The Child, an adorable creature introduced in the Disney+ exclusive series The Mandalorian, ended up being one of Star Wars‘ best kept secrets throughout the filming and advertising phase of the new show. And what a wonderful surprise it was to meet this character in the final moments of the first episode. But the secrecy around The Child also meant that toy manufacturers were mostly left in the dark about what was destined to be one of the single most coveted lines of Star Wars merchandise of all time — spoil the show, you shall not!
Despite the fact that Baby Yoda toys won’t be ready in time for a Christmas morning surprise, it has been exciting waiting each week for a new toy reveal as various companies present their tiny green product offering pre-orders. Funko and Mattel each have their own toys slated to arrive in Spring 2020.
Hasbro, a popular manufacturer of Star Wars items, has now stepped up with not one but four different toys!
First up is The Bounty Collection, which features three different sets of 2.2-inch figurines. Pre-order now on Amazon for $15.99 USD per pack. Available May 25, 2020.
Courtesy of Hasbro/Lucasfilm/Disney.
Next is a 6.5-inch posable figure, which has multiple points of articulation. Pre-order now on Amazon for $19.99 USD. Available May 11, 2020.
Courtesy of Hasbro/Lucasfilm/Disney.
This next one is a must-buy, as it’s a 7.5-inch talking plush toy that comes with a frog and Baby Yoda’s soup bowl. Pre-order now on Amazon for $24.99 USD. Available May 18, 2020.
Courtesy of Hasbro/Lucasfilm/Disney.
And finally, Baby Yoda will be joining Hasbro’s legendary Star Wars The Black Series action figure collection with a miniature 1.1-inch figure. Though small, this toy has multiple points of articulation and includes not one but three accessories: a frog, the soup bowl, and the knob from the Mandalorian’s ship. Pre-order now on Amazon for $9.99 USD. Available May 4, 2020.
Courtesy of Hasbro/Lucasfilm/Disney.
In the meantime, catch Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian today, exclusively on Disney+. And don’t forget, Chapter 7 will air early on Wednesday, December 18 next week alongside a sneak peek at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!
Opening a new fandom and geeky style bakery and café located in Toronto’s West Queen West neighborhood is The Grand Order of Divine Sweets (The GOoDS). They will be opening their doors on Thursday, December 12, and will hold their grand opening event on Saturday, December 14, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1162 Queen Street W. in Toronto.
The bakery is co-owned by Samantha Lapointe, an award-winning cake designer, and chocolatier and former owner of renowned Cakes Cove. And Meridith Braun, a 20-year video game industry veteran who recently built a global community of close to 50 million players around hit video game Warframe. They created The GOoDS to make fandom inspired delicacy’s using ethically sourced ingredients and working with local brands.
On their website, they have a Code of Honor that is sure to fill our fandom hearts with joy.
“We know the cookies are ever in our flavor,
We believe in magic, adventures, and
Love is Love is Love.
We know the answer to everything is 42.
And, if not then it’s chocolate.
We believe you are you, that is truer than true,
And there’s no one alive who is you-er than you!
We mix everything with love and make the world taste good.
Join us in our quest to make the world a little sweeter one geek treat at a time.
May the fork be with you, live long and eat cake.”
The bakery and café are going to offer cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and fine chocolates. Patrons will find chocolate bars, truffles, Star Trek, chocolate shoes, cupcakes, cookies, dice muffins, galaxy truffles, Tardis chocolate, chocolate Pokémon balls, Star Wars-themed desserts, wearable suits of chocolate armor, and various coffee, tea, and other beverages.
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About the bakery, co-owner Meridith Braun said:
“Who doesn’t want to eat a sweet fashioned after their favorite fandom? Fans are passionate about what they love and want to make their fandoms part of their everyday lives in fun, interesting ways. As fellow geeks, Sam and I want to answer that demand by offering creative, delicious treats in a quirky, cozy environment to help everyone feed their fandoms.”
During the grand opening, there will be samples of cake and beverages, Stormtroopers, and sure to be many guests geeking out to the fandom treats, but wait, there’s more! December 12-15 is the 12 Days of GEEKmas. One baby Yoda in an Uneti Tree, see the breathtaking baby Yoda cake and enter to win a custom cake worth $2000 on December 12. Three Stormtroopers Trooping, cosplay Stormtroopers and a chance to win Star Wars, themed chocolate prize package on December 14. Four Geeky Chocolates, fandom chocolate of a Luna Ball, Harley Quinn Shoe, Millennium Falcon, and more.
