File this under obvious but still awesome: LEGO is making a bunch of sets and a video game to coincide with the new movie coming out next year.

I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of having LEGO versions of Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, and Nick Offerman. From the press release:

Inspired by pivotal scenes in the film and starring key LEGO minifigure characters, a collection of 17 LEGO building sets will deliver all of the “THE LEGO MOVIE” action to the playroom. Fans will delight in highly detailed and functional vehicles and structures that reflect the creative versatility of the movie’s many LEGO themed backdrops, such as City, Wild West, and Space. Comic-Con International attendees in San Diego, California will see the first “THE LEGO MOVIE” building set unveiled at the LEGO booth (#2829) on Saturday, July 20.

So all you folks going to SDCC, make sure to scope out the LEGO booth! I’ll be there in sprit while my body is enjoying a vacation.

Via FBTB

I don’t know why toy companies didn’t use stop motion animation to market toys to me when I was a kid. I was obsessed with stop motion and often made (crappy) action figure movies on my own, and I’m sure if they were doing it too I would have begged my parents to buy me even more toys.

A reader tipped me off to this new video from Playmates using the new toys based on the Nickelodeon show, and it’s pretty awesome.

I hope they keep making more of these videos, I can’t get enough stop motion Turtles. If I had more free and patience time I’d get back into doing stop motion animation, but yeah…I don’t.

Confession: I’ve never bought a LEGO Star Wars set. Yes, I’m a huge LEGO fan and yes, I’m a huge Star Wars geek. For some reason I’ve just never felt the need to start collecting them, mainly because I know I wouldn’t be able to stop at a few sets, I’d need to have a shit-ton.

That being said, this upcoming $250 LEGO Ewok Village is amazing and looks like a lot of fun. I could see myself getting a set like this to satisfy my LEGO Star Wars urges. The 1990 piece set was just unveiled by LEGO and will be a Shop@Home exclusive release in September. It has 16 minifigures and would probably take me a couple weeks to build, but it would look awesome on a shelf being stormed by LEGO Orcs or with some LEGO Avengers hanging out amongst the Ewoks.
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I don’t know about you, but I could use some distraction today. What better way to distract ourselves from scary people than by watching a delightfully retro animated toy commercial? Being born in 85, I feel like I completely missed out on Masters of the Universe. I never had any of the toys and I only vaguely remember the cartoon. Sometimes I get the urge to read up on the mythology, buy a bunch of vintage toys, and cram every episode of the cartoon just to feel like I know what all you guys are talking about.

Usually I repress that urge before I spend any time or money, but this recently unearthed commercial for MOTU from the early early 80s is really making me want to dive in to Eternia.

Something tells me that actual cartoon doesn’t look this cool though.

It’s hard to feel guilty about being obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and spending a ton of money on them when everywhere you go stores are filled with awesome TMNT products again. One thing I’ve had my eye on for weeks now since I first saw one at Target is the collection of TMNT Cuddle Pillows (or Pillow Buddies, depending on where you find them). Plush Turtles are always a staple of Turtlemania regardless of the decade, but these are hands-down the best I’ve ever seen, and I knew I had to have them.

The thing that made me even more interested in them was how hard they are to find as a complete set. For a while it seemed like Target only carried Leonardo and Raphael, Toys R Us had Leo and Donnie, Kmart had Leo, and nobody had Mikey. That baffled me, because if you were going to make a cute and cuddly version of a Turtle, why not start with Mikey?

I ended up snagging a Leo at Kmart on sale one day, but just swapped him out for a Donnie. I gave the Leo to my nephew Brady for his 5th birthday, and he loved it. The only thing keeping me from getting them all (because being a 27 year-old guy with no kids wasn’t enough) was the fact that I didn’t think Mikey existed. Well, he does, and even better, you can get each Turtle on Walmart’s website for less than $18 each. Yup, Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and Raph.

You’re welcome.

I’ll make sure to post some ridiculous pictures of me snuggling with my cuddly Ninja Turtles as soon as the other three get here.