Cartoon Network is giving its audience another reason to give thanks this holiday season with the premiere of its original movie, Level Up, airing Wednesday at 7/6c.
Gamers Wyatt (Gaelan Connell), Lyle (Jessie T. Usher) and Dante (Connor del Rio) are part of an online clan that travels through the video game "Conqueror of Worlds" under the avatars known as Black Death, Wizza and Sir Bickle. In the real world though, they're just high school students who can barely stand each other. When a freak accident causes their video game to release trolls and other monsters through a portal into their hometown of Daventry Hills, the virtual clansmen must band together for real in order to save humanity.
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Check out five reasons why Level Up will have viewers cheering:
1. A catchy battle cry - The Wizza loves to shout "Huzzah!" when he defeats his foes, and his gaming buddies easily take up the old-fashioned cry (as will the audience at home). Perhaps less catchy and more tongue-twisting is "Tulta munille!" a Finnish battle cry the boys use that has a rather playful translation.
2. Over-the-top weaponry - Defeating Maldark, the titular conqueror or worlds, takes some pretty heavy-duty hardware. It's a good thing the boys have the Thunderpole (wizard's staff), Skullcracker (super-powered club) and Blastaton (unwieldy gun that fires random objects) handy when Maldark's rampaging minions hit town.
3. Girl power - Angie (Aimee Carrero) doesn't just stand by and let the boys have all the fun. Check out this clip of how she gets in on the action:
4. Cross-pop cultural references — If you think video game jargon is for geeks only, think again. The likeable characters discuss cheat codes, beta versions and firewalls before deciding to meet IRL (in real life). Also, Dante can't help quoting (or misquoting) films and TV shows, whether he gulps like a nervous Scooby-Doo or declares, "Save the geek, save the world!" Catching all the references is part of the fun in this fast-paced film.
5. Level Up 2.0 — The adventures don't end with the movie event, which is just the appetizer for Cartoon Network's series of the same name, which will air sometime in 2012. Do we hear a "huzzah"?
Level Up Trailer:
