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Run, Kitty, Run! The Legend of Hei 2 on Blu-Ray! Coming Soon

The beloved Chinese animated fantasy returns with The Legend of Hei 2, continuing the story of spirits and humans struggling to coexist. With new dangers emerging from the spirit world, this sequel expands the mythology with a fresh adventure and stunning hand-drawn animation.

The Legend of Hei 2 Blu-ray GKIDS and Shout! Studios
Release Date: May 12, 2026

The story continues in The Legend of Hei, the acclaimed Chinese animated film that won audiences over with its beautiful hand-drawn animation and heartfelt storytelling. For anyone who missed the original, the movie is available online, with the home video still easy to find. Now the sequel, The Legend of Hei 2, arrives with a brand-new adventure filled with fresh dangers and a looming threat from the spirit world.

While the premise of maintaining balance between worlds may sound familiar, this story takes its own path. The conflict between spirits and humans is a universal theme, but this sequel expands the mythology in new directions rather than echoing other animated series. Readers can check out my review of the first film here.

The upcoming Blu-ray release of The Legend of Hei 2 arrives May 12, 2026 from GKIDS and Shout! Studios, bringing the acclaimed animated sequel home with several behind-the-scenes extras.

From the Press Release:

Revered for its luminous hand-drawn animation and emotionally rich storytelling, The Legend of Hei 2 reunites audiences with a world where spirits and humans coexist in uneasy harmony, raising the stakes with a sweeping new chapter that balances heart, humor, and kinetic action.

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Is There Gold To Be Found With Kayara, A Peruvian Animated Film?

A rare animated look at the Incan world, Kayara blends a familiar coming-of-age structure with a thoughtful historical lens. The result is an engaging adventure about identity, resilience, and a civilization fighting to preserve its spirit.

Kayara Movie Poster The ancient Incan world is fascinating not only because of where it existed within the cosmos, but also because, as a mountain community, the way its people communicated between villages is worth examining too. While there are plenty of scholarly publications on the subject, seeing that world brought to life through animation is incredibly rare. Now there’s Kayara, the latest entry to deliver not only a strong coming-of-age tale, but also a historical glimpse into this culture’s past.

My first exposure to this world came through The Mysterious Cities of Gold; I don’t count The Emperor’s New Groove, since it’s more sitcom-oriented than folklore-driven. While The Road to El Dorado is more about the arrival of the Spaniards, I still wanted to know more. Thanks to Shout! Studios’ commitment to bringing world animation to their growing catalogue of releases, I was pleased to check out Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon (review), made by Peruvian animation studio Tunche Films, and their next work proves just as enlightening.

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Look Out! The Skywatcher is Coming, And There’s No Need To Be Scared.

Part two of the Skywatcher trilogy heads to Bradshaw Ranch, trading hard answers for atmosphere and suggestion. With gorgeous drone work and speculative skywatching, this middle chapter feels more like a field guide than a revelation.

Bradshaw Ranch is back under the magnifying glass, and this time Dan Starkey and Clive Christopher (of Unearthed) are poking around Sedona, Arizona to see what kind of cosmic dust is being kicked up. Usually, their eyes are glued to the skies, scanning for UAPs drifting over the desert. In part two of a trilogy flying under the Skywatcher banner, and no, I did not spiral into thoughts of Skywalkers or Skinwalkers. What we get isn’t a deep excavation of theory but more of a starter kit. It’s a gentle “here’s how you might flag down the weird” guide for anyone tempted to pack a flashlight, find a mate to protect your back, and go hunting for an unexplained encounter.

The region near the Superstition Mountains has long been steeped in lore. Indigenous stories, frontier myths, whispers of hidden gold and stranger things. If cryptids once roamed the Wild West, I would not be shocked. That’s not the path this documentary takes. Instead, it leans into the idea of energy, where it’s coming from and if it is sentient. Maybe this force is stirred up by human intention, or perhaps by something less visible and more elusive. If I ever decide to go hunting for hematite, well known in New Age circles for its “grounding” properties, I now know where to start. Still, much like the cautionary tales about removing lava rocks from Hawaii, I suspect the desert might not appreciate souvenirs either.

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Storm Crow Manor & Arcana Food and Spirits: Their Loose Haunted Connection

Arcana Food and Spirits in Gastown delivers a noir occult hangout with cocktails that glow, keepsake cards worth collecting, and a steak frites that hits the mark. It’s part speakeasy, part spooky lounge, and I’m already plotting my return.

