ANIMATION GEEK: George Takei Narrates the Brilliant Animated Short 'The Missing Scarf'

September 29, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Thanks For The Nightmares Nature: Watch A Giant Red Leech Slurp Down An Earthworm Like Spaghetti

≪ Previous: MUSIC VIDEO MONDAY: My United States of Whatever- Liam Lynch

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This is a story about loss, finding yourself in spite of failure and a bunch of forest-dwelling animals dealing with some deep shit. If you are interested in a philosophical discussion that deals with dark material wrapped up in an ultra-cute animated style, then you will most likely enjoy The Missing Scarf by Eoin Duffy (although you may feel a bit depressed about it afterward).

While the short may bring up some existential questions for you to ponder, the deeply heavy storyline gets wonderfully softened by the delicious George Takei, which is nice, considering that it's hard to fall into a manic episode when Hikaru Sulu is there holding your metaphorical hand.

Animation after the break.

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Thanks For The Nightmares Nature: Watch A Giant Red Leech Slurp Down An Earthworm Like Spaghetti

September 29, 2014, 1:00 pm

≫ Next: Best 'Doctor Who' Books, Tracking Your Reading, Abrams Takes on The King & More!

≪ Previous: ANIMATION GEEK: George Takei Narrates the Brilliant Animated Short 'The Missing Scarf'

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File this under: OHMYFUCKINGGOD!

In what will likely be nightmare fuel for the rest of my life, the BBC has decided to release footage of a giant red leech SUCKING down a huge earthworm. While that may not seem like a big deal, you are wrong, and, after watching this short yet incredibly horrifying footage, you too will be ruined emotionally.

I would tell you to prepare yourself but there really isn't anything that you can do, so please, down a few Xanax with a glass of wine and then watch nature do what it does best...make you stay inside.

Video after the break.

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Best 'Doctor Who' Books, Tracking Your Reading, Abrams Takes on The King & More!

September 29, 2014, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: CHELL OUT: Cosplaying 'Portal'

≪ Previous: Thanks For The Nightmares Nature: Watch A Giant Red Leech Slurp Down An Earthworm Like Spaghetti

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How I Track My Reading
One reader's impressive and somewhat scary spreadsheet to track her intensive reading.

Genre Kryptonite
Is a time travel story your weakness when deciding what to read?

Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey
Not getting enough Doctor Who? Here's a great list of Doctor Who-related books.

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CHELL OUT: Cosplaying 'Portal'

September 29, 2014, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: AMC, SundanceTV, El Rey Network and Travel Channel Announce Halloween Programming!

≪ Previous: Best 'Doctor Who' Books, Tracking Your Reading, Abrams Takes on The King & More!

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I have a small confession to make.

It appears that I might not be the gamer geek that perhaps you hoped I’d be. And for this I apologize.

In my defense I didn’t realize that for years I had been overlooking quite an important game in terms of development, design, and cult popularity. I am only one woman with only so many hours of available gaming time in my life.

But earlier this month I was forcibly introduced to the game that I had heard of the many years ago that it appeared, and had since read about here and there but never made the effort to play. 

My boyfriend is a huge fan of the Portalseries (not to be confused with the 1986 interactive novel Portal made for the Amiga.) The first time I went over to his place I noticed his “Aperture Science” shower curtain and made this connection, but didn’t really think much of it.

Honestly, I just thought it was a strange household item to have as a piece of gaming memorabilia and I never really brought it up. This past month I have educated myself however and am now a fully-fledged Portal fan.

CLICK TO PLAY

I now understand that the shower curtain is really a very cool addition to a bathroom indeed and I regret not bringing it up with him sooner.

In my quest to find out more about my new current favorite game, I inevitably ended up exploring many a cosplay related avenue and was really impressed with my findings.

In fact, it’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.

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AMC, SundanceTV, El Rey Network and Travel Channel Announce Halloween Programming!

September 29, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: SHAWSHANK REDRUNKTION: Man Digs Tunnel From His Bedroom To A Pub Because That's What Sane People Do

≪ Previous: CHELL OUT: Cosplaying 'Portal'

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One of the best things about television programming in October is that there's usually some great specials and even better marathons to celebrate Halloween.  Check out the offerings from AMC, SundanceTV, El Rey Network and Travel Channel.

