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Ben 10: Alien Swarm is a live-action film that premiered on Cartoon Network on November 25, 2009, based on the animated series Ben 10: Alien Force. It is the sequel to the 2007 live-action film Ben 10: Race Against Time. The film was confirmed to be executive produced and directed by Alex Winter once again and written by John Turman and James Krieg. The cast were revealed throughout the Ben 10 Week towards the end of March 2009 in special commercials that can be viewed on the film website and on the Turner Newsroom.^[1][2] A teaser was shown during the premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc six days after the U.S. TV premiere of the film. The film also received a limited theatrical release in Australia. It takes place after Alien Force and before Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.

Plot

The film opens as Ben (Ryan Kelley), Gwen (Galadriel Stineman), and Kevin (Nathan Keyes) are negotiating with a group of black market dealers, who are attempting to sell them alien nanotechnology. One of them reveals herself to be Elena (Alyssa Diaz), a childhood friend of Ben and Gwen and a fellow Plumber's kid. Elena explains that she had set up the negotiations to lure Ben out into the open, and explains that her father has been abducted and that she needs their help to find him.

Just as Ben agrees to help her, the chips suddenly spring to life, controlled by a mysterious man hiding in the rafters. Kevin immediately labels it a double cross, though Elena insists that she is not responsible. While the dealers escape, Ben transforms into Big Chill (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and drives off the intruder. Elena escapes in the confusion, further justifying Kevin's suspicions. Though Gwen quickly sides with Kevin, Ben is not as easily convinced.

Arriving at their headquarters underneath the Bellwood auto repair shop, the trio, along with Max (Barry Corbin), study the chips, learning that they are a hybrid of organic and technological components. Elena, having followed the trio, breaks in; Max orders her to leave, explaining that Elena's father, Victor Validus (Herbert Siguenza), was an apprentice of his who was dishonorably discharged after stealing the original chips. Ben refuses to believe that Elena is like her father, and breaks ranks to help her.

While Max is away, Gwen and Kevin hack into the computer files relating to Victor Validus and discover a video of Max interrogating Victor, in which Victor insists that "the Hive", the hive mind intelligence behind the chips, is coming to take over the planet. Realizing that Max's anger towards Victor's betrayal may be clouding his judgment, Gwen and Kevin decide to aid Ben as well.

Meanwhile, Ben and Elena arrive at Victor's old laboratory. It has been cleared out by the Hive, but they have left Ship-It order slips behind. Other leftover files in the office indicate that Victor was studying and upgrading the chips, and a picture indicates that Elena is close to the person controlling them. A group of people under the control of the chips attack Ben and Elena, forcing them to retreat. They head to the Ship-It building to investigate further.

Gwen and Kevin, having reached the building first, are too late to stop the distribution of the chips. Instead, they are met by one of the Ship-It employees, who is similarly possessed by the chips. He directs a chip swarm to attack Gwen and Kevin, which eventually wreck Kevin's car (which is a slightly modified third-generation Dodge Challenger) after a lengthy chase. Ben, having overheard the commotion and followed them, uses Humongousaur (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) to defeat the swarm, completely demolishing Kevin's car in the process.

By the time they return to headquarters, the chips have been spread across the globe, and now number in the millions. The group deduces that there must be a Queen (voiced by Vicki Lewis) controlling the Hive, and by destroying her they will likely destroy the chips as well. During their search for the queen, however, one of the chips takes over Max. Pulling together, the group notices an anomaly in the chip distribution; while world population centers are all infected, the relatively remote Barren Rock, Missouri, has the highest concentration. The town is home to the central headquarters of Ship-It. With Kevin's car out of commission, Kevin reveals that he has built a black and green car for Ben (which is, in the movie, a heavily modified Mazda RX-8 which is given away by the interior and the features of the car) called DX Mark 10 (confirmed by Bandai and Dwayne McDuffie) as a "late birthday present."

