Mmm . . .Good Reviews

Some producers agree to pay cuts; no word yet from actors

(NEWSER) - Don't say sayonara to the Simpsons just yet: Sources say several top-level producers will take pay cuts in order to keep the show on the air. Not all of the producers are on board, and cast members have not yet agreed to any terms. Variety notes that any money saved from a producer pay cut likely does not come close to the amount that would be saved if the actors agreed to the 45% reduction demand. But, as Entertainment Weekly points out, all sides believe something will be worked out, because no one wants to see the 23-season-long series end without a real finale. A final decision is expected tomorrow. More»

Network wants voice actors to take 45% pay cut

(NEWSER) - Has Moe polished his last glass? Has Homer slammed his last Duff’s? Has Krusty made his last small child cry? It’s all possible. Fox is threatening to pull the plug on history’s longest-running sitcom after the current season—its 23rd—if its core voice actors won’t accept a whopping 45% paycut, sources tell the Daily Beast . The cast had offered to take a 30% cut in exchange for some of the show’s massive backend profits, but Fox demurred. More»

Animated feature is strong, if generic, hyper: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that French studio Illumination Entertainment has made a strong first entry into feature animation with Despicable Me, featuring Steve Carrell voicing a cartoon baddy who adopts three little girls. But it has the misfortune to premiere within weeks of Pixar's beloved Toy Story 3.

• Despicable Me "cannot be faulted for lack of trying," AO Scott writes in the New York Times . "If anything, it tries much too hard, stuffing great gobs of second-rate action, secondhand humor and warmed-over sentiment into every nook and cranny of its relentlessly busy 3-D frames. It tries so hard to be likable that you may hate yourself for hating it."

Laugh-free sci-fi satire mediocre at best

(NEWSER) - It has a cool concept—a human is greeted with paranoia on an alien planet straight out of the '50s—but critics say Planet 51 never reaches orbit. Some reviews:

• It’s a “bland, humor-free narrative,” with lame references to other movies instead of jokes, writes Glenn Whipp of the LA Times . If the '60s ever come to Planet 51, “we just hope someone writes a protest song about this movie.”

A fond farewell to the 'character-driven whimsy' of King of the Hill

(NEWSER) - That an animated series from the creator of Beavis and Butthead would be one of the last champions of good-hearted American values is odd but true, Don Aucoin writes in the Boston Globe. As King of the Hill prepares to bow out tomorrow night, Aucoin offers a eulogy for “a particular kind of middle-age Everyman we don’t see much of anymore on television”—Hank Hill. More»