ego Fred Figglehorn, this character is not quite so extreme, but he’s still weird. And even though he’s also an alien sent to earth by his parents to protect him, he’s more Mork from Ork than Kal-El from Krypton.
Check out the clip below from the Saturday Jan. 12 episode (8:30p.m. ET/PT) as Marvin falls in with the cool kids and learn an important lesson about friendship, then look at some exclusive behind the scenes photos.
Jan 10
2013
03:03 PM ET
'Nate the Great' series celebrates 40 years, is coming to ereaders
Pancake lovers, rejoice! The Sherlock-Holmes-for-kids-esque Nate the Great will now be available as eBooks. Starting Jan. 30, five Nate the Great books will be available for download, with all 26 Nate the Great mysteries available on ereaders by the end of the year.
But fans of the mini-sleuth have more reason to celebrate than just a new way to enjoy the fun kid stories. A brand-new Nate the Great book, Nate the Great, Where Are You?, will be published May 2014. This is the first new Nate story since 2009′s Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club.
The beloved series recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. “Nate the Great is a forever member of the family,” author Marjorie Weinman Sharmat said. “Every time Nate says, ‘I will be back,’ it reminds me of his enduring presence through all 40 years—of his faithful fellow detective Sludge, the ever-tasty pancakes, the mysterious clues, and the joy of being great.”
Jan 10
2013
09:53 AM ET
'Switched at Birth' first look: Regina and Angelo's ex share a pregnant pause -- EXCLUSIVE
Switched at Birth has a habit of putting its teenaged characters through the ringer — and most of the time, their parents don’t get off any easier. Case in point: After years of scrounging to make ends meet and raising her deaf daughter alone, former alcoholic Regina (Constance Marie) thinks that she and Angelo (Gilles Marini), the biological father of her biological child Bay (Vanessa Marano), are finally going to be together. And then, in the show’s Jan. 14 episode, Angelo drops a bomb: He’s gotten another woman pregnant.
“It was just the most devastating scene to shoot,” says Marie. “It rocketed my character right back to the core of the original pain and betrayal and hurt, right when Regina had thought that there was finally a ray of sunshine in her life.”
Things get even worse when Regina shares a very awkward elevator ride with Lana (Annie Ilonzeh), the mother of Angelo’s second child. Here’s an exclusive first look at that encounter:
Jan 9
2013
03:27 PM ET
Dora the Explorer hits primetime on Jan. 14 with a 'Dora Rocks!' special
Nickelodeon
Dora’s going to get the party started in a half-hour special on Jan. 14 (7 pm ET/PT). In “Dora Rocks!”, Benny is having a sing-along party, but he forgot to send out the invitations. Dora and Boots must get the microphone to Benny’s Barn to call their friends to the party! They rush down the Noisy River, create a rocky avalanche to cross the Rumble Rocks, and arrive at Benny’s Barn to call everyone to the barn. Then a dolled up Dora sings a special song with all her friends.
Check out the clip of that song below: READ FULL STORY »
Jan 9
2013
02:38 PM ET
China Anne McClain goes back to her musical roots on 'A.N.T. Farm' -- FIRST LOOK
Adam Larkey/Disney Channel
When Chyna (China Anne McClain) and the rest of the kids in the Advanced Natural Talents program have to come up with a special project for Black History Month in the Feb. 1 “influANTces” episode of A.N.T. Farm, Chyna finds herself struggling to write a song for her presentation. So, of course, she decides to lock herself in a recording booth until she comes up with the perfect song. After accidentally falling asleep, Chyna takes a dream journey back in time where she becomes famous African American music icons from the past: Aretha Franklin (in the photo above), Janet Jackson, and Ella Fitzgerald. Inspired by her dreams, Chyna writes a new version of the A.N.T. Farm theme song, “Exceptional,” with lyrics that pay tribute to the great women who came before her.
Check out two more images from the episode:
Jan 9
2013
12:26 PM ET
Ross Family Movie Challenge: 'The Sandlot' vs. 'Girls Rock!'
Everett Collection (2)
Every week EW’s Dalton Ross and his wife, writer Christina Kelly, have a… um, lively discussion about what movie they should watch with their two children (Dale, 12, and Violet, 10) that weekend. Now they make their cases publicly and you get to vote on the choices and settle the argument. The power is in your hands, people. Last week, Christina’s selection of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ scored a surprise victory over Dalton’s pick of ‘Coraline.’ Read on and then vote.
Dalton’s Pick: The Sandlot (1993)
The cool thing about our kids aging up is that I can now take them to see “older” films that we can all enjoy (and when I say “all,” I am excluding my wife who wants nothing to do with most of my movie interests). Lately, we’ve been enjoying the early James Bond flicks, and we had a blast at The Hobbit. But after this onslaught of more mature movies, I found myself craving a good old-fashioned yarn about a gaggle of precocious youngsters. And youngsters are never more precocious than when at the center of a kids’ sports movie. Seeing as how we already skated through The Mighty Ducks, it is time to enter…The Sandlot. READ FULL STORY »
