Ah, love. Today is the perfect day to celebrate love in its most important form—classic cartoon depictions, of course.

And who better to hand us all of the best retro love-themed cartoons than Cartoon Network’s Boomerang? They already run all of your favorites 24 hours a day (with no commercials! it’s like a little slice of heaven!), so why would you expect anything less than a Valentine’s Day “Love Stinks” marathon from them? And in that case, who better to star than everyone’s favorite skunk, Pepe Le Pew?

Exactly. Boomerang knows:

Looney Tunes’ ardently amorous skunk will appear in his first-ever solo tribute on Boomerang, fittingly (or sadly, as the case may be) upon the most romantic day of the year. Although his earnest efforts to win the tender affections of unwitting females never quite succeed, he remains love’s greatest champion through his enduring optimism and never-say-die commitment to the pursuit of l’amore. Boomerang will present all 17 Pepe Le Pew animated shorts (including cameo appearances) in chronological order, which will then repeat throughout the day.

(Uh, I don’t actually have to work today, do I? Because I kind of want to just watch cartoons….)

This isn’t just an excuse for classic cartoons, you know. Pepe gives us the perfect allegory for the holiday:

“The world of classic cartoons is filled with famously romantic couples: Popeye and Olive Oil, Fred and Wilma, George and Jane as well as Lois and Clark, to name several,” said Marc Buhaj, vice president of programming and scheduling for Boomerang and Cartoon Network. “But those celebrated pairings needn’t hog the entire Valentine spotlight. I think viewers of all ages at one time or another have experienced the more common heartache of unrequited love, when fragile affections have been spurned and trampled or, at best, ignored. That’s why we decided to give Pepe Le Pew center stage this Valentine’s Day—to serve as a beacon of hope to all who’ve loved and lost, that they too might never give up in their pursuit of romance.”

He’s the character who makes us cringe but inspires us at the same time:

“Pepe was everything I wanted to be romantically. Not only was he quite sure of himself, but it never occurred to him that anything was wrong with him,” [Chuck] Jones once said in an interview explaining why he could so easily identify with the character. “I always felt there must be great areas of me that were repugnant to girls, and Pepe was quite the opposite of that.”

(Wait a minute… I think I may have met Pepe in college….)

Anyway, if Pepe Le Pew isn’t your bag, this afternoon’s Boomerang programming will feature a host of other cartoon greats, including the Smurfs, Tom & Jerry, The Jetsons, and more.

Love may stink, but it’s going to make for an interesting 24 hours of cartoons!

This week marks the Mecca of the serious toy enthusiast: Toy Fair. (On their site they insist on calling it TOY FAIR, but I refuse to yell about it.) And sadly, I am not in New York City, wandering up and down rows of booths, oohing and aahing over the latest and greatest that the industry has to offer this year.

Hence I am unable to offer you a firsthand account of the wonders that are currently unfolding at the Javits Center. However, I am a wiz with all of the latest technology, such as Googling and linking. (I know, you’re impressed. I’m amazing. And you are lucky to know me.) When the Ty’s team returns they will no doubt have many tales to report, but I am not a patient person. So I have been seeking information wherever I can find it. And I will share!

Need a constant stream of updates, complete with pictures and succinct commentary? Look no further than GoodyBlog. They’re putting up posts titled “Live from Toy Fair” every few hours and I may or may not have them on constant refresh. Let’s just say that they had me hooked with this piece on the upcoming Crocodile Hunter talking doll (they ask, “cool or creepy?” while making it clear that, hello—obviously this is creeptastic), and by the time they featured this adorable tin tea set I just wanted to be five again.

Prefer just the facts, ma’am? Maybe you’d like to just browse through the Toy Fair 2007 Photo Gallery courtesy of ToyWiz. Just don’t click on that link if you have anything else to do for, oh, I don’t know… a few hours. You’ve been warned.

And I have to link to this, because, well, I just have to: Amazing Mister Spider-Potato Head! Hee.

Stay tuned for more Toy Fair goodness as the week goes on.

If you have kids, you know there’s only two days left until the ultimate extravaganza of construction paper and candy. I’m speaking, of course, of Valentine’s Day.

And if you’re a slacker mother such as myself, perhaps you’re still embroiled in the yearly ritual of making out a zillion little cards and otherwise readying the little ones for a day of mayhem in the name of love.

