Yesterday marked the announcement of this year’s prime-time Emmy nominees, and so this seems like a good time to confess that I’m a total awards show junkie. Can’t get enough of ‘em. I mean, there are always shows I love which are overlooked by the awards committee(s), but sometimes the right show is recognized and there’s nothing quite like seeing something you really enjoy being recognized for the hard work that goes into it.

(The fact that you can also see a bunch of expensive dresses, outrageous hairdos, and funny commercials doesn’t hurt, either.)

Anyway, Animated News was on the scene immediately with the list of animation nominees.

Outstanding Animated Program (Programming Less Than One Hour)
•Avatar: The Last Airbender - “City Of Walls And Secrets” (Nickelodeon Animation Studio)
•Robot Chicken - “Lust For Puppets” (ShadowMachine Films)
•South Park - “Make Love, Not Warcraft” (Central Productions)
•SpongeBob SquarePants - “Bummer Vacation / Wig Struck” (Nickelodeon Animation Studio with United Plankton Pictures, Inc.)
•The Simpsons - “The Haw-Hawed Couple” (Gracie Films with 20th Century Fox)

My take: I think Avatar deserves to win, but I don’t know that it will. There’s been a lot of buzz about Robot Chicken, and with the Simpsons movie about to come out—despite the series having been around forever—people are sort of rediscovering it. So I just don’t know.

Outstanding Animated Program (Programming One Hour Or More)
•Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends - “Good Wilt Hunting” (Cartoon Network Studios)
•Hellboy Animated: Sword Of Storms (Starz Media with Revolution Studios)
•Secrets Of The Deep (Impossible Pictures with Discovery Channel)
•Camp Lazlo - “Where’s Lazlo?” (Cartoon Network Studios)

My take: If Foster’s doesn’t win this one, my faith in a just deity will be shaken. I know I went into that one already loving Foster’s, but Good Wilt Hunting was even better than I expected it to be. To me, it’s the clear front-runner. But I don’t get to vote. (Which is a travesty in and of itself. Clearly.)

The 2007 Emmy Awards Show will air this year on Sunday, September 16th at 8:00 PM. Mark your calendars and get ready to make fun of famous people. (Oops. Did I say that last part out loud? My bad.)

If you’re a fan of Avatar, you’re probably already following the Avatar Spirit site for all of the latest news. But just in case you forgot to check it out recently, I’m here to help. Because I care. (And because it makes my obsession with all things Avatar seem like something work-related instead of just me being overly invested in a cartoon.)

Anyway. There’s a few things I want to draw your attention to.

First of all, Avatar Spirit is holding their Spring Avatar Haiku Contest. Who doesn’t like to ‘ku? No one fun, that’s who. 17 measly syllables can get you one of two fabulous prizes, so check it out.

Second, seems like folks have a lot to say about the upcoming Avatar live-action movie, and opinions vary, but now we have it from the horse’s mouth: The creators of Avatar couldn’t be more excited about the film. Though Bryan Konietzko’s comment about getting to hang out with Momo for real did worry me just a little.

Last—but not least—there’s bit of news about season 3 that might pique your interest. In addition to specific plot hints, I loved this bit:

The creators intended Avatar to be both whimsical and edgy. “Bryan and I wanted to create a show that had a lot of heart and integrity, and we wanted to create a show that we would like to watch,” DiMartino said. “Like Aang trying to balance the four elements, we try to balance comedy, action, drama and spirituality in every episode so there is something for everyone. Also, there is a message of balance that is pervasive throughout the series: characters trying to balance their lives.”

See? That sounds very much like entertainment intended for grown-ups like me, rather than just kids. My infatuation is totally justifiable. Stop looking at me like that.

Have you ever been to the Mall of America? I suppose folks living in the greater Minneapolis area go there as a matter of course. Me, I visited for the first time just a few years ago and thanked my lucky stars that the kids weren’t with me at the time—I doubt they ever would’ve wanted to leave. (Not that I would blame them. When I got to the Lego area I didn’t much want to leave, myself.)

Anyway, I guess it was bound to happen: MOA is going to be Nick-ified.

The Mall of America has signed a branding-rights deal with the cable television network Nickelodeon for the megamall’s indoor amusement park, according to the Star Tribune.

The park used to be called Camp Snoopy, but the mall’s 13-year partnership with the “Peanuts” gang ended last year. Since then, the amusement park has been simply named, “The Park at MOA.”

Hmmmm. I wonder what they’ll call it now. Nickelodeon at MOA? Major Network Branding at MOA (MNB at MOA!)? Don’t Be Scared Of This Here Giant SpongeBob at MOA? The possibilities are endless, really.