Fulfill your chocolate craving and fandom side by going to the grand opening of The Grand Order of Divine Sweets on Saturday, December 14, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1162 Queen Street W. in Toronto, Ontario. For more information, to place an order and see the incredible designs, you can visit their website thegoodsweets.com.
With the amazing midseason finale featuring some very special and missed appearances now behind us, we have five long weeks before the ninth episode of season 15 airs on January 16, 2020.
The midseason finale showed the return of not only Adam Milligan, played by Jake Abel, but also Rowena! Jake was amazing in his performance as both Adam and the archangel Michael, and we can only hope to see more of that in the episodes to come.
From the preview for episode nine, “The Trap”, we can only assume the second half of Supernatural‘s final season is going to be a bumpy ride. You can check out the promo for the next episode below!
Let us know in the comments what your thoughts and predictions are for “The Trap”, airing January 16, 2020 at 8/9c on The CW.
For the month of December, Nerds and Beyond staff will be revealing favorite holiday movies to get into the Christmas spirit. One of my all-time favorites has to be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Not the classic animated one, which I love, and not the newer one, which I haven’t even seen yet. My favorite is definitely Jim Carrey’s 2000 take on the Grinch.
Courtesy of Classic Trailers
I grew up watching the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon and the live-action Jim Carrey version. Jim Carrey plays the Grinch incredibly well. From his one-liners like mocking Cindy Lou Who after meeting her, saying “The, the, the, the, the Grinch!” to actually getting to know Cindy and going to the Holiday Whobilation (although it doesn’t turn out quite as planned.) This character starts out as a villain, only to be completely warmed by everyone and everything in the end. Since I’m sure most people by now are familiar with Dr. Seuss’ classic Christmas story, I’ll give a very brief description and then go on to actually explain why this should be a traditional holiday movie for families everywhere.
The small, tight-knit town known as Whoville is getting ready to celebrate their favorite holiday: Christmas. Any mention of the Grinch makes everyone freak out. Cindy Lou Who, played by a young Taylor Momsen, is with her father Lou Lou Who (Bill Irwin) at his job, the Whoville Post Office. The Grinch and his dog, Max, sneak into Whoville just to mess things up a little bit. They go to the post office, and the Grinch messes with letters, putting them in different mail slots. Lou gives his daughter some letters and tells her to go into one of the rooms but to watch out for the conveyor belt. The Grinch happens to be in the same room, and he is still caught after hiding on the ceiling when Cindy Lou comes in. “You’re the the…” “the the the the Grinch!” They both scream, and Cindy Lou falls onto the conveyer belt, which has presents being pressed by a huge label machine that is definitely not safe by any means. Cindy Lou screams for help, and the Grinch is about to leave when Max keeps chewing on his clothes, stopping him. The Grinch reluctantly saves Cindy Lou, and when she thanks him, he wraps her up like a Christmas present.
Taylor Momsen and Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Cindy Lou starts going around Whoville, asking Mayor Augustus May Who (Jeffrey Tambor), Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski), Whobris (Clint Howard), and the two women who cared for the Grinch growing up who the Grinch is and why he hates Christmas.
Meanwhile, the Grinch stays far from Whoville, only needing Max to keep him company. Cindy Lou convinces Whoville to elect the Grinch as Holiday Cheermeister, saying he’s the Who who needs Christmas cheer the most. “But the Book of Who says this too: ‘No matter how different a Who may appear, he will always be welcome with holiday cheer.'” When Cindy Lou tells the Grinch he’s going to be Holiday Cheermeister, he contemplates for a long while but ultimately decides to go to the Whobilation.
The Whobilation is all fun and games until presents are passed around, and Mayor May Who gives the Grinch a gift that reminds him of his not-so-fun school days and ruins the festivities. The Grinch, deciding that all of Whoville must pay, dresses up as St. Nick (during which a great rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” plays in the background) and makes Max an unofficial reindeer and steals Christmas from Whoville. When The Grinch, or “Santa,” gets to Cindy Lou Who’s house, Cindy Lou wakes up and meets him downstairs. The Grinch makes up a story that one of the lights on the tree went out, so he’s taking the tree up to his workshop to fix it and is bringing it back down when he does.