If you’re a glutton for punishment, it’s possible you’re even one of those Room Moms or have otherwise volunteered to help out at a class party or somesuch, in which case you’re probably really panicking right about now. But don’t worry! There’s still plenty of time and lots of resources out there to get you ready.

Need games for the classroom? About.com comes to the rescue with this listing of Valentine’s games. (I especially like the CUPID Bingo, both because it’s simple and because kids seem to love Bingo more than makes any sense whatsoever.)

Need, well, everything? There’s plenty of links for the taking at DLTK’s Activities Page, and you know I can’t pass up an opportunity to direct you to Family Fun, because they rock.

Are you a teacher or homeschooler? Check out the Valentine’s Day section at A to Z Teacher’s Stuff site. They link to an entire page of thematic lesson plans! Which is great, because what are kids really going to learn after consuming their body weight in chocolate, anyway?

Last but not least, here’s one I love because it gives you a quick and easy way to print out coupon books to use as Valentine’s gifts for your kids. Sure, you could make your own… but these are really cute. And I am lazy. So.

Now go forth and get ready to be Valentiney. I highly recommend telling your kids how much you love them, preferably in a sugary, sappy voice that embarrasses them terribly.

The suspense is killing me.

Lest it hasn’t been clear, allow me to paint a picture for you of the Toy Box Mommy as a young nerd: Just picture some very frizzy hair barely visible over the top of a book. Yeah. That was me.

Bridge to Terabithia was one of my very favorites, as a kid, and I have all my fingers and toes crossed that the upcoming movie will do the Newbery award-winning book justice. I used to believe that there was never a movie made from a wonderful book that was worthy, but I’ve softened in my old age, somewhat.

It feels like the pickings for family movies have been pretty slim ever since Christmas, too. I’m really jonesing for something we can all enjoy. And in one week, Bridge to Terabithia will open and I can find out for myself if it lives up to the hype, and—more importantly—if it lives up to my recollection of the book.

In the meantime, Animated News linked to a special sneak peek of WETA Workshop’s special effects magic on the movie. There’s lots of good stuff on the site to explore, but if that’s not enough for you, there’s always the official Disney site where you can explore, download, and even play the “Monster Dodger” game.

That should keep you busy for the next week or so. Or you could really go nuts and—this is crazy, brace yourself—grab a copy of the book and read it with your kids.

I know. Nutty.

ToonZone reports that Nickelodeon is co-producing five different projects internationally. (ToonZone doesn’t suggest this is part of Nickelodeon’s master plan for world domination, but, obviously.)

The details can be found over at C21Media:

Kids network Nickelodeon is co-developing five new animated projects in partnership with international production houses.

Hiro, Oasis, Bacon and Bunk, Super Charlie and Super Lauren and Noodles! comprise Nickelodeon’s first international development slate, which the network claims demonstrates its commitment to developing diverse content on a global scale.

Read the whole article to get a taste of just how diverse these offerings are; it goes from livestock to snowboarding with several stops inbetween.

I did some scouting around to try to find out more about these projects, and what little I was able to find causes me to give Nick the big thumbs-up.

For example, Bacon and Bunk (pictured above) are a pair of billy goats (no, I wouldn’t have known that from the picture, either). Their short episode “Moby Weenie” was featured at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, with the succinct description: “Bacon and Bunk are two billy goat best friends searching for a stolen hot dog. Can they survive the emotional trauma?”

Hot dogs and emotional trauma. I see they speak my children’s language.

And I was immediately taken by Super Charlie and Super Lauren after visiting the site and watching an episode. Warning: Do not click on play if you are easily offended by snot. Er, cartoon snot. Charlie and Lauren are mild-mannered siblings by day, and superheroes who drop out of the house via their bathtub at night, when the world needs saving. I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, but if you suspect they need to be a little bit disgusting, themselves, to vanquish the Snotasaurus, you are correct.

Super Charlie and Super Lauren is what might happen if Powerpuff Girls and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy had a love child, I think.

And here’s the official word on all of these projects:

Nina Hahn, VP of development at Nickelodeon International, said the new development represents the voice and vision of creators around the globe, and “continues to promote Nick International’s ongoing mission to find the kid voice lurking in all of us.”

Yes, finding the kid voice lurking in all of us. The kid voice that longs to take over the world. It’s okay, Ms. Hahn. We won’t tell anyone.