And should you be taking the time to mourn the loss of the “Peanuts” characters, you might be interested to know that Avatar is moving in along with SpongeBob, Jimmy Neutron, and Dora:

A new roller coaster is planned based on the animated series, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Construction on the upside-down roller coaster will begin this year.

I… don’t really understand how you make a rollercoaster themed. It’s based on the Avatar? Do people come shoot fire at you while you’re riding it? Do the cars resemble flying bison? Does the track get bent right before your eyes? (I am a wealth of fabulous ideas, no?)

My guess is that some of these more “modern” characters will increase the appeal of the place, sure. Though I can’t help wondering if anyone will miss Snoopy and Woodstock. And also if I’m the only person who thinks that the SpongeBob in the photo above looks more like a hunk of cheese than a sponge.

First, the game: We have recently discovered the Avatar Escape from the Spirit World Game. (You need a login nickname, and also the secret passwords—refer to Avatar Spirit for the list—but it’s worth it, I promise.)

My son even lets me play, occasionally. He’s so good to me.

Next: even better was finding the new Avatar Cartoon Short (use KOH as the password to acces it), “School Time Shipping.” Avatar Spirit told me it’s done in the “chibi animation style,” and because I’m not an animation buff so much as I’m just a sucker for a good story, I had no idea what that meant. It turns out that chibi is that super-cutesy bigheaded thing.

Can you think of anything more incongruous for a series like Avatar? Because I can’t. But you have to watch the short, because it’s as hilarious as it is just plain weird.

Of course, Nicktoons Network is showing Escape from the Spirit World episodes all this week at 6:30 p.m. eastern, and it all culminates in a little Spirit World marathon this Saturday, February 25th, from 4-7. I guess I know what I’ll be doing this Saturday….

Need more things Avatar-related to keep you going this week? (Geez, you’re a little greedy, you know.) Remember when I told you that Avatar will be a live-action movie? I was wandering around the internet wondering if anyone had any additional information on the project, and discovered that when I post about it, nobody says anything… but when they post about it over at TV.com, they end up with 19 pages of comments. I tried to decide if this makes me feel neglected and unloved, but then decided that people who have 19 pages of opinions on a cartoon scare me just a little, so it’s all fine.

I can’t decide how I feel about this; on the one hand, I love the animation style of the cartoon Avatar, and would love to see feature-length animated movies. On the other, how awesome might the live-action version be? If it’s done properly, one might argue it could be Very Awesome Indeed.

(Full disclaimer: I say this as a woman who read and loved the Harry Potter books, and fully intended to hate the movies. I don’t hate them. They’re different than the books, sure, but quite marvelous in their own right.)

And—most importantly, because I am nothing if not self-serving—I suspect live-action films may have a larger draw than animated ones, which means the goodness that is Avatar can just spread further. And that would be a Very Good Thing Indeed.

Regardless, the first of three planned movies is in the works, and with an impressive director at the helm:

M. Night Shyamalan is making a rare foray into family films with a feature based on a popular animated series on the Nickelodeon kids cable channel.

“Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a series influenced by Asian art, mythology and fighting styles, has attracted an audience beyond Nickelodeon’s usual 6-11 demographic.

Shyamalan will write, direct and produce the live-action adaptation for Paramount Pictures’ MTV Films and Nick Movies. They hope it will turn into a three-picture series with Shyamalan’s continuing involvement.

The project marks the first time that Shyamalan, who is known for crafting original screenplays, will direct material he didn’t create. His last children’s film was 1999’s “Stuart Little,” which he co-wrote.

Shyamalan co-wrote Stuart Little? How did I not know that? And here I was thinking he was the perfect choice because he’ll keep it dark and creepy, but apparently he can keep it dark and creepy and silly and kid-friendly, if needed. Bonus!

Is it wrong of me to hope that an Avatar movie brings us some additional Avatar merchandise? My son wants all manner of obscure items he’s seen on the TV show, most of which don’t actually exist as toys. (I don’t dare show him that Lego is now making Avatar sets….)

Sorry, I got off on my own little tangent there. Ahem. Anyway! The course of the true Avatar ne’er did run smooth, it appears:

Because James Cameron also is about to film a new project titled “Avatar,” the films could end up in a showdown over their titles. Cameron’s camp said he began his “Avatar” screenplay 12 years ago. Both camps say they have registered the title with the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

How does something like that get resolved, anyway? Is there some approved method of film association smackdown where the creative teams go head-to-head to determine who gets to own the title? What else could you call this movie, anyway? Aang: The Last Airbender could work, maybe, but rabid fans everywhere would complain, I’m sure. Me, I don’t care what they call it.