Plus, the Season 5 premiere of The Walking Dead, Sun., Oct. 12th at 9/8c.  Check out the schedules after the jump and let us know in the comments what your perfect Halloween marathon would be.

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SHAWSHANK REDRUNKTION: Man Digs Tunnel From His Bedroom To A Pub Because That's What Sane People Do

September 30, 2014, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Holy SH*T There's A Pizza Cake

≪ Previous: AMC, SundanceTV, El Rey Network and Travel Channel Announce Halloween Programming!

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Patsy Kerr of Omagh, Ireland is a problem solver. Married to a wife who is a heavy snorer, Kerr decided that the best course of action to relieve himself of the noise was to dig a tunnel from under their bed to a nearby pub (which was about 800 ft from his house) while she was in a deep sleep. The task took him nearly fifteen years to accomplish and while that alone should be worth some points for perseverance, Kerr unfortunately found himself in court after it became apparent that he was the cause of a collapsed sewage pipe in his neighbor's house.

At his court appearance Kerr explained his reasoning:

The wife has a bad snore on her and after watching the Shawshank Redemption on RTE one night in 1994, I decided to do something about it so I waited til she was in a deep sleep and then set about digging a hole under the bed in the direction of the pub. I used all manner of tools from spoons to a heavy duty tunnel boring machine I managed to sneak down there when she was at the shops.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I hit the jackpot and came up through the women’s toilet mop and bucket room. To be honest I was sort of glad I was caught. She was always smelling drink off me in the morning and I was explaining it away as a natural odour. But recently I was finding myself singing rebel songs and stuff coming back up the tunnel and it was only a matter of time before I was caught anyhow. The landlord was also wondering how I was just appearing out of nowhere at the same time every night and disappearing from the women’s toilets.

You have to appreciate the bloke's honesty.

But the best revelation of this story is not the fact that Patsy Kerr managed to complete this task without his wife ever knowing about it, it was her response to the judge when asked how she did not smell poo on her husband from the leaking sewage pipe (that was apparently struck while he was digging and slowly leaked into the tunnel for over five years before collapsing).

She just shrugged.

Awesome.

Source: Tyrone Tribulations

Holy SH*T There's A Pizza Cake

September 30, 2014, 9:00 am

≫ Next: The 'Hermione Mix': A Musical Reminder That It's Still Possible To Get Your Harry Potter Fix

≪ Previous: SHAWSHANK REDRUNKTION: Man Digs Tunnel From His Bedroom To A Pub Because That's What Sane People Do

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Like a delicious Transformer, pizza has metamorphosed into a beautiful four layer "cake" filled with glorious dough, cheese and peperoni that will make any emotional over-eater sob with misplaced happiness.

And, like the wonderful God of Food that pizza is, this marvel of invention is relatively easy to make at home so that you can wow your family, friends or cats with you bad ass cooking skills. All you need is a cake pan (Preferably it should be tall with a removable bottom but any size will work, just adjust the recipe). One or two boxes of refrigerated pizza dough, and your favorite fixings...that's it, well and some dough cutting skills might help.

For the How-To click HERE and get ready to enjoy shame eating in an entirely new way.

God, I want a slice right now.

Source: Neatorama

 

The 'Hermione Mix': A Musical Reminder That It's Still Possible To Get Your Harry Potter Fix

September 30, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: The FORCE of Reading, STAR WARS READS DAY Strikes Back on October 11th

≪ Previous: Holy SH*T There's A Pizza Cake

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For Harry Potter fans (and I am one of them) the internet has tethered us to the magical world of Wizardry through Rowling's recently released short stories, glorious video mash-ups and your general pornographic fan-fic which is mainly about Harry and Malfoy getting it on. Thankfully, this remix by Pogo and Jeesh entitled Hermione Mix, forgoes the porno aspect and instead celebrates the brainy nerd girl who grew up to be one hot Ginger-lover.

So let's rejoice for another HP string to hold onto...Oh Harry Potter, I wish I could quit you.

Video after the break.

