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Spider-Man 'Toons Up
March 2, 2007
by Josh Grossberg Los Angeles (E! Online) - Everyone's favorite wall-crawler is getting animated again. With the hugely anticipated release of Spider-Man 3 only two months away, the CW announced Thursday that Marvel's arachnid-friendly superhero is swinging back to the small screen via a new cartoon series that will premiere in early 2008. Tentatively titled The Amazing Spider-Man, the animated show will air as part of the network's top-rated Saturday morning Kids' WB! programming block. "The addition of Spider-Man bolsters a lineup that has proved to be the Saturday morning destination for kids seeking action and adventure in the most amped-up ways," trumpets Betsy McGowen, senior vice president and general manager of the Kids WB! The Amazing Spider-Man will be set at the start of the web-slinger's crime-fighting career, focusing on a teenage Peter Parker trying to adjust to his newfound super powers—and junior year of high school—while trading blows and barbs with the likes of the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Venom, Tarantula, Mysterio, Lizard and Kingpin. "Our goal is to reinterpret these great characters and concepts for our millennium," says supervising producer Greg Weisman. "We'll have plenty of resonant material for the Spider-Man fan, while engaging the Spider-Man novice with the same thrills we experienced when we were first exposed to the character." Sony Pictures' newly formed TV division, Culver Entertainment, will produce the 'toon and hopes that The Amazing Spider-Man's combo of action-adventure and humor appeals not just to the little ones, but also 'tweens, teens and adults in the same way as the original Spider-Man cartoon series in the mid-'60s, which featured crummy animation but Spidey has spawned several other TV 'toons over the years. There were short, animated segments featuring the character that aired during the 1970s children's educational show The Electric Company; a syndicated Spider-Man series hatched by Marvel in 1981; Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which aired Saturday mornings on NBC that same year and lasted three seasons; Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which ran on Fox from 1994 to 1999 and differed from its predecessors by focusing season-long story arcs rather than just standalone eps; Spider-Man Unlimited, a short-lived Fox 'toon that aired in 1999; and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, a CG-animated show featuring the voice of former Doogie Howser star Neil Patrick Harris in the title role that lasted 13 episodes on MTV in 2003. Meanwhile, the marketing machine is ramping up for the May 4 launch of Spider-Man 3. A new one-minute clip from the should-be blockbuster will air next Monday during a cliffhanger episode of NBC's smash hit Heroes. Following that broadcast, fanboys will be able to watch an additional six minutes of the Sam Raimi-directed sequel exclusively online at NBC.com for 24 hours. Our Spidey senses are tingling already. 
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