Animated show ‘Skylanders Academy’ to Debut on Netflix Fall 2016 #StreamTeam

Spyro and Eruptor in Skylanders Academy

Since the very first Skylanders game I have been hooked. I’ve collected all the figures, bought all the comic books and anything else Skylanders related that I could find. If you want to know a particular Skylander then I am your guy. What game did they debut in, I’m your guy? What is their element… and so on.

I. AM. YOUR. GUY!

So, learning that there was a Skylanders animated show coming out soon I got excited. When I learned that it was going to be on Netflix I was over the moon excited! This is awesome because I can binge the whole entire series in one shot and not have to wait for weekly installments. I love being able to see my shows when I want on my own schedule and Netflix lets that happen for me. I just cannot wait for this show to come out. The one thing that I’m skeptical about is the voice casting of Justin Long as Spyro. Josh Keaton has been the voice of Spyro in every Skylanders game so far. He’s awesome in the Netflix original show, Voltron, too. I even got to meet the guy back in May. He’s one of my favorite voice actors. I hope that Justin does a good job with the character. I am sad that it won’t be Josh.

There does look like some decent voice talent for the show. Here are the people we know so far. “Skylanders Academy” features the voices of Justin Long (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Ask Me Anything”) as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale (“Phineas and Ferb,” “High School Musical”) as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul”) as Eruptor and Norm MacDonald (“Saturday Night Live”) as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes The Diamond Minecart, Susan Sarandon, Daniel Wu, Parker Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O’Hara, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jonny Rees, Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz.

I’m interested to see who each person will be voicing. There are many that are returning voices because only those people can play their characters, like Pop Fizz, he must be played by Bobcat Goldthwait, no other person could be that character and of course, Richard Horvitz as Kaos. No way you could replace that voice. I am interested in who James Hetfield of Metallica will be playing. At first I thought Wolfang, but he has an English accent. Just figured that maybe a rock star might voice a rock and roll werewolf. However, Hetfield has that physically imposing look to him and so does Wolfang. We’ll see because IMDB does not yet have any actual details on the show.

I am speculating that the actual release date of the show will probably take place around the time of the release of the sixth installment of the Skylanders franchise of video games. Skylanders Imaginators will be released on October 16, 2016 and I am so stoked for it to happen. This looks like it is going to be the best game yet with people having the ability to create their own Skylanders. That is something that I think people have been wanting for a long time. People have also been asking if Crash Bandicoot would make an appearance as a guest star ever since some Nintendo guys like Donkey Kong and Bowser made their debuts in Skylanders SuperChargers. Well, wait no longer because Crash is coming to Skylanders Imaginators!

Here is the official press annoucement for ‘Skylanders Academy’ on Netflix.

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Activision Blizzard Studios Expands Pioneering Skylanders Franchise Into Television

New Animated Television Series “Skylanders Academy” to Debut on Netflix

Santa Monica, Calif. – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced that “Skylanders Academy,” the first production by Activision Blizzard Studios—its newly-created television and film studio—will premiere in Fall 2016 on Netflix, the world’s leading internet television network.

“Over the last five years, millions of families around the world have welcomed Skylanders® characters into their homes. Now, they’ll be able to watch their favorite characters come to life on Netflix,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. “We couldn’t have found a better home for ‘Skylanders Academy’ and look forward to sharing our extraordinary characters with Netflix audiences around the world.”

The series follows the heroic adventures of the Skylanders team, a group of heroes with unique elemental skills and personalities who travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers and showing the next wave of Academy cadets how to do things the “Skylander way.” Created by Toys For Bob, the $3 billion Skylanders franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011, and earlier this month Activision revealed Skylanders Imaginators,™ the latest innovation in the franchise.

“‘Skylanders Academy’ gives us the opportunity to approach narrative storytelling with the same level of quality and excellence that millions of Skylanders fans have come to expect from the game,” said Activision Blizzard Studios Co-President Stacey Sher. “We’re inspired by our fans’ excitement for these characters and have worked hard to bring these characters to life with stories our fans will love.”

Activision Blizzard launched its studio last year to create original content based on the company’s intellectual property, and “Skylanders Academy” is the first production by Sher and studio Co-President Nick van Dyk. The two-season Netflix partnership is another important step in Activision Blizzard’s strategy of enhancing its franchises and broadening their appeal.

Produced under the supervision of showrunner Eric Rogers (“Futurama”), “Skylanders Academy” features the voices of Justin Long (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Ask Me Anything”) as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale (“Phineas and Ferb,” “High School Musical”) as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul”) as Eruptor and Norm MacDonald (“Saturday Night Live”) as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes The Diamond Minecart, Susan Sarandon, Daniel Wu, Parker Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O’Hara, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jonny Rees, Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz.

Sher and van Dyk are joined by Sander Schwartz, the Emmy award-winning producer of animated hits including “The Batman,” “The Aquabats! Super Show!” and “Justice League: The New Frontier,” as the show’s executive producers. “Skylanders Academy” is animated by the internationally acclaimed TeamTO studio in France.

“Activision Blizzard Studios’ enviable mission is to work with our extraordinary portfolio of franchise intellectual property and bring it to broader audiences on new platforms,” said van Dyk. “We’re excited to reach this strategic partnership and for the future of ‘Skylanders Academy.’”

About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world’s most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight over 500 million monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision’s Call of Duty®, Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo® and Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™, and King’s Candy Crush®, Pet Rescue® and Farm Heroes®. The company is one of the Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For®.” Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activisionblizzard.com.