Last November we got our very FIRST LOOK at Johnny Depp in full make-up and costume as The Mad Hatter in Tim Burton‘s new film, Alice in Wonderland. Today, we get to see a whole slew of new promo photos from the upcoming Disney film including finished character art of Depp as The Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen and Matt Lucas as Tweedledee & Tweedledum. First up, tho, check out these very cool-looking promo pics from the film of Wonderland itself:

Burton gave us a grief-wracked demon barber in 2007′s Sweeney Todd and oodles of Oompa Loompas in 2005′s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Now one of Hollywood’s most visually creative directors layers his own surreal sensibilities upon the fanciful world of Lewis Carroll in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, due in theaters on March 5, 2010. This first look at some of the concept art for the film suggests there is the usual Burton dark magic afoot.

Yes, yes … these images are really beautiful and hint at a more sinister Wonderland than we may be accustomed to … but it is the character art that really gives you a good feel for the tone of the film. After the jump, check out the amazing promo images of The Mad Hatter, The Red Queen, The White Queen and The Tweedles …

Last week we learned that Lauren LC Conrad would be making a guest appearance on the animated TV series Family Guy and today we get our first look at LC in action on the show:

The preview clip doesn’t specify how but LC ends up in bed with Brian the dog … which is, I suppose, from whence comes the hilarity. After the jump, check out the short vid clip in full …

Johnny Depp, who is drawn to look a helluva lot like Matthew McConaughey, will be guest starring on tomorrow night’s ep of Spongebob Squarepants and today we get our first look at his animated appearance. The episode is titled Spongebob vs. The Big One and here are a few screencaps from a short preview of the ep:

Earlier this month we learned that Victoria Beckham herself would be lending her voice for an upcoming guest appearance on Spongebob but it looks like Johnny Depp has beaten her to the punch. While we do not know when Vicki B‘s ep will air we know that Depp‘s ep will air tomorrow night (check your local listings). For those of you who just can’t wait, tho, I have a short video preview of the ep to share. After the jump, check out a 6-minute preview clip from Spongebob vs. The Big One featuring guest star Johnny Depp …

People magazine brings us our first look at Lauren LC Conrad as her animated self as she will appear on an upcoming episode of Family Guy. According to Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, LC dates Brian the dog for an episode … but that is all he is willing to divulge just yet about the episode plotline:

Lauren Conrad has had her share of romantic escapades on her various MTV series – but now her love life is going to the dogs. In the May 3 episode of FOX’s hit comedy Family Guy, an animated Conrad gets tangled in a romantic web of Brian the dog’s making. PEOPLE.com has a first look at Conrad’s character posing with Brian and Stewie in a take on an iconic Hills shot of Conrad, Audrina Patridge and Lauren “Lo” Bosworth. “She dates Brian for an episode,” show creator Seth MacFarlane tells PEOPLE of Conrad’s guest-voice stint, where Brian goes out with her to disguise the true object of his affection. When asked if it ends happily or badly for the pair, MacFarlane says, “I’m not going to spoil it!”

Ha! You gotta love that LC decided to lend her voice to this ep of Family Guy. Because she is cooperating, I doubt that they will lampoon her too harshly … tho, I’m sure the same cannot be said for her Hills cohorts/foils Heidi Montage and Spencer Pratt. Also, you will note that Audrina was replaced in the photo above with Brian, the dog. See, the jokes just write themselves. What do y’all think … will LC be a welcome addition to the show or not?

[Source]

Earlier this month we learned that the famed animated family The Simpsons would be making their way to a $0.44 postage stamp near you and today we get our first look at what Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Marge Simpson will look like on their new stamps … behold:

“Simpsons” fans can get the first peek at stamps featuring Homer, Marge & Co. — and vote for their favorite — when the U.S. Postal Service unveils the designs Thursday morning. The stamps will be available nationwide on May 7. “This is the biggest and most adhesive honor ‘The Simpsons’ has ever received,” said creator and executive producer Matt Groening. Executive producer James Brooks quipped, “We are emotionally moved by the Post Office Department’s selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society.” The Postal Service is encouraging people to vote for their favorite “Simpsons” character on its Web site (http://www.usps.com). Fans also can preorder the 44-cent first-class stamps on the site and register for a sweepstakes for a limited-edition “Simpsons” poster signed by Groening. Elie Dekel, executive vice president at 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising, said the previously announced stamps are a key part of the show’s 20th anniversary celebration. “‘The Simpsons’ is more than just a television show, it’s an American institution,” he said. “These stamps help solidify this legacy.” David Failor, U.S. Postal Service executive director of stamp services, also predicted a benefit for his organization. “Issuing ‘The Simpsons’ stamps, which includes known philatelist Bart Simpson, will serve as a great opportunity to interest youngsters in stamp collecting.”