I just want to see what sort of effects they’ll use to make a realistic, live-action Appa. (And maybe a small part of me wants to see some bald kid tattooed with a glowing arrow on his head, too. Don’t judge me.)

Decisions, decisions. Don’t you hate it when you have to decide between two equally-tempting options, or—worse yet—you have to try to figure out which choice to go with when you don’t have all the information? I hate it when that happens.

Especially with important things like cartoons and comic books.

What?

Anyway, we have a dilemma on our hands, people.

TVShowsonDVD.com is reporting good, but slightly tension-filled, news for fans of Avatar:

It appears Nickelodeon is giving fans a reason to buy the Avatar volumes being released next year; they’re packaging an exclusive comic in each set. Here’s a quote from a Video Business article about their plans:

Each of the four releases in season two will be packaged with an exclusive collectible comic book, culminating with a boxed set toward the end of the year, similar to what the company did this year with the first season.

So now fans will have to decide whether to buy the volumes and get the comics, or wait and get the season set which could have a bonus disc, but may not include the comics. “Book 2: Earth, Volume 1″ comes out on January 23, 2007.

I suppose the Powers That Be are hoping that folks will buy the volumes as they become available—both to get the comics and to have the show in-hand as soon as possible—and then they’ll whip up some super-fantastic bonus disc that none of us can live without in the hopes that we’ll buy the boxed set, as well.

Well I, for one, am not going to fall for it! I want the comics. I mean, er, my son wants the comics. And how good could that bonus disc really be, anyway? I will simply avert my eyes once it’s available. Ahem.

By the way, did you know that Avatar storyboard artist Justin Ridge has a blog? (Of course he does, you’re saying. Everyone has a blog.) (Just be careful over there, because not all of his artwork is kid-safe. Don’t go calling the kids over to the computer only to scream and clamp your hands over their eyes.) Somehow I missed it back in November when he gave us a sneak peak of a panel from one of those upcoming bonus comics. It looks great!

Hello! I’m the Toy Box Mommy, and I… I… well, I am old.

Oh, I’m not that old by most standards. And I believe age is one of those mental things—you’re only as old as you feel! Age is just a number! Well let me tell you: When I go to MySpace I feel incredibly old. I feel that my age is just a number… that should be closer to 99 than 30.

See that logo up there? The one that declares MySpace to be “a place for friends” and sounds so lovely? I think that is because “a place for blaring music, seizure-causing backgrounds, and many blinking graphics” was deemed a bit too verbose.

But the kids today, they’re all into MySpace. Or so I hear. (One of them said something about it, while I was hollering for them to get off my lawn.) And people of all ages are using MySpace to stay in touch or reconnect with long-lost pals.

I finally braved MySpace for a while because I discovered that many of the hot licensed characters available at Ty’s Toy Box have their own MySpace pages. Some are created by enthusiastic fans, some are backed by the productions themselves; all of them are another avenue to explore the shows you and your kids love.

Here’s a sampling of the pages I came across:

• Lazy Town has 801 friends at last check. For some reason I find it hilarious that Mighty Mouse is amongst them.
• Together Forever is associated with a popular Doodlebops fan site, and boasts 1005 friends. This is one of the more complete pages; there’s tons of information about the Doodlebops, pictures, videos, etc.
• Avatar, the last Airbender has plenty of Avatar artwork and lists most of the show’s characters amongst its 714 friends. (That’s a rabbit hole of links to fall down, but what a fun way to pass some time.)
• Strawberry Shortcake’s page says she’d like to meet: “Any berry happy, berry fun, berry special, berry sweet, berry sporty, berry artistic, berry musical, & just plain berry berry friends.” I am berry, berry scared. (But my daughter loved it.) One of her 465 friends is Rainbow Brite, of course.
• Backyardigans is a newer page, with only 22 friends so far, but who knows how it will evolve. Or if they’ll decide against the neon hearts background (hope springs eternal).

So, you know, this new-fangled MySpace thing… I guess it’s alright. Even though back in my day we had to just draw pictures of important things on the cave walls.

It’s a little odd for me to be writing about these two shows together, given that I really enjoy Avatar and really… ummmm… don’t enjoy Pokémon. But my son suffers from a slavish devotion to both shows, and it turns out that there happens to be news to share on both of them, today.

Were you feeling Avatar-deprived? Perhaps a tad Pokémon-deficient? Help is on the way, in the form of new episodes for both shows. Newsarama has the whole scoop and I have the highlights.

Are you sick of listening to me talk about the upcoming Avatar movie yet? Yes? Too bad. Newsarama’s Steve Fritz has only made me more anxious to see it:

Well, the next two-chapter installment is subtitled: “The Secret of the Fire Nation.” It will air on Friday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m. with repeats on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. I have to admit I was totally blown away. It’s some of the best work DeMartino and Konietzko has done.