Infiltrating the factory, the group discovers that the Queen has infected Elena's father, whose body is being used to mass produce the chips. Ben uses the Omnitrix to transform into a new alien that he calls "Nanomech" (voiced by Alex Winter) which was created by scanning the DNA of the chips. He enters Victor's brain and battles the queen while Gwen, Kevin, and Elena fight the drones. After a grueling battle, Nanomech electrocutes the Queen to death and thus the entirety of the chips, freeing everybody from their control.

In the aftermath, Max, after personally apologizing to Victor, decides to retire and leave his position as leader to Ben, but Ben refuses to allow him to do so. The film ends as Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Elena drive home.

[edit] Cast

• Ryan Kelley as Ben Tennyson
• Galadriel Stineman as Gwen Tennyson
• Nathan Keyes as Kevin E.Levin
• Alyssa Diaz as Elena Validus
• Barry Corbin as Max Tennyson
• Herbert Siguenza as Victor Validus

[edit] Voice cast

• Dee Bradley Baker as Big Chill, Humungousaur
• Alex Winter as Nanomech
• Vicki Lewis as The Queen

[edit] Home media

The DVD of the film was released on December 1, 2009. As of March 31 it has grossed $119,996,870 worldwide. It has grossed $71,500,100 in North America and $48,496,870 overseas.

George of the Jungle was an American animated television series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created Rocky & Bullwinkle. It ran for 17 episodes on Saturday mornings from September 9 to December 30, 1967, on the American TV network ABC. The half-hour program was distributed for many years by Worldvision Enterprises, currently part of CBS Television Distribution

Program format

Each episode featured three segments in the form of three unrelated cartoons: George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken.

Unlike previous Ward series, the animation production was done in Hollywood using veteran animators Phil Duncan, Rod Scribner, and Rudy Zamora, among others. Each segment's theme song was written by the team of Stan Worth and Sheldon Allman, though the cartoons themselves had little or no music scoring, as with Bullwinkle. Ward mainstays Bill Scott, June Foray, and Paul Frees provided most of the character voices over all three segments.

The cartoons are technically more advanced than the crude animation in Ward's earlier series, which originated from a Mexican studio sponsored by Ward. He was so pleased with George of the Jungle that he allowed production to go over-budget, which unfortunately resulted in considerable financial loss, ultimately limiting the series to 17 episodes.

The complete series is available now on DVD.^[1]

[edit] Segments

[edit] George of the Jungle

The title segment, George of the Jungle, is a parody of the popular Tarzan stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. George (voiced by Bill Scott), is a dim-witted but big-hearted "ape man" who is called upon each episode to save inhabitants of the jungle from various threats.

In the opening title, George is depicted swinging on vines, repeatedly slamming face-first into trees or other obstacles even as theme-song singers warn him to "watch out for that tree!" Another running gag is that George keeps forgetting that he lives in a treehouse, falling to the ground every time he leaves home.

George's two most frequent foes are a pair of hunters named Tiger and Weevil (as were Boris and Natasha to Rocky and Bullwinkle). Tiger, the taller of the two, wears a pith helmet and khakis and has a pencil moustache; while Weevil wears a white t-shirt and shorts with a hat. George's "beloved mate" is Ursula (voiced by June Foray), a Jane-like character far brighter than George, whom George refers to as "Fella." George's closest friend is an ape named Ape (voiced by Paul Frees), who speaks with a cultured British accent and, like Ursula, is far more intelligent than George. George has a pet elephant named Shep, who behaves like a lap dog or, as George refers to him, a "great big peanut-lovin' poochie," and whom George thinks is a dog. Also of note is the Tooky Tooky (or Tookie Tookie) bird famous for his call: "Ah ah ee ee tooky tooky."

