TVSquad

Here's some animation news from the last few days:

First, both Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake are coming back to television as part of a new Saturday morning animation block on CBS called KEWLopolis. Care Bears: Adventures in Care-A-Lot and Strawberry Shortcake join brand new series Sushi Pack and Dino Squad. Returning shows include Cake, Horseland, Sabrina and Trollz.

Tom Ruegger and Nicholas Hollander (Tiny Toons, Animaniacs) are behind Sushi Pack, about a gang of crime-fighting sushi. The characters are vaguely fish-like, which is odd since "sushi" refers to rice, and not fish. I guess animated rice isn't that interesting.

Dino Squad is about a group of teenagers who can change into dinosaurs; they battle an evil velociraptor trying to accelerate global warming. The KEWLopolis block kicks off September 15.

Do you love The Simpsons and bluegrass music? Then check this out. The album is called "Four Fingered Music, the Bluegrass Tribute to the Music Made Famous by the Simpsons." I think it's a clever idea, though the two elements of Simpsons lyrics and bluegrass music don't quite meld together in my mind. Thanks to the Simpsons Channel.

Frisky Dingo begins its second season tonight at midnight on Adult Swim. Read an interview with creators Matt Thompson and Adam Reed here.

A computer-animated Astro Boy movie is slated for 2009 (old news, I know). They must be serious, because they're already making a line of toys to coincide with the movie.