But the truly wonderful news is this:

As for the future of the series, inside sources at Nickelodeon assured me that Avatar will start going back to its more regular Friday night, 8:00 p.m. schedule in the very near future. There will be times when the show is pre-empted because of other specials, but it did sound like this once-a-month fix is nearing the end of its reign. About time if you asked me.

Because it seems Nickelodeon is truly pleased with the results it’s getting, not only has the network given the series a greenlight for a third season of an additional 20 episodes, but is also talking to the creators about a fourth and maybe more. According to www.TV.com. if that does happen, the war with the Fire nation will be over and a new arc will begin.

Awesome. Is it wrong for a grown woman to be daydreaming about what the next major conflict would be after the war with the Fire nation is resolved…?

Ahem.

And in begrudging “I wish it weren’t so but I guess it’s an item of note” news, not only is there a new season of Pokémon for Saturday mornings, there’s also a new “limited series” called Mystery Dungeon set to run on Friday night:

As for Mystery Dungeon, this series goes in an entirely new direction. It starts with a young boy being turned into a Pokemon himself. Now a Squirtle, he joins a Chikorita and a Charmander as part of a new rescue team. The big thing is in this series the little critters actually talk to each other, using the English language no less.

It will air this Friday, September 8, at 8:00 p.m.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this—and I’ll probably deny it later—but I actually think Mystery Dungeon sounds palatable, even if only because the Pokémon can converse instead of squeaking their names at each other ad nauseam. I’ll have to check it out and report back.

You might recall that in this post I alerted you to the Secret of the Fire Nation, the upcoming one-hour Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. You can catch the movie on Nickelodeon on Friday, September 15th, at 8:00 pm.

[Ummmm… waitaminute. Hey, look at that. It’s on at the same time as Trouble in Tokyo. My son’s head may explode. Thank goodness for recording devices, eh?]

Now Toon Zone is reporting that movie promotion will be dovetailing with imminent promotion at Burger King. It seems that Upper Deck will be packaging both Avatar toys and trading cards in kids’ meals:

The promotion, which will run from August 28th through September 30th, will be supported by print, on-air and in-store advertising. Upper Deck will provide Avatar TCG cards to all Burger King outlets in the U.S. and Canada to be included in their Kids Meals. There will be a total of eight different cards to collect and each card will be accompanied by one of eight different Avatar toys.

Why should this matter to you, other than if you feel like eating at Burger King and/or your child is going to want in on the new Avatar Trading Card Game? Why, because Upper Deck may just be bringing the Avatar movie to a location near you:

In conjunction with its Burger King promotion Upper Deck is sponsoring special screenings of a new one-hour special, Avatar: Secret of the Fire Nation at nine theaters in eight major markets including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Ann Arbor, Louisville and Providence on September 9th. The screenings will include demonstrations of the Avatar TCG and attendees will receive promotional booklets, gift bags, and special trading card game products. Kids lucky enough to be able to attend will also have a leg up on their friends, since the one-hour Avatar: Secret of the Fire Nation special won’t air on Nickelodeon until Friday, September 15 at 8 pm (ET, PT).

It’s not clear to me how you might get an invite to one of these things if you live in one of the target cities, but it may be worth checking out if one of the screenings is in your area. Me, I’ll just be listening to repeated pleas for a trip to Burger King for the next month. Lucky me!

Fans of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender have been all atwitter about the so-called Avatar movie, although some sources say it’s just two episodes shown back-to-back. Who cares? It’s more Avatar, and that’s good enough for us. Avatar Spirit posted handy pointers to both the “Secret of the Fire Nation” trailer and preview. I showed these to my son and he couldn’t stop bouncing. Or asking me when he could watch the whole thing (September 15th).

In the meantime, I turned to Toon Zone to find something else to distract him. The newly revised list of Toon Disney August movies is up, and there are some oldie-but-goodies coming up later this month. In fact, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is on tonight at 5:00. I may let the kids out of the attic long enough to let them watch.

The other excellent piece of news I read this morning is that Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends episodes are now available through iTunes for $1.99 an episode, or $19.99 for the entire first season. Words cannot describe the joy that filled my heart, learning that. Also, did you know that Foster’s has has its own blog? It’s true! Lots of goodies to be found there.

Of course, if you’re having a beautiful day out (as we are, today), you and the kids should be outside playing, not inside glued to the television or the computer. Obviously. But sometimes, you need a little respite in cartoon form… either because it’s raining out or because you need an hour of peace. Tuck these links away for future use as needed, I say.