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The FORCE of Reading, STAR WARS READS DAY Strikes Back on October 11th

September 30, 2014, 11:16 am

≫ Next: GOTHAM: S01E02 "Selina Kyle" (review)

≪ Previous: The 'Hermione Mix': A Musical Reminder That It's Still Possible To Get Your Harry Potter Fix

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Franchise Events Will Include Star Wars Rebels for the First Time

From the youngest Stormtrooper to the wisest Jedi, this October 11th, artists, authors, educators, librarians, book retailers, and readers will join forces to celebrate the global phenomenon of Star Wars Reads Day!

Celebrating a love of literacy and all-things Star Wars, Disney Lucasfilm Press, along with its publishing partners: Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Klutz, Quirk Books, Random House Audio, Scholastic, and Workman Publishing, will join forces with fans, authors, and artists to celebrate the third annual Star Wars Reads Day. Last year, authors and costumed volunteers participated in over 2,000Star Wars Reads Day events across North America, but, for the first time, this year’s festivities will include Star WarsRebels!

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GOTHAM: S01E02 "Selina Kyle" (review)

September 30, 2014, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: The Inspiration for Peter Gabriel's “Shock the Monkey” Video

≪ Previous: The FORCE of Reading, STAR WARS READS DAY Strikes Back on October 11th

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No show should be judged on the pilot alone. The pilot’s job is to set the tone, introduce characters and hopefully establish the show’s premise. But a show can and should be judged by the second episode because who has time to invest in a show beyond that if it can’t hook you by then.

The episode’s main plot involves homeless kids being abducted throughout the streets of Gotham. This is a scenario I could easily see happening in Gotham, and no doubt has before (An episode of Batman: The Animated Series, “The Underdwellers” comes to mind). It’s a simple enough case for the GCPD to handle, that’s not beneath them but also wouldn’t require a caped crusader to step in.

But was it worth tuning in for? Let’s examine.


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The Inspiration for Peter Gabriel's “Shock the Monkey” Video

September 30, 2014, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: Boston Cinegeeks! Wanna Win Tickets to See THE JUDGE?

≪ Previous: GOTHAM: S01E02 "Selina Kyle" (review)

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Hard to believe that the same man who directed Whitney Houston's poppy, upbeat video for “How Will I Know,” Donna Summer working hard for the money and Olivia Newton-John urging us to get “Physical,” also gave us the dark, disturbing video for Peter Gabriel's “Shock the Monkey.”

Brian Grant, who went on to direct TV episodes of “Doctor Who,” “Hex,” and the 1995 action film “The Immortals,” recently did an interview on the Old School blog, where he discussed the inspirations for the video and why it's still the one he's proudest of.

“Shock the Monkey” was the first song from Peter Gabriel that charted in the U.S. Top 40, and that's largely thanks to this unforgettable video. You might be more familiar with Gabriel's later whimsical videos like “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time,” but I've always preferred “Shock the Monkey,” which plays more like a late-night horror film than an advertisement for a new song.

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Boston Cinegeeks! Wanna Win Tickets to See THE JUDGE?

September 30, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: Villains in Fact and Fiction

≪ Previous: The Inspiration for Peter Gabriel's “Shock the Monkey” Video

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From Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures comes “The Judge,” which pairs two-time Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. (“Chaplin,” “Tropic Thunder”) and Oscar winner Robert Duvall (“Tender Mercies,” “Crazy Heart”), starring together for the first time on the big screen. The film also stars Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring”) and Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade,” “Friday Night Lights”), and is directed by David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers”).

In “The Judge,” Downey stars as big city lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

For your chance to attend the advanced screening of THE JUDGE on Monday, October 6, at 7pm at the AMC Boston Common, go to www.gofobo.com/RSVP and enter the code FOGVKJ3.

thejudgemovie.com

Villains in Fact and Fiction

October 1, 2014, 5:00 am

≫ Next: TOP 10 MOVIE DANCE SCENES

≪ Previous: Boston Cinegeeks! Wanna Win Tickets to See THE JUDGE?

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By Jon Land

The world changed seismically for thrillers on 9/11.