In 1997, the segment was adapted into a live action film, titled George of the Jungle. Brendan Fraser played the title role, with Leslie Mann as Ursula, John Cleese as the voice of Ape, and Thomas Haden Church as the villain. A direct-to-video sequel, George of the Jungle 2, without either Fraser or Mann, was released in 2003.

[edit] Tom Slick

Tom Slick features the title character (voiced by Bill Scott), a racecar driver who competes in races with his trusty vehicle, the Thunderbolt Greaseslapper. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, Marigold (voiced by June Foray), and his elderly mechanic, Gertie Growler (also voiced by Bill Scott). Tom's chief antagonists are Baron Otto Matic (voiced by Paul Frees) and his lackey, Clutcher (voiced by Daws Butler), whom the Baron often hits across the head with a monkey wrench.

[edit] Super Chicken

Super Chicken features the title character (voiced by Bill Scott), a superhero [who, in "real life", is wealthy Henry Cabot Henhouse III) with a lion sidekick named Fred (voiced by Paul Frees). Super Chicken usually begins their adventures with the battle cry, "Quick, Fred, to the Super Coop," and when Fred comments on his latest injury, responds with a variation of the theme, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it." Following his own mistakes, Super Chicken remarks, "I'm glad no one was here to see that!"

[edit] George of the Jungle episodes

[edit] 2007 Series

Classic Media developed a new George of the Jungle Flash animation series in 2007. The new version of the series is co-produced with Studio B Productions and Teletoon Canada, and currently airs on Teletoon in Canada and on Cartoon Network in the United States (starting with a Christmas-themed episode December 21, 2007). The series is scheduled to air on Nicktoons in the United Kingdom and Disney Channel Asia in Southeast Asia.^[2][3][4] The series officially premièred on Cartoon Network on January 18.

[edit] Cultural references

"Weird Al" Yankovic did a cover version of the George of the Jungle theme on his 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid, which later appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 live-action film. Another cover of the theme by The Presidents of the United States of America also appeared on the soundtrack and was the title theme for the film.

The Rhino Records 1989 release 'Rerun Rock: Superstars Sing Television Themes^[5]' included a cover version performed in the style of Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin and sung by Scott Shaw.

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien is an animated television series that is the third incarnation of Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise. It was slated to premiere after the series finale of Ben 10: Alien Force, which was on March 26, 2010.^[1] The show itself aired on April 23, 2010. Before the title was announced, "Ultimate Alien" went under the working title of "Ben 10: Evolution".

Picking up a few weeks after where "Ben 10: Alien Force" leaves off, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien follows the now sixteen-year-old Ben. The Omnitrix has been destroyed and Ben must now learn to master the secrets of the new Ultimatrix, a gauntlet-like device that not only allows him to transform into a numerous variety of alien super heroes, but also gives him the incredible power and ability to activate evolved (or "ultimate") versions of his alien transformations.He can also transform into all of his old aliens and the aliens from the "future" episodes of "Ben 10."

Additionally, a young fan named Jimmy Jones discovers Ben’s secret identity and reveals it to the world one week after Vilgax' defeat. Faced with newfound stardom, Ben must handle his obsessive fans and skeptics. With Gwen, Kevin and Grandpa Max still at his side, Ben continues to battle alien threats to the galaxy including finding five aliens that were attacked by a villain named Aggregor

Characters

• Ben Tennyson (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) - At the age of sixteen, Ben now runs his car, the Mark DX 10. A big fan of his, named Jimmy Jones, reveals Ben's secret by composing multiple images and noticing the distinctive symbol foreigners (Omnitrix symbol/Ultimatrix). While most of society now as mixed feelings, if not contempt for Ben, his colleagues at school, including Cash and JT, they accepted and thanked him for all the help he did.

• Gwen Tennyson (voiced by Ashley Johnson) - At the age of sixteen, Gwen is still the level head of the group. Continuing to refine the use of her Anodite powers and abilities, Gwen is shown to be a valued member of the team. She might become more and more tempted to go with her grandmother Verdona to Anodyne to fully master her powers and abilities.

