Animation Scoop’s Greg Ehrbar reports that Foodfight!, the coming-soon CGI theatrical feature announced ever since 2004, has finally come out – as a direct-to-DVD release, on May 7.

This is definitely one for Crossaffliction’s proposed MST3K for bad anthropomorphic movies. Ehrbar reviews Foodfight! as, “It is truly one of the worst animated films ever made.” That is evident from the 1’44” trailer alone, which is included in the AS review.

The 2015 Pan American Games are running an online vote until May 5 to choose their mascot. The six finalists, selected from 4,130 entries, are:

1) a Maple-leaf headed beaver	2) a moose	3) a multi-colour owl
4) a porcupine with multi-color quills	5) a raccoon	6) twins wearing hats

See more: Original finalist designs, prior to conversion to Pan Am colours and style by illustrator/animator James Caswell of Sheridan College.

Ke$ha promotes teenage delinquency, one-night-stands, petty theft and vandalism, accompanied by fuzzy animal mascots, in her latest music video, C'Mon. [allie is wired]

In 2013, Moscow will play host to the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. On Wednesday, organisers unveiled the event's mascot – an anthropomorphic sparrow in a blue T-shirt and running shoes.

The sparrow was amongst more than 200 designs submitted by the public over the Internet. Mikhail Butov, the general secretary of the Russian athletics federation, explained why the sparrow was chosen:

The bird shares a lot of qualities with the athletes: It's quick, light and nimble.

Brazilians cast almost 1.7 million votes in choosing Fuleco, an anthropomorphic three-banded armadillo, as the mascot for the 2014 FIFA World Cup games (soccer). A fursuited mascot is featured in the BBC's TV coverage.

As one of the most high-profile ambassadors of the event and a member of a vulnerable species, the Official Mascot can play a key role in driving environmental awareness. The name Fuleco™ is a fusion of the words “futebol” and “ecologia”. This seamlessly represents the way in which the FIFA World Cup™ can combine the two to encourage people to behave in an environmentally friendly way. In voting for the name Fuleco™, the Brazilian population has clearly demonstrated an affinity for both themes that the name epitomises. (press release)

But while Brazilians approve of the armadillo as a mascot, the way the name was chosen – a three-way online poll – is less popular. Over 23,000 signed a petition requesting a "more democratic" process, with some asking for a name featuring the vulnerable species itself.

Manma-chan, mascot of variety talk show Sanma no Manma (hosted by Sanma Akashiya) documents his trip to Anthrocon 2012. [Imuhata via baracudaboy/furrymedia]

Manma doesn't quite get the reception he expects as the "world's most popular mascot", but everything works out in the end. (Bonus video: Manma's masquerade performance.)

This July MX Collectibles is releasing a set of 6-inch tall collectible busts, modeled after various university mascots. And the first set of four is decidedly furry! Check out their web site for the new busts of the Louisiana State University Tigers, The Clemson University Tigers (pictured below), the University of Memphis Tigers, and the Brigham Young University Cougars. Each of these busts was created by well-known collectibles sculptor Clayburn Moore.

image c. 2012 MX Collectibles

The York Revolution, a professional baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania, is holding auditions to find a performer for DownTown, the team's blue, vaguely avian mascot.

Auditions will be held 2–4 PM on Saturday, February 18 at Sovereign Bank Stadium, 5 Brooks Robinson Way, in York City. Applicants must be friendly, energetic, dependable, outgoing, in good physical shape, work well with children, have reliable transportation to and from the stadium, and be at least 16 years old. In order to fit into the mascot costume, applicants must also be between 5'6" and 6'2".

Candidates will have to perform a two-minute skit during the audition. Those chosen to join York Revolution's promotional squad (the Shipley Green Team) will be paid $7.25 an hour, and the person selected to play DownTown will be paid $60 per game.

This fall appears to be setting itself up for a string of new blockbuster video game titles, ranging from Star Fox 64: 3D, to Sly Cooper [4]: Thieves in Time, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, a pair of Tekken games, and even the little-heard-of 3DS title, The Rolling Western.

New York City artist Nate Hill has retired his performance-art pieces, several of which involved animal mascot costumes. Described as "part furry fandom, part street theater, and part creepy perv", Hill's spectacles included:

• "Punch Me Panda", in which he dressed in a panda costume and chest protector, and invited passersby to take a swing at him.
• "Death Bear", in which Hill put on a hard, black bear head and made housecalls to "take things from you that trigger painful memories and stow them away in his cave where they will remain forever, allowing you to move on with your life".
• "Free Bouncy Rides", in which he wore a blue dolphin costume with a sign reading "Free Bouncy Rides", and invited people to bounce up and down on his lap.
  

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has a history of doing strange things and not taking itself completely seriously.

Now one wrestler, Jack Swagger has got himself a mascot: Swaggers Soaring Eagle.

Stretching the bounds of anthropomorphism today were Wenlock and Mandeville, the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots.

The characters are purportedly forged from the "last drops of steel" from the Olympic stadium support girders. Each is equipped with a giant camera lens for an eye – a fitting match for the UK's surveillance-friendly streets. [tip: bunnywarez]

Boys and girls can now hope to be greeted by a real-time talking Mickey at Disneyland.

Furry reactions include awesome, pretty cool, neat but creepy and not impressed.

As reported on the Journal Sentinel's blog, Milwaukee Bucks mascot Bongo successfully dunked a basketball while doing a backflip from a 16-foot ladder.

Perhaps more impressively, Chelsea F.C. mascot Stamford and Millwall's Zampa the Lion ran the London Marathon, each raising over £10,000 for charity. [freakylynx/furrymedia]

Maryland student and Diamondback writer Kaitlin Bulavinetz talks about her tryout experience as Testudo, the university's terrapin mascot.

Kaitlin appears to be somewhat of a fan herself:

When I go to games, I watch the mascot. While my friends cheer when the Terps score, I cheer when Testudo crowd surfs.