I saw Asterix en de Vikings (Asterix and the Vikings) today. It’s a European traditional animated production based on the famous comic characters of Asterix and Obelix. The old 80′s and 90′s Asterix are on TV every year and I always enjoy watching them when I get the chance. I love the gags, trash the Romans! The gag, Rare jongens, die vikings (These Vikings are Crazy)

The gags are funny and the characters timeless. AatV animation is not the same quality Disney used to make but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good because it is. Compared to all the CG garbage out and coming this spring it’s a relief to see theatical pencil animation. The last 2d animated film that had a theater run was Bambi 2 all the rest was 3D and not worth spending my money on. The new Pixar Cars is the only one I’m giving a chance even though I don’t have anything with cars the new trailer looks nice and better then either The Wild of Over the Hedge.

Celine Dion sings the title song “Let Your Heart Decide” at youtube. It’s always good to hear Celine’s voice which brings me to the Aladdin connections in Asterix and the Vikings and the reason I’m alloted to write about it here. As you know Celine sang with Peabo Bryson along time ago and he preformed Aladdin’s A Whole New World with Regina Belle. Futher though I had Flemish voice actors the credits listed Corney Burton as one of the voices.

I’ve updated Iago’s Birdcage with 3 new pictures. 1 from The Secret of Dagger Rock and 2 from Heads, You Lose.

Since Streetrat passed the 400 post mark and “The Secret of Dagger Rock” is my personal favorite episode and get one post closer the magically 500 post mark. I made a collage of the funniest scene titled “The Man”

The first bit of The Secret of Dagger Rock was on the Italian channel Rai Uno. At the time, it must be around 10 years ago our cable provider broadcast it from behind a decoder. That made the picture and sound so bad it was almost un watchable. At sometime I found that Rai Uno had Aladdin (tv series) every weekday around dinner time and despite the horrible picture and sound I tried the follow the episodes.

TSODR is the only episode I remember watching because at this scene I recognized Jasmine in a strange outfit. I thought she was wearing Aladdin’s streetrat and I asked myself “why is she wearing Aladdin’s outfit” and I speculated in myself that she might be undercover living with Aladdin at his hovel. It wasn’t until I saw the episode on the Belgium channel BRT in Dutch that I understood she was undercover posing as a soldier.

By the way this is my 400th post since I started almost 2 years ago.

I’ve got the parts to complete the first 4 Aladdin characters in Lego. I’ve got Jasmine in two outfits normal and disguise, Jafar with Iago, Sultan and a Guard. Read all about it on my MOCpages Page

By the way I looked into that so called Aladdin Lego and found it on Ebay. It’s a play set from the Disney Adventures line exclusive to the Disney Store some years ago. I’ll go deeper into another time. For now I’ve plans to create Aladdin in his regular and Prince Ali outfit once I get the parts next month.

Once I have all the characters I start making vignettes, little highly detailed scenes from Lego see Vignette Bricks for examples

You might have heard of Aladdin jr. A play adapted from the movie made for highschools around the US. There’s some information here, the play’s logo.

What you probably didn’t know that in at least one town, inhabited by senior citizens they perform in a musical with an Aladdin connection. I grabbed the screenshot from a TV documentary yesterday. It was about two Dutch seniors visiting a senior village in Belgium. Plans are to build a senior town here.

I pictured a 55+ Aladdin and Jasmine doing A Whole New World. Not to say old folks can’t sing, I know professional singers sing great after they well past the age of 55. But the citizens of The Village, the name of seniortown, are amateurs. Watch the clip they’re not the best preformers. (skip toward the end)

In Jim Hill’s Why For column Kaye G. asks what’s going on with “Enchanted” the Disney movie that mixes live-action with traditional animation and is directed by Kevin Lima. That Andreas Deja is working on the villainess, the evil queen Narissa. Notice that Disney outsourced the production to James Baxter Studios. The studio is run by former Disney animation James Baxter who was the lead animator for Belle. But also contributed to The Little Mermaid, see the hi-res cover here, The Lion King and Hunchback. In recent years James Baxter worked for Dreamworks on Shrek 2 and Madagascar

Press release as send to me by old friend The Heart of The Tiger

BOSTON (Reuters) – Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the Aflac Inc.
duck in television commercials for the insurer, was crowned “unsexiest man
in the world” by an alternative newspaper on Tuesday.

“The parrot-voiced, pickle-faced comic is to sexy what Kryptonite is to
Superman,” The Boston Phoenix wrote.
New York Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson came in second followed by film
critic Roger Ebert, television psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw and Fox
television co-host Alan Colmes. Even actor Brad Pitt made the list, as the
newspaper’s 100th-least sexy man.

Osama bin Laden clocked in at number eight.

George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees — arch-rivals to the Boston Red
Sox — also made the list. “Come on, we live in Boston, you knew it was
coming,” the Phoenix said.

Others included pop star Michael Jackson and nasal-voiced rapper Mike
Diamond of the Beastie Boys.

Gottfried has had numerous television and film roles including a year as a
cast member on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

I know it’s been a bit quiet the this week. I’ll tell you why, I’ve been spending allot of (online and offline) time in my other hobby, Lego. For example I came across a fine looking MOC of Aladdin and Jasmine.

Of course I can do better and so I did I researched options to make better minifigs of these two and ordered in some parts. Turns out Jasmine’s torso is only with a top and it’s hard to get by. Looks like I have to find a good alternative for Jasmine. Aladdin is no problem. I like this blue torso for our hero, maybe this one .

I’ll think it through. There are more ideas roaming through my brain that I want to put into MOCs soon.

Yay! Got a little bit further in the game. Finally figured out what they meant by placing the towers in the board so they can’t capture each other and checkmated the computer in the secret room. World finished, next world

Save Rajah

Rajah the tigger is sick, and no one in Agrabah can help him. Jasmine is worried about her feline friend, but the Sultan believes there’s a solution. Legend has it that City in the Bottle is the home of a powerful but kind dragon with magical powers. Jasmine asks you to go inside the Bottle and ask the dragon to help Rajah.