• Kevin Levin (voiced by Greg Cipes) - At the age of seventeen, Kevin continues to be arrogant and a trouble-making member of the group. Despite questionable antics, Kevin excels much more often, proving to be a true and loyal friend. After his Omnitrix mutation was cured, Kevin regained his original Osmosian powers to absorb energy and matter. Moreover, learning from his experience in mutation, Kevin is also able to temporarily absorb extra material to increase its density and transform parts of his body in various ways. He now flies a Plumber spaceship, which he updated a bit from time to time, in addition to his "ride".

• Julie Yamamoto (voiced by Vyvan Pham) - At the age of sixteen, Julie begins to show more interest in the secret identities of Ben and Gwen. She has even shown her affection for him through kisses to make him feel better, and encourages him not to hide from society even though most adults see him as a problem.

• Aggregor (voiced by John DiMaggio) - A mysterious alien that is after five aliens that he ended up stranding on Earth. He first appeared to take down Bivalvan. The other four aliens that ended on Earth are friends of Bivalvan, and are presumably the other aliens Ben will receive for the show.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Ultimatrix

The evolved, upgraded and modified form of the Omnitrix. It has all the powers and abilities of the original Omnitrix plus a powerful new one, the power and ability to turn Ben's aliens into their ultimate forms by evolving them; much, much stronger versions with much stronger and more powerful abilities. To activate this change, Ben presses the Omnitrix symbol, causing it to grow four spikes and transform the alien into their ultimate form. Like the Omnitrix, the Ultimatrix has the ability to sample the DNA of any alien who is not already stored in it. However, instead of the alien needing to touch it, the Ultimatrix can obtain the sample by detecting the alien and automatically sending out a scanning glowing yellow-colored energy wave. Ben even has access to all of the aliens he transformed into from the original series.

[edit] Principal Voice Actors

• Yuri Lowenthal - Ben Tennyson
• Ashley Johnson - Gwen Tennyson
• Greg Cipes - Kevin Levin
• Dee Bradley Baker - Chromastone, Humongousaur, Jetray, Spidermonkey, Bivalvan
• Vyvan Pham - Julie Yamamoto
• John DiMaggio - Rath, Aggregor

[edit] Additional Voices

• Scott Menville - Jimmy Jones, JT

[edit] Video Games

A brand new video-game based on Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and like the first Ben 10: Alien Force video game, it is also named after the show (Ben 10: Ultimate Alien). Also similar to Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks, the game has also upgraded to a brand new platform. Along with the 360, PS2, DS/DSi/3DS, PSP, Wii platforms, the new game will be available for the PS3 console.^[3] Nothing else has been confirmed, but the game is aiming for an October 2010 release date.

Plot

Five years after the events of the original series, fifteen-year old Benjamin Tennyson has returned to a normal, everyday life. His adventures done, Ben has taken off the Omnitrix and has grown from a young boy into a confident teenager. But the mysterious disappearance of Grandpa Max prompts him to wear the Omnitrix, as well as forcing Ben, Gwen, and a newly reformed Kevin Levin to search and locate him. While at the same time, enlisting the help of child Plumbers (an inter-planetary peace-keeping force, with both human & alien members) and repelling attacks from a new foe, the Highbreed.

Some time after the Highbreed are defeated, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin continue their adventures dealing with various alien threats. These include facing off with some villains from Ben's past such as Vilgax, D'Void, Ghostfreak, Vulkanus, Charmcaster, Hex and Kraab. In the series finale the Omnitrix is destroyed and Ben obtains the Ultimatrix, a more powerful and upgraded version of the original Omnitrix.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Heroes

Benjamin Tennyson

Ben fills the role of leader after Max disappears. The Omnitrix has been recalibrated, giving him access to a new set of alien heroes. Over the past few years, Ben has matured dramatically.