During the Fan Expo Vancouver weekend, I knew I had to visit Arcana Food and Spirits in Gastown again, and they didn’t disappoint! From the neon glow of a “pet psychic” facade outside to the noir-styled interior within, walking into Arcana feels like stepping into another dimension. The entrance is decorated like in Rocky Horror Picture show, but once you’re inside, what’s there is more of a speakeasy than an area for a stage show.

This time around, I brought my friend Susan along. We’ve done paranormal investigations together and while we weren’t planning to run a session on a busy Friday night, I’ll admit the mood makes you half-expect a planchette to slide on its own. I also had to accept one bittersweet update: anyone hoping to meet the Lich King or sip beside the Cthulhu tiki mug and take home now has to make a pilgrimage to Toronto’s Storm Crow Manor. but here, all you can do is drink with them. Their storefront, Mysterious Package Company doesn’t seem to update inventory often, so don’t count on snagging rare barware online.

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Shell-A-Bration 2026 Updatess and TMNT! Upcoming Dates And Why This Reunion Shouldn’t Be Missed

A TMNT “Shell-A-Bration” reunion tour has been rolling through cons, bringing suit performers and voice actors together for fans who grew up on the 1990 live-action classic. With rotating lineups, raffle moments, and plenty of nostalgia, this circuit is a proper love letter to the people behind the shells.

TMNT Shell-A-Bration The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are having a “Shell-A-Bration” because when the tour began in 2025, the original film that started it all was celebrating a 35-year milestone. The reunion kicked off at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. (March 4–6, 2025), and the main cast has been enthusiastic nonstop ever since. It’s not just about everyone getting older and wanting a retirement fund. Whether that’s part of the reality or not, seeing the voice talents and the people behind the first two live-actions film is a thrill all on its own. At each stop, they talk about the camaraderie, the laughs, and the stories from set, and I’m sure plenty of respect gets paid to the performers in the suits who handled the stunts.

Kenn Scott (suit/voice) is Raphael; Michaelan Sisti (suit) and Robbie Rist (voice) make up Michelangelo; Leif Tilden (suit) and Corey Feldman (voice) teamed up as Donatello (with Ernie Reyes Jr. providing the martial arts stunts); and David Forman (suit) and Brian Tochi (voice) bring Leonardo to life. The lineup changed between films, but I doubt anyone who wasn’t at the table this time was forgotten on the broader circuit.

Feldman was at least “there in spirit,” since he was also representing The Goonies. He arrived late in getting to Vancouver due to a flight kerfuffle, then sped down I-5 to make it to the border and into town. If he’d had the energy to celebrate both, the lineup with him included would have been truly Shell-tacular. Still, mixing performers and voice talent gives fans the best of both worlds. You’re seeing the people behind the costumes, and the ones playing the characters we all see in those films.

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When Unhinged Pasts Are Revealed, What’s Diabolic (2026) Is Sure to Scare

Diabolic blends trauma, control, and the supernatural into a hallucinatory folk-horror trip. While the film leans heavily on its past timeline, Phillips’ visceral style shines once the weirdness bleeds into the present.

Diabolic (2025) Movie Poster Streaming on VOD (YouTube, Apple TV+)

Aussie-made films can sometimes lean on the outback, or curiosity about Indigenous culture, but Diabolic takes a different path. Though the story plays out in the proverbial outback of Utah, I couldn’t help wondering why foreign investors were more interested in helping Daniel J. Phillips make this film than backing local creators. It’s not a detail worth nitpicking since the movie was shot in the land down under, but it becomes noticeable when the landscape feels slightly wrong for its intended setting. Maybe that’s part of the hallucinatory effect Phillips is aiming for.

After Elise (Elizabeth Cullen, The Bureau of Magical Things) leaves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she thinks she’s safe. She’s moved on, but the nightmares keep coming. Elise has PTSD, and that’s the terrain the film explores more than anything else. Thankfully, her boyfriend Adam (John Kim, The Librarians) and her adoptive sister Gwen (Mia Challis, Outer Banks) are understanding. Trouble starts when they take a camping trip to get away and bring drugs along, hoping to knock down the walls Elise has built so she can finally feel whole and free from her past.

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