'Happy Feet Two' Will Have You Flapping Your Fins

Full disclosure, I have never seen the first Happy Feet film, so when I was invited to a screening of Happy Feet Two -- in theaters Friday, November 18 -- I was a little apprehensive. I mean, how on earth would I know what all of these happy little penguins were dancing for if I didn't see the first one?!

Well, as it turns out Happy Feet Two is extremely enjoyable for all ages, even without having seen its predecessor.

HF2 --as the cool kids like me call it -- is a dazzling display of 3D animation filled with enormous amounts of cute baby animals, family-appropriate laughs and just enough singing to be true to the brand and still be enjoyed by a Glee-hater like me. If it were a a YouTube video with real animals it would have all of the views on the Internet.

The story centers around the main character, an Emperor penguin named Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) and his son Erik (Ava Acres), who is struggling to find his purpose in a world filled with other extremely talented penguins. Meanwhile, Mumble, his spouse Gloria (voiced by P!nk) and the rest of the colony discover a new threat their home -- one that will take everyone working (and dancing!) together to save. Other big names like Robin Williams, Hank Azaria and Sophia Vergara lend their voices to the penguin brood.

Animal Planet Premieres 'Hillbilly Handfishin'': Where Do I Sign Up?

I love that the Discover Channel -- and its sister networks like Animal Planet -- keep coming up with all of these shows about oddly specific and unusual niche careers. Collectively we'll call them Ice Swamp Log Hunters. They all focus on some blue collar career that falls under the category of, "It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it."

For me, the Ice Swamp Log Hunters shows all sorta run together into one jean short-wearing pool of murky river water, but Animal Planet's newest incarnation may be a must-add for my DVR queue. Behold the awesomeness that is Hillybilly Handfishin':


The premise is simple: Professional hillbillies (What? That's the name of the show!) Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson, give city-slickers a taste of the redneck lifestyle by leading them into muddy waters and teaching them to "noodle," a.k.a. blindly stick their delicious fingers into the murk and yank out giant catfish.

Check out this girl giving it a try, which could easily pass for an episode of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant.


Don't worry, if you can't make it down to noodle on your own, Skipper has a guide to learn how to handfish on your own in 10 easy steps.

Hillbilly Handfishin' premieres on Sunday, August 7 at 10pm on Animal Planet. Anyone else going to tune in? Leave a comment!

Watch the Trailer for 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Starring James Franco

I have to be honest... I saw this trailer in the theater a few week's ago and it totally freaked me out!


Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. The film stars James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is in theaters August 5, 2011. Will you go see it?

Click here to see even more movie trailers!

Metallic Fish Lurk in 'The Deep'

I've been obsessing over old tools and small machinery lately -- weird, I know -- to decorate my apartment (check out these wrenches I scored!), so when I saw this quick film from Showtime's Short Strories I dove right in.

Watch some metal objects from the past come to life in the depths of the sea in this short film called The Deep.

'Born to Be Wild 3D' Swings into IMAX This April

I went to a special screening of a new film coming to IMAX theaters on April 8, called Born to Be Wild 3D. It's an amazingly cute story of orphaned animals, shot in spectacularly real 3D. Check out the amazing trailer for the film here:


Narrated by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman (obviously), Born to be Wild 3D is an inspiring story of love, dedication and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them.

Stunningly captured in IMAX 3D, Born to be Wild 3D is a heartwarming adventure transporting moviegoers into the lush rain forests of Borneo with world-renowned primatologist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, and across the rugged Kenyan savannah with celebrated elephant authority Dame Daphne M. Sheldrick, as they and their teams rescue, rehabilitate and return these incredible animals back to the wild.

The story is great and hello - baby animals in 3D! You can't miss it. Born to Be Wild 3D opens in IMAX theaters on April 8, 2011 (find tickets near you here), but you can also watch webisodes of the animals from the comfort of your own kingdom.

Watch Cat Jump In and Out of Box Repeatedly

Perhaps it's because I spent an entire weekend in a house full of cats, but I'm finding this video particularly enjoyable this morning.


Please enjoy this adorable clip of Maru the fat cat jumping in and out of a box!


Hope you're having as a productive day as I am!

Watch the Trailer for 'Born to Be Wild'

Cute animal overload! Check out the trailer for the new documentary called Born to Be Wild, a film about orphaned baby animals and their journey back home.


Voiceover provided by the quintessential narator himself, Morgan Freeman. Who wants to go see this with me?

Hungover Owls Do Not Wanna Hear It from You

Again I say, my dream in life is come up with a simple, stupid web site idea that will suddenly become insanely popular and get a book and movie deal and then I can swim in my own pool of coins like Scrooge McDuck.

Unfortunately, the guys at Hungover Owls already beat me to the idea, so it looks like I'll have to go back to the drawing board. I have to show them nothing but love, because they found a site that combined two of my favorite things; funny animal photos and drinking. Behold.






Love stupid animal blogs. Head over to Hungover Owls to see more pictures of the surly avian drunkards.

Summer Friday: Secrets of Owning a Dog in NYC

Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from new dog owner Jacob Y. who gives us a glimpse of what it's like to own a small dog in the big city.

I’ve always loved small dogs ever since I was a kid and remember how much I loved to chase after my shih tzu, Sony (named after my childhood bedroom TV.) After living alone for the first two months in my new place in NYC I realized I could really use some doggie company. I started looking in pet stores on the upper east side where puppies average about $3000. After picking my jaw up off the floor I began checking Petfinder.com for rescued pups. After about a week of searching I found my perfect doggie and Zipcar’d to New Jersey to adopt him. In keeping with my tradition, I named the new little rascal Samsung, aftter my current TV.

Here's a picture of Sammy and a video of me and him on the day I adopted him.


Here are a few things I’ve learned in the past two weeks about being a dog owner in NYC:

Baby Animals for the Win!

I have to be honest, today I woke up feeling evil. Like, EVIL, evil. Like, punch a baby evil.

In an effort to de-evil my day I listened to some "happy" music on my way into the office, but just to be sure I kicked the foulness I logged on to one of my new favorite sites; ZooBorns.com. It's a blog filled with amazingly cute images of baby animals from zoos around the world. Yay!

Bottle feeding a baby rhino!

I Always Knew I Hated Cats

Here's another game from GameDesign.jp that will surely drive you up the wall.


The premise of Chat Noir is simple: Change the yellow spaces to green to block the cat from walking out of the playing field. Every time you click the cat makes a move for the edge, so choose carefully. Keep clicking the circles until the cat is isolated into one space.

Misery loves company! Enjoy.