Gwendolyn Tennyson

Gwen is much more proficient with her powers, able to manipulate energy directly as opposed to using spells (this is revealed to be due to Gwen having an alien heritage), where she can manipulate energy to create blasts, shields, and energy like grapple holds. Although she's not nearly as fiery or short-tempered as before, Gwen is still always looking out for her cousin.

Kevin Ethan Levin

A former nemesis of Ben, Kevin is now getting by as an alien tech dealer. He unintentionally gets involved in the Highbreed plot, and joins Ben out of a desire to make up for his actions. His abilities now allow him to absorb the properties of any solid matter he touches. But in the third season premiere, Kevin is mutated into a being with a segmented body composed of several different solid substances, and as a result, he now has the power to shape-shift his limbs into any solid substance he can think of. He has feelings for Gwen but is hesitant to show it because of his low self-esteem as he feels himself unworthy of her.

Maxwell Tennyson

Max is a semi-retired member of the Plumbers. He disappears while investigating the Highbreed plot, leaving only a few cryptic messages for Ben to find. He is briefly reunited with his grandchildren in "Max Out", but sacrifices himself to destroy a Highbreed factory at the end of the episode. In the episode "Voided", Ben and Max reunite in the Null Void, and he promises Ben that he'll come back soon. He eventually returns in the second season finale of the show, "War of the Worlds" to aid Ben in his final assault against the Highbreed.

Julie Yamamoto

Julie is Ben's girlfriend. She enjoys tennis, eating chili fries, and caring for her pet, Ship (an alien Galvanic Mechomorph found by her and Ben). She helped him to track the doings of Big Chill and also helps Ben in studies.

Verdona Tennyson: Verdona is Ben and Gwen's grandmother and Max's wife(i think). She appears in Season 1 episode 8 'What are little girls made of' when she reveals that Gwen's powers aren't actually magic, they are because of her alien heritage as an Anadite. Verdona then asks Gwen to come with her to her Anadite planet which Gwen later declines. Verdona then becomes violent and tries to force Gwen to leave with her beating up Ben and Kevin in the process. In the end, Verdona accepts Gwen's decision and leaves leaving behind an energy flower. Verdona is very fun-loving and mischievous and does not get along with her daughter-in-law, Gwen's mother.

[edit] Villains

Highbreed

The Highbreed believe themselves to be the masters and most powerful of all species, and intend to cleanse the galaxy of impure lower life forms. It was later revealed that they were dying out, having become sterile and vulnerable to disease due to heavy inbreeding, and that they intend to destroy the rest of the universe with them.

DNAliens

Hybrids of humans and alien drones that serve the Highbreed, the DNAliens are able to disguise themselves as humans using special identity masks.^[1]

The Forever Knights

A paramilitary organization that has worked in secret ever since their formation in the Middle Ages. The Forever Knights will trade alien technology with anyone who's willing, even the Highbreed.^[1]

Vilgax

Vilgax returns in Season 3 with a new look (he had new armors, weapons and abilities). He loses to Ben in the episode "Vengeance of Vilgax" and was banished from Earth, though he swore vengeance. Vilgax returns in "Ghost Town" in need of Ben's assistance when a deal with Ghostfreak became a double-cross on Ghostfreak's part and Ghostfreak takes over Vilgaxia, Vilgax's home planet. Though Vilgax appears to be a cruel villain throughout the original series, in "Ghost Town" he seems to care about his people on his planet. He also seems to be able to transform into a giant green Octopus with Red eyes and a round mouth ringed with sharp teeth.

Albedo

Albedo is a young and arrogant Galvan. At one point, he was the assistant to Azmuth, whom he asked for an Omnitrix of his own. When Azmuth refused, he built one of inferior quality and synchronized it to work exactly like Ben's; but as Ben's form is the default, Albedo was transformed into a clone of Ben (except with gray hair, a red jacket, and black pants). As a result, he also developed many of Ben's habits, which he considers utterly repulsive.

