When the Season One finale of STAR WARS REBELS - Fire Across the Galaxy aired Monday night, fans were treated to some big surprises. When we got to view it on the DVR at lunchtime on Tuesday, one thing was very clear - my little girls were quite pleased to see "another girl Jedi" saving the day. Having missed much of THE CLONE WARS (we'll catch up), they weren't familiar with Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein), and that doesn't matter. What does matter is that there's now a trio of powerful girls at the forefront of STAR WARS REBELS, with Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla and Ahsoka fighting the good fight. While we're still on the hunt for the elusive Sabine/Stormtrooper Mission Series two-pack, Hera is shipping soon packed with a "Stormtrooper Commander" (who we used to call a "Sandtrooper" back in the day), and now Ahsoka will be joining the 5POA (five points of articulation) action this fall. But she's not alone. In fact, she'll be packed with her former Master, the one who used to be called Anakin Skywalker before fully turning to the Dark Side and becoming Darth Vader...

Since the release of TINKER BELL back in 2008, music has played an important, and increasingly prominent role in the Tinker Bell/Disney Fairies series of films. While none can be considered a true "musical," like the JAMES BOND series, each of the seven films has featured at least one prominent theme song, with artists such as Natasha Bedingfield, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Zendaya stepping up to contribute. For the latest film, TINKER BELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST, KT Tunstall contributes not only the film's opening theme ("Float"), but also  two other songs - "Strange Sight," and "1000 Years." For the latter, Tunstall pairs with Bleu, whose stamp is all over NEVERBEAST in the unique position of "featured instrumentalist" throughout Joel McNeely's well-thought cinematic score. For my final piece of in-depth coverage on the latest effort from DisneyToon Studios, I joined a group of writers for a musical workshop with Bleu and Music Supervisor Brett Swain inside a screening room at DisneyToon Studios in Glendale, California.

The rumors are true. As I speculated back in January, ROCK BAND 4 is real, and it's coming in 2015. The game franchise that became the reason I got an Xbox 360 (thanks, Jen!) and learned to drum (modestly) is now going to be the game that becomes the reason I end up getting Microsoft's XBOX ONE. More details will be revealed in May (expect a Fall release, if not sooner), but I have the full announcement from Harmonix, who is partnering with Mad Catz for the new game. Check it out!

Proving once again that every day is some kind of "day," Friday, March 6, 2015 is ACTION FIGURE WORK DAY, aka "Take Your Action Figure to Work Day." Yes, March 6th is also #CrazyHairDay with Lalaloopsy (you could take those to work, too), but #AFWD2015 is a worthy cause to support as well, and one that's going to have many different spins. The deal is simple - take your favorite action figure to work with you, snap some pictures of it in interesting places or doing interesting things, then post them to social media tagged with #AFWD2015. Also tag #iCollectatEE and you may be randomly chosen and contacted by my friends at Entertainment Earth to win some cool prizes (the how and what is up to them). If you've followed THE ROCK FATHER on social media at all, you probably know that I've essentially got action figures at work with me every day - so if you want some inspiration, check out my Instagram  for a little bit of Toyography. Here's a little something to get you started... when I took Vintage 1977 Kenner STAR WARS Chewbacca to a very important business meeting inside a writer's room at ABC in Los Angeles...

On May 1, MARVEL Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will unleash AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON onto screens in theaters everywhere (Buy Tickets now via Fandango), and today fans helped to "unlock Ultron" by tweeting to reveal the third full trailer for the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The new trailer can be seen below, so check it out and share your thoughts in the comments section below!

The Fred Rogers Company has just announced production of a second season of PEG + CAT for PBS KIDS. Set to premiere on PBS KIDS in the Spring of 2016, the new season of the multiple Emmy Award-winning animated series for preschoolers will feature 25 engaging new episodes, including a hilarious one-hour special highlighting the musical math adventures of the intrepid Peg and her loyal sidekick, Cat. In addition, PEG + CAT will introduce fun new interactive games and digital storybooks on PBS KIDS digital platforms, using the series’ hallmark humor to showcase early math skills for young fans.