All of a sudden, the dastardly plots and cunning villains that had been a staple of the genre dating back to Ian Fleming had been outdone by reality. Although both Thomas Harris and Tom Clancy had written books foreshadowing that fateful day, nothing could prepare for us the actual sight of watching the Twin Towers fall.

Other factors surely contributed to the genre’s decline in popularity (that was reversed abruptly with the publication of The Da Vinci Code in 2003), but watching what had previously been confined to our imaginations in fiction unfold as fact certainly played a major role.

Reality, after all, is a tough act to follow.

And now another set of villains of the type normally confined to our imaginations has surfaced in the form of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), a terrorist army whose brutality knows absolutely no bounds and whose appetite for depravity is utterly startling.

Illustration by Saurabh Singh

ISIS and their shadowy leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, encapsulate our worst fears while maintaining the kind of ironic hypocrisy more typical of fictional villains. Al-Baghdadi’s thugs proudly behead American journalists to punish the much-hated West, while al-Baghdadi himself preaches to the faithful wearing a Rolex watch.

So what’s a thriller writer to do? How do we match in fiction what has become the daily lead story in fact?

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TOP 10 MOVIE DANCE SCENES

October 1, 2014, 7:00 am

≫ Next: BETTE DAVIS ON THE SEXES: 1963 Interview Proves Why Ms. Davis Is One Fabulous Diva

≪ Previous: Villains in Fact and Fiction

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I want to share a secret with you, I sort of love movie dance numbers....god, that felt good to say out loud. Don't get me wrong, I am not into musicals where all of a sudden people break into song and then spontaneously do a jig, what I love is when two people express a burning passion for one another through the art of dance (Strictly Ballroom), or when a person just feels the need to let go and be who they really are inside (Napoleon Dynamite), those are the scenes that make me feel feelings that I don't normally feel.

And while not all my favorite dance scenes are on this particular list from Cinefix (hey, top 10 lists are subjective), I'm happy to see that they did include Channing Tatum grinding it to Ginuwine in Magic Mike...the movie isn't very good but hell, I'm not dead near the equator if you know what I mean.

Check out the rest of the list after the break.

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BETTE DAVIS ON THE SEXES: 1963 Interview Proves Why Ms. Davis Is One Fabulous Diva

October 1, 2014, 9:00 am

≫ Next: ANIMATION GEEK: Stephen King Gets the Soviet Animation Treatment In This 1986 Adaptation of His Short Story 'Battleground'

≪ Previous: TOP 10 MOVIE DANCE SCENES

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As a woman in the pop culture industry I am no stranger to sexism but, considering that my male boss is fully supportive of me of opening my big fat mouth and saying anything I like, at least my work life is stress-free. That is not always the case for hundreds of thousands of other awesome chicas and that sucks monkey balls big-time (see what I mean about being supportive?).

With all the anti-woman crap going on today both socially and politically, you'd think that somehow we, as an intelligent species, somehow slipped backward a few decades. And, listening to this interview with Bette Davis from 1963, you are reminded that being treated as an equal has always been a struggle that we chicks have had to fight for.

Perhaps we should take a page out of Ms. Davis' book ladies and quit hoping that somehow the world will change without us and become those loud-mouthed women that the menfolk have always been scared of.

Who knows, maybe we can make a dent in the old dude mindset...at least those guys who haven't realized how absolutely awesome we are...and finally make Ms. Davis' dream of an intersex species come true.

Now that would be something.
 
Video after the break.

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ANIMATION GEEK: Stephen King Gets the Soviet Animation Treatment In This 1986 Adaptation of His Short Story 'Battleground'

October 1, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: 31 Days of NETFIX: Countdown to Halloween

≪ Previous: BETTE DAVIS ON THE SEXES: 1963 Interview Proves Why Ms. Davis Is One Fabulous Diva

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You might already be familiar with Stephen King's great short story Battleground about a professional hit-man who learns that sometimes the people you whack have incredibly angry little green friends (and I'm not talking about martians). The story originally appeared in the nudie mag Cavalier back in 1972 and then collected in King's fabulous short story collection Night Shift in 1978. I only mention this because I miss the days when smut rags published some of the best short stories known to man and also, the cover to Night Shift scared the crap out of me as a little girl:

But it is the 1986 Soviet Ukrainian animation that truly bring this story to life (albeit in an unsettling way)...and yes, I do know that in the television mini-series Nightmares and DreamscapesBattleground is re-incarnated with the help of William Hurt, but trust me, this version is much weirder and, well, Soviet-ier.