[edit] Omnitrix

Sometime during the 5-year gap from the original series, Ben removed the Omnitrix in order to pursue a more normal life. After it is reattached in the first episode of season 1, the Omnitrix re-scans Ben's DNA giving him access to a new set of alien forms as well as a few new capabilities such as repairing genetic damage caused by mutations and functioning as a com-link between Plumber badges. It also altered its own structure changing into a more watch-like shape and displaying holograms for the alien forms instead of silhouettes.

[edit] Voice Actors

[edit] Principal Cast

• Dee Bradley Baker - Swampfire, Echo Echo, DNAliens, Humongousaur, Police Officers, Jetray, Big Chill, Pickaxe Aliens, Chromastone, Xenocytes, Brainstorm, Spidermonkey, Goop, Hugo, Forever Knights, Incursions, Sevenseven, Draveks, Dasypodidaes, Bystanders, Dirt Farmers, Highbreeds, Cannonbolt, Upchuck, Way Big, Synaptak, Psyphon, Ssserpent, Diamondhead, Pyroxovores, Decka, Lodestar, Rock Monsters, Mr. Smoothy, Mole Alien, Amalgamation Robot, Ambassador Zaw-Veenull, The Tiffin, Commander Sangfroid & Sugilite
• Greg Cipes - Kevin Levin, Forever Knights, Bystanders, Rubber Suit Alien & DNAliens
• John DiMaggio - Vulkanus, Octagon Vreedle, Judge Domstol, Rath & Ragnarok
• Paul Eiding - DNAliens, Max Tennyson, Truck Driver, Highbreeds, Alien Serf, Lukik, Mouldywarp & Kenko
• Ashley Johnson - Gwen Tennyson, Tennis Players, Chimera Sui Generises, Cicely & Mr. Smoothy Employees
• Yuri Lowenthal - Ben Tennyson, Omnitrix, Truck Driver, Albedo, Brad, Patrolmans, Orb, Bystanders & Ishyama
• Vyvan Pham - Julie Yamamoto, Ship, Waitress, Ingenue, Probity, Bystanders & Myaxx
• Kevin Michael Richardson - Highbreed Commanders, Forever Knights, Guards, Sheriff Mason, Incursion Emperor Milleous, Incursions, DNAliens, Truck Driver, Sir Morton & TV Narrator

[edit] Additional Voices

• Jeff Bennett - Magister Labrid, Forever Knights, Azmuth, DNAliens, Ultimos, Red General, Blue General, Security Aliens, Ghostfreak, Kraab & Police Officers
• Juliet Landau - Natalie Tennyson, Helen Wheels & Tini
• David McCallum - Paradox
• Richard McGonagle - Highbreeds, Forever Knights, DNAliens, Police Officers, General Groff, Reinrassig III & the Highbreed Supreme Commander
• Corey Padnos - Cooper Daniels
• Rob Paulsen - Patrolman, Cotton Candy Vendor, Baz-l & Rhomboid Vreedle
• Khary Payton - Manny Armstrong, TV Announcer & Hex
• Alexander Polinsky - Argit & Jarrett
• James Remar - Vilgax & Security Aliens
• Zeno Robinson - Alan Albright
• Kari Wahlgren - Charmcaster
• Wil Wheaton - Mike Morningstar & Darkstar
• Adam Wylie - Pierce