If you'd have asked me six years ago what my knowledge of the Disney Fairies was, I would've said "zero." Fast-forward to 2015, and two daughters and a rekindled Disney love later, I'd say "Tinker Bell, Silvermist, Iridessa, Zarina, Queen Clarion, Periwinkle, Fawn, Fairy Mary, Fairy Gary - who do you want to know about?" Truth is, I've seen all of the Disney Fairies movies now, and not just in a casual manner, either. I like them a lot, and they've gotten increasingly better over the years, moving far beyond some simple stories set in the world of Pixie Hollow long before the timeline explored in the 1953 classic, PETER PAN.  Last year, I found myself in a screening room at DisneyToon Studios to catch an advance screening of 2014's THE PIRATE FAIRY (coverage here), and this year I was fortunate enough to be invited back to check out TINKER BELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST, filmmaker Steve Loter's follow-up, which was actually 4 ½ years in-the-making. In the past, I've often given my wife a hard time about crying during movies... but... NEVERBEAST got me misty-eyed. It's a touching story, and one that continues the tradition of "getting better."

One of my favorite vehicles from the 2014 Chicago Auto Show was a full-size TONKA Ford F-150, which someone near me bought, because I see it all the time. While it's Funrise Toys that currently produces child-size versions of the legendary TONKA line (under license from Hasbro), Ford has continued to get creative with the brand for real-world applications, and the latest is the Mighty Ford F-750 TONKA, "the ultimate TONKA truck," built on the all-new 2016 Ford F-650/F-750 from Ford’s commercial truck lineup.

That headline is really a foolish question. Of course you want to hang with Robert Downey Jr. and attend the Red Carpet Premiere of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON after a day filled with Tony Stark-style adventures like indoor skydiving, a helicopter tour of the iconic Hollywood Sign, a stop at Randy's Donuts and a custom dress or tux fitting prior to a little pre-premiere caviar.  I do... and I can... you can... maybe we all can, if the pieces add up right. Your chance to do all of the above hangs on helping to do some good - by going to www.omaze.com/RDJ and donating as little as $10 to benefit Julia’s House, a children’s hospice center dedicated to helping improve the lives of children diagnosed with terminal illness. I just put $25 toward the cause personally. Check out Robert's message below...

Ginnifer Goodwin is a self-professed Disneyphile. "I don't know if that's a word, but it is now - this to me was the pinnacle," she says after I asked her if she was familiar with the whole Disney Fairies lore upon taking on the role of Fawn in their latest cinematic adventure, TINKER BELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST (out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Disney Movies Anywhere). "I just always wanted to voice animated features for Disney," she added, noting that while she was familiar with the Fairies franchise, she hadn't seen all of the films, and then "ripped through all of them" after she booked the role of the popular Animal Fairy. "I'm shocked that in the 'States they go straight-to-video - I think they're excellent. They appeal to all ages, and both genders and are just so well-done, with stories that are well-told. The characters are flawed - the morals are evolved - there's messages I would want taught to my children, and while I was familiar with them before, now I'm a fan." Though Goodwin was new to the world of Pixie Hollow, her nearly four-year journey to completing the film found the actress taking detours to other Disney locales - most notably Storybrooke and Enchancia.

Since the announcement that JON STEWART would be retiring from THE DAILY SHOW in the near future, WWE Superstar Seth Rollins has been pretty vocal about who should become "the future" of the show. Of course, it's the same guy that he thinks is "the future of WWE," and that's Mr. Money in the Bank himself. Last night on MONDAY NIGHT RAW, Rollins threw out some harsh words for Stewart - positing the question of how he could do a show "with his jaw wired shut." In the meantime, Stewart (who once played host to the most rockin' talk show of the MTV era - complete with appearances by WHITE ZOMBIE, HELMET and SLAYER) asked the WWE Universe how he could make someone look more foolish than dressing like "a S.W.A.T. Team stripper with LADY GAGA's hair?" Well, 52-year-old Jon Stewart may have just taught Mr. Rollins a much-needed lesson in respect. Take a look...

What a great way to start the week... FAITH NO MORE have just unleashed the second single from their forthcoming SOL INVICTUS (out May 19 on Reclamation/Ipecac), and they picked the perfect partner to do it with - MARVEL. "Superhero" popped up over on MARVEL.com yesterday, racking up over 107K streams for the song in just 24 hours - a welcome feat for a band that hasn't released an album since 1997. The track debut came alongside Ryan Penagos' interview with FNM Bassist Bill Gould (read it) in which some serious love for Jack Kirby and the Silver Surfer are thrown down.  Check out the track, and keep on reading below...

With a new month comes new additions to Netflix, and as a member of their online #StreamTeam, THE ROCK FATHER has the full rundown on 37 titles being added to the service this month. As usual, there's something for everyone, from the debut of the new Netflix Original Series'  UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT and BLOODLINE, to new family titles like Mattel's new MONSTER HIGH: HAUNTED and the MARVEL/ESPN FILMS collaboration 1 of 1: GENESIS. Check out the full listing below and get those Instant Queues loaded up! Curious what's leaving Netflix this month? Click here for that list!