DALLAS - September 28, 2009 - Random House Children's
Entertainment, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, announced today that
they have signed an agreement with NCircle Entertainment to distribute a series
of DVDs based on the new PBS KIDS TV series, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot
About That! This marks the first time that
Dr. Seuss' beloved Cat in the Hat will star in an animated TV series.
"We are thrilled about our new
partnership with this iconic children's character," said Debbie Ries, senior
vice president and general manager, NCircle Entertainment. "Both The Cat in the
Hat and his creator, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), have touched the lives of
families for generations. From books and movies to TV specials and Broadway
musicals, Dr. Seuss not only impacted our culture, he revolutionized the teaching
of beginning reading skills."
Featuring the voice of
award-winning actor Martin Short, The
Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! will
premiere on PBS in the fall of 2010. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About
That! features Sally and Nick, 6-year-old
best friends and next door neighbors, who are transported on a magical voyage
of scientific discovery. From the bottom of the sea to the top of the
rainforest, they travel with the Cat in his one-of-a-kind custom vehicle, the
Thinga-ma-jigger, a quintessentially Seussian contraption that can sprout
wings, pontoons, booster rockets, you name it. Along for the ride are The Cat
in the Hat's energetic helpers, the zany Thing One and Thing Two.
The first DVD is scheduled to hit
store shelves in the fall of 2010 in conjunction with the series premiere on
PBS KIDS.
"Debbie and her crew are
uniquely positioned to thrive in today's changing marketplace. With the power
of The Cat in the Hat, they will be absolutely unbeatable in the retail arena". added Kate Klimo, executive director of development for
Random House Children's Entertainment and vice president and publisher of
Random House Children's Books.
Developed for television by
Portfolio Entertainment and Collingwood O'Hare Productions, the animated
preschool series is based on Random House's bestselling Beginner Book franchise,
The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, and is currently in production for 40
half-hour episodes for the first season.
ABOUT NCIRCLE ENTERTAINMENT
NCircle Entertainment, a division
of Alliance Entertainment, LLC, licenses, manufactures and distributes family
and children's programming and related images for home entertainment and
consumer products. Alliance maintains the largest in-stock catalog of CDs and
DVDs in the U.S. -- a combined total of more than 335,000 titles. The Company
was named the 2008 Large Wholesaler of the Year by the National Association of
Recording Merchandisers (NARM). Alliance is a subsidiary of Source Interlink
Companies, Inc., a media and marketing services company, one of the largest
publishers of magazines and online content for enthusiast audiences and a
leading distributor of home entertainment products, including DVDs, music CDs,
magazines, video games, books, and related items. Source Interlink serves more
than 100,000 retail store locations throughout North America. Supply chain
relationships include consumer goods advertisers, subscribers, movie studios,
record labels, magazine and newspaper publishers, confectionary companies and
manufacturers of general merchandise. For more about Alliance, visit www.aent.com and Source Interlink at www.sourceinterlink.com.
For more about NCircle Entertainment, visit www.ncircleentertainment.com.
ABOUT RANDOM HOUSE
CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
Random House Children's Entertainment, a division of Random House Children's
Books, is dedicated to expanding the reach of children's stories beyond books
to a variety of traditional and new media platforms. Drawing from the rich and
varied library of books published by Random House, the company's mission is to
create and produce quality projects for young people that will educate,
enlighten, and entertain. Random House Children's Books is the world's largest
English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers
through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books
to picture books and novels, the imprints of Random House Children's Books
bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise
characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children's Books is a
division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a
leading international media company.
ABOUT DR. SEUSS ENTERPRISES, L.P.
The primary focus of the Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. is to protect the
integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into ancillary
areas. This effort is a strategic part of the overall mission to nurture and
safeguard the relationship consumers have with Dr. Seuss characters. Theodor
Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) said he never wanted to license his characters to
anyone who would "round out the edges." That is one of the guiding philosophies
of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Audrey S. Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, heads Dr.
Seuss Enterprises as President.
ABOUT PORTFOLIO
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Founded in 1991, Toronto-based Portfolio Entertainment is one of Canada's
leading independent producers and distributors of award-winning television
programs for kids, tweens, teens and adults. Founders Lisa Olfman and Joy
Rosen's commitment to creative excellence, solid domestic and international
relationships have propelled their programs onto the world's most prestigious
television networks. The partners have won numerous television industry awards
internationally including the Canadian Women Entrepreneurs award. They
consistently rank in Profit Magazine's Top 100 Female Business Owners List.
Portfolio's newest projects include: The Lumber Jacksons, an animated
comedy where a single dad moves his two kids from the inner city to the Yukon
to pursue his dream of being a lumber jack; HOOD, the animated
adventure/comedy about a secret society of hoodie-clad super teens; and Chinatown
Cops, the primetime animated comedy about two self-proclaimed super-cops
who dish out their own brand of ginseng-justice on a nightly basis. Portfolio's
completed projects such as the animated tween comedy Carl2
which follows the day-to-day antics of a teenage slacker and his too perfect
DNA double, and RoboRoach, a series that elevates a lowly cockroach to
super hero status, air globally. Portfolio Entertainment's distribution
division has an ambitious, eclectic catalogue of over 2000 episodes of
programming as well as access to some of the world's most established
broadcasters and emerging new players. Portfolio Entertainment is located
online at www.portfolioentertainment.com.
ABOUT COLLINGWOOD O'HARE PRODUCTIONS
Collingwood O'Hare Productions was established in 1988 by Tony Collingwood
(Writer/Director) and Christopher O'Hare (MD/Producer). The company has earned
a prestigious international reputation as a creator and producer of
award-winning, high-quality animated series, specials and television features.
In 2001, 2002 and 2004, Collingwood O'Hare won BAFTA Awards for Best Pre-School
Animation for Animal Stories, Eddy & The Bear and Yoko!
Jakamoko! Toto! Their most recent series for 7 to12-year-olds, The
Secret Show, was a double BAFTA winner in 2007, scooping Best Animation
and Best Interactive awards. COP's other production credits include their
multi-award winning debut film Rarg,
Emmy nominated Dr. Seuss' Daisy-Head Mayzie, BAFTA nominated series Dennis
& Gnasher from The Beano and Harry & His Bucket Full of
Dinosaurs; plus The Magic Key, Oscar's Orchestra, Pond Life, The
King's Beard and Gordon the Garden Gnome.