[edit] Special Guest Cast

• Pamela Adlon - Mrs. Levin
• Diedrich Bader - Simion & Lu
• Barbara Bain - Verdona Tennyson
• Powers Boothe - Sunder
• Clancy Brown - The Dragon & Pilot
• Kevin Conroy - Bellacus & Incursions
• Tim Curry - Dr. Joseph Chadwick & Forever Knights
• Diane Delano - Edna & DNAliens
• Greg Ellis - Forever Squire, Forever Knights & Jailer
• Dave Fennoy - Tetrax Shard
• Will Friedle - Ken Tennyson, Shem & DNAliens
• Brian George - Mayor Coleman
• Ioan Gruffudd - Devin Levin
• Kim Mai Guest - Lucy & Zombie Girls
• Robert David Hall - Forever Knights, Counterman & Highbreeds
• Hakeem Kae-Kazim - Connor
• Wallace Langham - Tyler & DNAliens
• Vicki Lewis - Serena
• Matt Levin - Cash
• Beth Littleford - Sandra Tennyson
• Don McManus - Carl Tennyson
• Scott Menville - JT
• Diane Michelle - Cosmic Mom
• Kamali Minter - Trina & Zombie Girls
• George Newbern - Frank Tennyson
• Dwight Schultz - Null Guardians & D'Void
• J.K. Simmons - Magister Ghilhil
• Tara Strong - Incursion Princess Attea
• James Arnold Taylor - Commander Raff & Incursions
• Michael York - Forever King Patrick

[edit] Ben 10: Alien Swarm

Ben 10: Alien Swarm is a live-action film based on the series was announced by Cartoon Network at their 2008 upfront. It is a sequel to Ben 10: Race Against Time. A teaser trailer was shown on October 3, 2008 during the premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and a full trailer was shown after the season 2 finale on March 27, 2009, and another full trailer, this time showing a preview of Humongousaur, was shown during the season 3 premiere on September 11, 2009. The film aired on November 25, 2009. According to the sweepstakes site, it was rated TV-PG. Again directed by Alex Winter, the film's cast included Ryan Kelley as Ben, Nathan Keyes as Kevin, and Galadriel Stineman as Gwen. Lee Majors was offered to reprise his role as Grandpa Max, but he turned it down; the role has since been recast with Barry Corbin. The film also featured Alyssa Diaz as a new character named Elena, a childhood friend of Ben.^[2] The aliens seen were Big Chill, Humongousaur, and a new alien named Nanomech.

[edit] Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

At Cartoon Network Upfront 2009, a third series titled Ben 10: Evolution was announced. It is currently scheduled to premiere on April 23rd according to the Ben 10: Ultimate Alien promo video. It was said in a recent interview that the show is to be titled "Ben 10: Ultimate Alien" by Dwayne McDuffie, story editor/executive producer. Ben 10: Evolution was merely a working title. Recently on his forum, Dwayne McDuffie quoted he has been with the franchise "for 76 episodes". Hinting that Ben 10: Ultimate Alien may well be already in production of a second season.

[edit] Video games

Monkey Bar Games and D3 Publisher made a game of the show. It is for PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Wii and PSP. Playable characters in the game include Ben, Gwen, A second game entitled Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks released in October 27, 2009.^[3]

Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall currently features this series' Ben, Gwen, Max, Kevin, and Vilgax, along with Hex and Tetrax from the original Ben 10 series.

Plot

When ten year old Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Max are on their summer camping trip. Ben finds an alien pod on the ground. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device called the Omnitrix. The device attaches itself permanently to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms, each with its own unique powers. Although Ben soon realizes that he has a responsibility to help others with these new abilities at his disposal, he is not above a little super-powered mischief every now and then. Along with Gwen and Grandpa Max, Ben embarks on an summer-long adventure to fight evil, both extraterrestrial and earthly.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Omnitrix

The Omnitrix is the mysterious watch-like alien device that allows the user to transform into various alien forms by combining the DNA of the selected alien with the user's own DNA, effectively turning them into the alien species the user has selected. The alien form is selected by unlocking the control dial, turning the control dial to the desired alien species which is displayed on the Omnitrix's display, then pressing the control dial back into place completing the transformation. The alien DNA also seems to contain some aspects of the original aliens' personality; when questioned how it felt to be an alien, Ben described it as follows: "It kinda freaked me out at first. It was like I was me...but it was also like I was somebody else." ^[2]