When Whoville wakes up on Christmas morning, they see all of their decorations, hams, trees, and everything else is gone. They gather around to where the huge tree in Whoville used to be. The Grinch watches as the Whos sing and hold hands. Seeing them get together and spread Christmas cheer, despite not having any presents, decorations, trees, or anything of the like, makes the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes. He decides to return everything. Cindy Lou Who finds him and is on the top of his sleigh, which almost falls off a mountain. The Grinch saves her, and they go down the mountain on the sleigh and arrive in Whoville. The Grinch apologizes, and he’s forgiven. They all stand around the giant tree, singing. They have their Christmas feast with Christmas ham, and all is right.
Jim Carrey and Taylor Momsen in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas can make anyone laugh at scenes like the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who’s first meet or the “light fight” between Betty Lou Who (Molly Shannon) and Martha May Whovier. And before Baby Yoda and Baby Groot, there was Baby Grinch. The lovable Grinch ate a Santa plate when he was just a baby, even then showing his distaste for the jolly guy before he had a hatred for the holiday. “Santa, bye-bye!” The flashbacks to the Grinch in grade school, when he was crushing on Martha and made her a gift, but his class was laughing at him because his shaving job did not do his face justice, makes you feel sorry for him. It shows why and how he started hating Christmas at such a young age. Any scene with the Grinch and Max makes you see that the Grinch at least cares a little bit about someone.
If you had watched this movie for the first time, not knowing who was in it, you probably couldn’t even tell that Jim Carrey was the Grinch. But once you do know, it’s hard not to hear how he makes it his own version: the laugh, the smile, the jokes. If you know Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless or even Gossip Girl, it’s hard to picture her as anything or anyone but. Many people forgot or didn’t know that little Jenny Humphrey from the Upper East Side was little Cindy Lou Who.
This movie is also visually stunning, despite it being released at the beginning of the new millennium. The snowflake at the beginning and end of the film, the entire shot of Whoville, the mountain. It also shows that just because someone may “hate” something doesn’t mean they actually hate it. Only one bad memory of something could completely change their perspective, and they just need a reminder of why it brings people joy. And the movie shows that people can change, even if it initially seems hopeless.
Taylor Momsen and Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
I try to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year around the holidays. It’s one of my absolute favorite Christmas movies, and it’s an all-around good film to watch with the family. This movie, as well as 2018’s animated The Grinch, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, are both available to stream on Netflix if you want to get into the holiday spirit.
Happy Holidays! Your most desired wish has been granted — The Don’t Ask Us Band (not an official name) comprised of soulful singer Briana Buckmaster and Master Serpent of the Guitar (and also vocals) Billy Moran have released a hauntingly enchanting cover of a ballad Supernatural fans may recognize, “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas.
Fans will be excited to finally have a song from Briana and Billy to listen to whenever their hearts desire after these two have been teasing a professional collaboration since the PBJ Tour in July, playing this very song at a few of the locations. We can only hope this a start to something more from these two talented musicians.
Harries, rejoice! Harry Styles’ second studio album, Fine Line, is officially available to stream.
The highly anticipated album, which is all about having sex and feeling sad, is available to stream on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer. The album is also available to purchase as a standard CD and deluxe CD as well as a Vinyl. The album features previously released singles such as “Lights Up”; the first hit off the album that became part of a trilogy that also includes, “Watermelon Sugar” and “Adore You”.
Styles also released merchandise to coincide with the release of the album, showcasing vintage promo t-shirts and a poster.
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Nerds and Beyond will be doing a track-by-track review of the album. Check back to find out what our fellow staff thought about the album!
Wizard World has announced a huge line up of guests that include actors from Smallville, Outlander, and The Princess Bride for the 10th annual convention in New Orleans!
The Smallville line up includes Tom Welling (Clark Kent), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), Kristen Kreuk (Lana Lang), Erica Durance (Lois Lane), and John Glover (Lionel Luthor). Welling and Glover will attend the convention all three days while Rosenbaum, Kruek, and Durance will be there both Saturday and Sunday.
Image Courtesy Wizard World.