If you’re a fan of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, you may have started following the Foster’s Blog when I first mentioned it here a while back. If you do, you’ve probably noticed that they haven’t updated for a really long time, and perhaps you’ve sat at your computer, glumly refreshing and hoping for fresh Foster’s news, and perhaps even leaving whiny, fawning comments on the blog imploring Craig McCracken to please come back and update or at least delete some of the spammy comments.

Okay, maybe that last bit was just me. Ahem.

Anyway, I have a few tidbits of info to tide you over, and I share because I care.

First of all: Congratulations to Grey DeLisle—better known as the voice talent behind Frankie—on the birth of her son, Jefferson Texas! That’s a pretty small picture there on her MySpace blog, but from what I can make out, mom and baby look fantastic. Enjoy!

Second: Remember when I gushed my excitement over the “Design at Play” Cartoon Network MODA show? The exhibit is up and running, and I came across this great Flickr set of photos taken at the show. (Seriously, how did anyone ever get information before the internet?) I won’t say that’s as good as being there, but it eases the pain of missing the opening, somewhat.

And last but certainly not least: Not that there seemed to be any question of it happening, but now it’s official, at least—Foster’s has been cleared for a sixth season. My fingers are crossed that the next season will bring us another hour-long episode, too, as the kids and I really enjoyed Good Wilt Hunting.

Oh, wait. I lied. That’s not last. Because I love you all so much, here’s a special! bonus! Foster’s-themed tidbit:

Cartoon Network recently added the dumbest game ever to the Foster’s page. But oh, how my kids laugh.

I can’t help it; I hear that Jerry Seinfeld is working on an animated feature film with DreamWorks and all I can picture is a bee in front of a microphone saying, “What’s the deal with Ovaltine?” And as much as I loved Seinfeld back in the day, that doesn’t particularly appeal to me as a concept for a kids’ film. Go figure.

The official site features the (admittedly clever) live-action trailer, which tells us nothing at all about the actual film. But if you want to see Jerry Seinfeld in a ridiculous bee suit (and really, who doesn’t?), you should click through and have a look at it.

Although the film isn’t slated for release until Fall of this year, it’s a hot topic because, well, he’s Seinfeld. The funny man who kept a generation of people interested in “a show about nothing” for years on end must have a killer movie idea, right?

Well, DreamWorks thought so. And this interview with Seinfeld gives some of the backstory on how the project came to be:

But animation was appealing for a number of reasons: like stand-up, there’s time to polish the material and even go back and reshoot scenes. There’s also no restriction on where the scenes are set.

Still, he says his new movie has the feel of his television show. “It’s dialogue driven and adult in some of the tones it has,” he says. “There are things for kids, too, but it feels more like watching an episode of my sitcom.”

It feels like watching an episode of Seinfeld, but with insects? That’s… well… ummmm… hmmm. Let’s just say this wasn’t enough to pique my interest.

But this was:

In the film, a college-educated bee voiced by Mr. Seinfeld becomes disillusioned with his sole career option: making honey. He takes an adventure outside the hive and finds himself adopted by a New York florist. When he discovers that people eat honey, he launches a campaign to get justice for bees. Mr. Seinfeld’s co-stars include Renee Zellweger as the florist, Matthew Broderick as his best bee friend and Mr. Rock as a mosquito.

I would go see this film just to hear the cast. Also, I can’t deny that a college graduate discovering his role in life is now to “make honey” opens a wealth of humor opportunities. So I’ll be crossing my fingers that Bee Movie is actually good.

(P.S. According to the article linked above, Jerry Seinfeld is 52. How did that happen?)

I know the conventional wisdom about there only being seven basic plots to which every story can be (in one way or another) boiled down. I do sort of like it when the entertainment industry at least attempts to pretend they’ve come up with something new, though. Which is why, lately, all of the movies made from books or remaking television series’ of yore or even—to me, this is the greatest transgression—remaking a movie that was already a movie is sort of boring me.

Hope springs eternal, and I often hope for a new crop of original ideas to surface.

Well, it looks like the trend towards remakes won’t be ending any time soon, and that goes double for animated features. Via Animated News, I’ve found enough information to keep me busy for a while:

Box Office Mojo has the latest release dates for some anticipated animated projects. Apparently, Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks will perform in theaters on December 14 of this year. Next year, Warner Bros.’ Where the Wild Things Are will hit cinemas on October 3. In 2009, two films from Sony Pictures Animation will arrive: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on March 27, and Hotel Transylvania on September 25.