The Omnitrix was originally created by Azmuth (a Galvan like Greymatter) to allow the people of the universe a way to literally "walk in someone else's shoes". However, many beings saw the Omnitrix's abilities as something that could be used as a powerful weapon—most prominently the villain Vilgax who claims it to be the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Fearing that people might misuse the Omnitrix for this very reason, Azmuth put several safeguards in place to ensure that whoever used the Omnitrix would not have full access to its powers. Several of these safeguards include transforming into an alien different from the one that is selected on the control dial, the ten minute auto time-out, the restriction of only ten accessible aliens, and a self-destruct mechanism. However, these safeguards are disabled once the Master Control for the Omnitrix is unlocked, which is apparently done by a random combination of selections on the control dial. Once the Master Control is unlocked, the user can stay in their alien form indefinitely and is also able to switch between alien forms at will just by thinking about it, speaking the name its user has given any alien, or turning the badge with the Omnitrix insignia on it.

In addition to the aliens that were pre-programmed into the Omnitrix's DNA sequencer by Azmuth, the Omnitrix also possess the ability to absorb DNA samples from other alien species by simply coming into contact with them, effectively downloading a DNA sample and allowing access to that form.

[edit] TV films

Two Ben 10 films have been released at different times during 2007 and 2008. The first is a regular animated feature called Secret of the Omnitrix, in which the Omnitrix is accidentally set to self-destruct and Ben must track down its creator to stop it. A trailer of the film was released with the film Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen, and it aired August 10, 2007. Michael Ouweleen described the film's villain, which was actually Vilgax, as "like Darth Vader without the sense of humor."^[3] A different version of Secrets of the Omnitrix, which introduced a different alien (Eye Guy) to the one in the original (Heatblast), aired on September 1, 2007. A third version (in which XLR8 was featured) aired on October 20, 2007. It was stated during the premiere of Alien Force that Secret of the Omnitrix was intended to be the chronological finale of Ben 10, even though it was broadcast long before the last episode, which was not canon.

The second is a live-action film titled Ben 10: Race Against Time^[4] which aired November 21, 2007. The plot presumably takes place before Goodbye and Good Riddance, it revolves around Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max returning to their hometown of Bellwood and attempting to adjust to being 'normal' again. Unfortunately, their lives are once again disrupted by a mysterious alien known as Eon, who has an unexpected connection to the Omnitrix. It premiered on Cartoon Network on November 21, 2007. The film was directed by Alex Winter.^[5] Winter stated at the 2007 upfront presentation that he wanted "this thing to look like X-Men," an epic adventure that will be "more cinematic than cartoony" and appeal to all ages. Production on the film finished in October^[3] and premiered November 21, 2007. "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" a sequel to Race Against Time premiered November 25, 2009. All the roles were recast from Ben 10 Race Against Time.

[edit] Sequel series

Ben 10: Alien Force is the sequel to the show set five years after the original series. As an indirect result of this, this series is darker in tone compared to its predecessor. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 18, 2008. It has since been premiered in Canada, on Teletoon.^[6] A video game of the show is now out for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.^[7]

Another sequel series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, is confirmed by Cartoon Network Upfront 2009. It is slated to premiere on April 23rd 2010.^[8]

[edit] Protector of Earth

This is the first Ben 10 video game, released in Autumn 2007.

Following the success of the Ben 10 animated TV series and films, various Ben 10 merchandise has been released for general sale. These items include Ben 10 books, action figures, card games such as Top Trumps, toys, video games - notably Ben 10: Protector of Earth, bedding, and footwear.

[edit] FusionFall

Ben 10 appears in Cartoon Network's online MMO FusionFall. The character design for Ben Tennyson was changed when the original Ben 10 series ended and was replaced by Ben 10: Alien Force. In the game, he serves as a "Player Guide" offering guide-based missions and special items that can only be used with certain guides.