Fans of the Scottish Starz drama Outlander will get to see James Fraser himself, Sam Heughan, along with Ed Speleers (Stephen Bonnet), John Bell (Young Ian), and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Jocasta Cameron). Heughan will attend Saturday while all other cast members will appear Saturday and Sunday.
The Princess Bride stars Cary Elwes (Westley) and Wallace Shawn (Vizzini) are also among the celebrities scheduled to attend both Saturday and Sunday.
A stellar cast of voice actors from “X-Men: The Animated Series” will also be on hand, including Chris Potter, Larry Houston, Cal Dodd, George Buza, Lenore Zann, and Chris Britton, all three days, as well as Thomas Ian Nicholas (Rookie of the Year, American Pie).
The first event scheduled on the 2020 Wizard World calendar, New Orleans show hours are Friday, January 3, 4-9 p.m.; Saturday, January 4, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, January 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Admittance for kids 10 and under are free with a paid adult. Visit the Wizard World site for more on the 2020 New Orleans con!
The 10th annual Wizard World New Orleans is set for January 3-5, 2020 at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Continuing to work together, GKIDS and Fathom Events are bringing the movie Weathering With You to Cineplex theatres across Canada.
Image courtesy of Cineplex
On January 15 and 16, there will be a special fan preview screening before the theatrical release on January 17. The anime movie is the latest from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, who also worked together on the film Your Name.
Daren Miller, VP of Programming, Business Affairs & Strategy, Fathom Events had this to say about the event:
“What makes our events unique and special is the ability to provide audiences with an exclusive first look at these highly-anticipated films, behind-the-scenes content, animated shorts, and more.”
During the summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his home on the remote island and goes to Tokyo. While there, he discovers how hard it is to live there personally and financially. Hodaka finally finds work writing for a mysterious occult magazine and meets Hina, a bright and strong-willed girl. But there is something different about her. She has powers. Hina has the ability to stop the rain that seems to happen every day and clear the sky.
So far, Weathering With You has been very well received. It is Japan’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Film at the 92nd Academy Awards and had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
For more information, showtimes, and tickets, you can visit the Cineplex website. While you are there, you can also sign up for their monthly newsletter that will email previews, interviews, contests, and more.
With just a week to go until the premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, bits, and pieces of new clips from the film, behind-the-scenes footage, and cast and crew interviews have been running rampant left and right. The Star Wars fandom is truly a rush of energy, excitement, and anticipation in these final days leading up to Episode IX.
In addition to the exclusive Amazon Special Look video that was revealed earlier today, Lucasfilm has shared a haunting Kylo Ren-centric clip.
Check out the footage below.
Though we have long since known that Palpatine would be playing a part in the film, his role has been mostly kept under wraps outside of vague references to his presence in trailers and marketing. Now, a widely speculated theory seems to have finally been confirmed — Palpatine may have had a hand in the fall of Ben Solo and the rise of Kylo Ren.
What other questions will The Rise of Skywalker answer? Is Kylo Ren the true villain of this story, or will Ben Solo find some sort of redemption?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will officially hit theaters worldwide on December 20, and is set to premiere in select countries December 18-19.
The officially licensed mobile game Attack on Titans TACTICS is holding an in-game event and special in-game awards.
This holiday season, players will have the chance to see characters such as Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlelt, and Annie Leonhart, from Attack on Titan join in the festive season. It begins on December 10 and goes until December 24, 11:59 p.m. PT.
Beginning December 10, there will be holiday versions of the characters Eren Jaeger and Annie Leonhart. There is also the Fanciful Story Event – Holy Night’s Battle, which is an original story that is set in the time when Eren was in the 104th Cadet Corps. Everyone is tired from training and is excited and looking forward to celebrating and holding a festival for the holidays. Armin leaves and goes beyond the Walls to find the particular tree that they need. Players can complete event stages for rewards that can be used to add the Eve of Formal Dress version of Armin.
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll
The game is based on the popular anime series, Attack on Titan. It is a strategy game that has players build and deploy their team of Scouts to defend and fight on their base’s behalf from the Titans attacks. The game is free-to-start with in-app purchases and is available in the US, Canada, and Australia. Players can download the Attack on Titans TACTICS game on Google Play and the App Store.
For more information and news on the game, you can visit the games website or one of their social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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