Oh, the very many feelings that accost my brain upon reading this. First, let’s just get it out of the way: Alvin and the Chipmunks? Really? And all this time I thought that someone had finally figured out that, hey, endearing mischievous qualities aside, those chipmunks sometimes hit a frequency which only dogs can hear. And the rest of the time most of us just wish only dogs could hear them.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a great book, though I’m having trouble picturing it as a feature-length film. Despite this, I’m excited to see what they’re able to do with it.

But I draw the line at Where the Wild Things Are. No. If ever there was a book that was utter perfection as a book, this is it. Even if the movie is good, it feels like a sacrilege, somehow. If future generations of children don’t want to bother sitting down with Wild Things because “eh, I’ve already seen the movie,” well, I think that would be a travesty.

I also think that part of the reason the book has been so mesmerizing for so many years is because of the spaces between what is said and what is drawn, where a child’s imagination can go wild (okay; pun intended). I love a good movie as much as the next person, but no matter what gets inserted into those spaces, it cannot possibly match the magic of a not quite knowing for sure.

But maybe that’s just me. And no one consulted me before they started this movie thing, can you imagine? (Hey, Warner Bros! Call me!)

Although the split between DreamWorks and Aardman Animation only recently became “official,” the animation world has been buzzing about it for quite some time. Part of the concern has been for what this might mean for the industry as a whole; the perpetual “what about the little guy?” question applies in animation as much as anywhere else.

But the issue goes much deeper than that, all the way to “How is this going to affect me?” I have been fretting for months because I am a huge, unabashed Wallace and Gromit fan. DreamWorks helped Aardman bring the duo to the United States. But their first feature-length film, Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, didn’t do as well as anticipated, and now with the split… well, what about my favorite plasticine pup? Would this be the end of Wallace and Gromit??

Of course not. The message Aardman Animation sent out yesterday was quite clear:

Wallace and Gromit, the quirky plasticine stars of British cinema, are on the comeback trail.

The film-making partnership of Aardman Animations Ltd and Hollywood’s DreamWorks Animation SKG may have ended on Tuesday but Nick Park, creator of the animated pals, is busy at the drawing board creating a Wallace and Gromit sequel.

“Wallace and Gromit are alive and kicking,” Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff said on Wednesday. “There is a project on the table right now.

“It could be television, it could be a feature film. That depends on how the storyline develops. It will go into production as soon as he has finished writing it.”

Personally, as much as I liked Curse of the Were-Rabbit, I still think the previous half-hour Wallace and Gromit movies were even better. I’d be thrilled to see something developed for television.

Oh, who am I kidding—I’d be thrilled to see them on television, in the theater, or swimming in my breakfast cereal. It doesn’t matter to me where they are, just so long as there’s more Wallace and Gromit goodness to be had. And cheese. There should also be cheese. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, get your hands on a copy of A Grand Day Out immediately.)

Nick Park, if you’re listening, I have just one thing to say: Hurry up. Um, please. Thanks.

This February (hey, that starts today, how about that), BrainPOP is hosting a special Black History Month section with over a dozen animated shorts on famous figures and events in American Black History.

The picture to the side there was taken from the video about Jackie Robinson, but you can go check out everyone from Malcolm X to Oprah Winfrey, and history from Apartheid to the Harlem Renaissance.

Not familiar with BrainPOP? No worries; Animation Magazine has the backstory:

Founded in 1999 by Avraham Kadar, M.D., BrainPOP has built an archive of nearly 600 animated educational movies. Starring the popular Tim and Moby characters, the shorts cover such core curriculum subjects as science, English, social studies and math, but also tackle current-event topics such as stem cell research, terrorism, SARS, tsunamis and Avian Flu.

Approximately twenty-five percent of schools in the United States currently subscribe to the BrainPOP service. Millions of students regularly watch the movies and exchange messages with the animated characters, who lead them through related activities on the BrainPOP web site.

Although BrainPOP is offered on a paid subscription basis, the Black History Month section will be available to everyone, free of charge, for the entire month. Sure, they’re doubtless hoping you’ll be so enamored of their content that you’ll sign up for regular access, but you don’t have to. And this is a great way to engage kids in learning, and start them off celebrating Black History Month.