It’s not every day that I get excited about a new postage stamp … well, OK, there is never a day that I get excited about a postage stamp … but I do think it’s kinda cool that The Simpsons have each been honored with their own stamp. There is a requirement in this country that says that only deceased people and animated characters can be featured on postage stamps … happily, The Simpsons fall into the second category. In an age where snail mail is becoming less and less important, I think it’s very wise of the US Postal Service to do fun things like this in order to get people to buy stamps. After the jump, check out how the rest of The Simpson family will look on their own stamps …

In January, we got our latest look at the protagonist heroine of Disney‘s new animated feature The Princess and the Frog which, as you all should know by now, is Disney‘s first Black princess. Today, we get our first look at her prince in the movie … he’s the guy that she saves (a la Belle in Beauty and the Beast) in the upcoming animated feature:

While some short-sighted people may take issue with Princess Tiana and her handsome Prince Naveen, I absolutely applaud Disney‘s decision to pair these two characters together in a romantic relationship. After the jump, check out what Prince Naveen looks like, er, when he’s not a frog …

Back in January 2007, the Walt Disney company released the first photos from their Year of a Million Wishes campaign which featured celebrities portraying classic characters from Disney animated films in new photos shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. As you may recall, David Beckham was photographed as Prince Phillip from Disney‘s Sleeping Beauty, Scarlett Johansson was photographed as Cinderella and Beyoncé was photographed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Then in January of 2008, Disney released a whole batch of new photos from the campaign which featured celebs like Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony (who portrayed Princess Jasmine & Aladdin), Whoopi Goldberg (as Aladdin‘s Genie), Jessica Biel (as Pocahontas) and more. Later that same year, a new photo that featured Julianne Moore as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Michael Phelps as a merman was released. Today, we get to see the latest photo from this Disney campaign … behold, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens as Prince Phillip (the very same character Becks portrayed in the first batch of photos) and Princess Aurora/Briar-Rose from Disney‘s Sleeping Beauty:

While the pose is pretty cheesy (most likely because it’s got Zac Efron in it), the photo is beautiful. Leibovitz is such an amazing photographer, her photos are very, very cool. I suppose I get why Disney would select Zanessa to portray these characters but I’m actually surprised they’ve decided to milk the Sleeping Beauty movie for another photo when there are so many other films that have yet to be featured. Snow White?* Mulan? Mowgli from Jungle Book? I am happy to know that the campaign is still ongoing, especially since Disney‘s Year of a Million Dreams is long over. I wonder if we’ll be seeing more photos soon from the campaign? I guess we shall see.

*Pink reader Starkie reminds me that Rachel Weisz did portray Snow White in a photo of her own. Thanks!

[Source]

Billy Crudup sat down for an interview with Parade.com to talk about his role as Dr. Manhattan in the new live-action movie adaptation of the wildly successful graphic novel Watchmen. Fans of the graphic novel know that Dr. Manhattan, a superhero made entirely of energy, feels no compulsion to wear any clothing whatsoever and, therefore, is completely nekkid in much of the graphic novel. As a result, Crudup‘s animated version of Dr. Manhattan will also appear in the nude in the movie which opens this Friday. Here is a preview screencap (censored of course) of Dr. Manhattan as he will appear in the new film:

After the jump, check out the NSFW uncensored full-frontal version of his photo along with an illustration from the original Watchmen graphic novel (for comparison) as well as portions from Crudup‘s interview with Parade.com …

Things got a little steamy for The Simpsons matriarch Marge Simpson on last night’s episode of the series when she was seen enjoying a very passionate same-sex kiss with one of her female friends (the recurring character named Lindsay Neagle or “The Generic Female TV Executive”). It turns out that the Sapphic smooch was nothing more than the work of husband Homer Simpson‘s over-active (and extremely hilarious) imagination:

MARGE Simpson cast off her conservative image when she KISSED a hot pal in last night’s Simpsons. The blue-bouffanted matriach, voiced by Julie Kavner, plants a smacker on her attractive pal in the living room of her family home in Springfield while husband Homer looks on. But all is not what it seems – it transpires that the smooch is a figment of beer-swigging hubby Homer’s imagination. The lardy mid-lifer had been panicking about the disasters that could befall his family after his insurance expires but soon started day-dreaming about his wife locking lips with another woman. The episode – How The Test Was Won – aired in America last night … The show has been broaching lesbianism more over the last few years and revealed in 2005 that Marge’s disapproving older sister Patty was a closet lesbian, who consequently gets engaged to a female golf player Veronica.

Yay! I love that Marge is finally gettin’ in on the same-sex lovin’ … even if it is only in Homer’s imagination. After the jump, check out a pic of the animated ladies lip-locked in their passionate embrace …

Last night’s new episode of The Simpsons was the series’ first ep that aired in high definition … but much more importantly, debuted a new main title opening sequence — the first in the show’s 19 year history:

“The Simpsons” is finally going HD—and, in what some fans might consider an even bigger development, getting a new opening title sequence as well … The network actually made a low-key announcement of the news late last month, casually mentioning the developments as part of its episodic listings of various shows. According to Fox, Sunday’s “Simpsons”—entitled “Take My Life, Please”—will include the first full, permanent revamp of the show’s opening titles since its premiere in 1989. The last few seconds of the title sequence have long featured a different weekly “couch gag.” Fox also airs both a full-length and an abbreviated version of the credits. While “The Simpsons” has never aired in high-def, Sunday’s episode won’t be the first time fans of the show have been able to see Homer and Co. in their full digital splendor on television. HBO aired “The Simpsons Movie” in HD last year. While most live-action scripted network shows now air in HD, animation hasn’t been as quick to make the leap, although that’s starting to change. The producers of “South Park” recently announced their Comedy Central series would go HD starting with its 13th season, which bows March 11.

Longtime fans of the series are prolly very familiar with the opening title sequence that takes the viewer thru a quick trip around Springfield … this newly revamped sequence makes a lot of additions and amendments that are sure to breathe new life into the time-honored traditional opening (every single scene in the traditional opening has been amended in some way). In case you missed it, you can watch it right here. After the jump, check out the new main title opening sequence of The Simpsons …