You're gonna love it.

Animation after the break.

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31 Days of NETFIX: Countdown to Halloween

October 1, 2014, 1:00 pm

≫ Next: Kickstarter Korner: Chatting It Up With The Creators of DEEP SEA, David Bishop and Ricky Lima

≪ Previous: ANIMATION GEEK: Stephen King Gets the Soviet Animation Treatment In This 1986 Adaptation of His Short Story 'Battleground'

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October always revives Netflix's inventory of more Horror films than you'll ever have time to watch in a single month.

Lucky for you, I've selected one for you to countdown each and every wonderful day in October.

Why wait until Halloween?  The countdown starts now.  The best are saved for the last week.

Think of it as a sort of twisted digital advent calendar for geeks.

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Kickstarter Korner: Chatting It Up With The Creators of DEEP SEA, David Bishop and Ricky Lima

October 1, 2014, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: KING RICHARD'S FAIRE: An Annual Autumnal Tradition

≪ Previous: 31 Days of NETFIX: Countdown to Halloween

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From recent oysters Undertow to Low to classics like Namor the Sub-Mariner, the ocean depths are rich subject matter for comic books.

Canadians Ricky Lima and David A. Bishop are culling the deep for an original graphic novel. The Kickstarter Staff pick is nearly funded for Deep Sea, and the guys are here to tell us about it before they poetically reach their final goal.


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KING RICHARD'S FAIRE: An Annual Autumnal Tradition

October 1, 2014, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: Cowabunga! TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Arrives as Blu-ray Combo on 12/16!

≪ Previous: Kickstarter Korner: Chatting It Up With The Creators of DEEP SEA, David Bishop and Ricky Lima

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By Benn Robbins

As the summer wanes and we are all preparing to not wear white after Labor Day, I am always excited because it means that The Renaissance returns to Massachusetts.

If You don’t know what I am talking about, then either you must be new round these parts, or you might not have a love of corsets, turkey legs and jousting duels.

King Richard’s Faire in Carver, MA is New England’s longest running Renaissance Faire that is every weekend from Labor Day weekend through the weekend of October 19th. Set in a forest on 80 acres off of Route 58 in Carver, you get to step back in time and have a grand olde tyme with hundreds of entertainers, performers, shoppes and venders.

The main attraction being the 3 main jousting and combat duels that happen throughout the day.

This year marks my 25th year of going to this fantastic and fun event.

So, grab your flagon of mead and turkey drumstick and come with me on a journey to the past.

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Cowabunga! TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Arrives as Blu-ray Combo on 12/16!

October 1, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: NETFLIX Is Streaming HGTV Shows Now...It's Been Nice Knowing All Of You

≪ Previous: KING RICHARD'S FAIRE: An Annual Autumnal Tradition

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The Perfect Holiday Gift, Blu-ray Combo Pack Hits the Streets December 16, 2014 with Ninja Turtle Masks!

THE WILDLY POPULAR SUPER HEROES ARE BACK IN THE  FUN-FILLED, ACTION-PACKED BLOCKBUSTER HIT

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

The “super fun” (Topher Gauk-Roger, CNN), visually-stunning and riotously entertaining blockbuster TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES bursts onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, DVD and VOD December 16, 2014 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The film arrives three weeks early on Digital HD November 25.

In this eye-popping reimagining of the legendary heroes in a half shell, New York is under attack by the sinister Shredder, but fearless leader Leonardo, brilliant and brainy Donatello, rough and rebellious Raphael and wild and crazy Michelangelo take to the streets to defend their home with the help of intrepid reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and their brilliant sensei, Splinter. Packed with jaw-dropping action and special effects and loaded with the franchise’s signature humor, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is “fun for the whole family” (Joel Amos, Movie Fanatic). The film also stars Will Arnett, Whoopi Goldberg, and William Fichtner and features Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo and Tony Shalhoub as the voice of Splinter.

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