Good morning. It's
Monday, January 19, 2004,
and this is your early morning
Kids!
briefing from the NATPE Convention in Las
Vegas.
With the on-going success of fantasy based books including Harry Potter,
The Thief Lord, Artemis Foul, Eragon, Ink Heart, The Bartimaeus trilogy
(book one, The Amulet of Samarkand) and Ella Enchanted (not to mention
the countless picture books that invite younger kids to explore the world
of fantasy such as, Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology: The Complete Boo of
Dragons) and many more on the way, fantasy/adventure animated
properties are working their way to the little screen. One
fantasy based kid series, making its first appearance at NATPE,
that you might want to take a look at is Shadow of the Elves
(K6-10) from BFC Berliner Film Companie. Shadow of the
Elves is a fantasy based series about a microscopic kingdom (a la
whooville in size) filled with flowers that are like redwoods and
bugs that might as well be dragons and inhabited by fairies and good
humored trolls who all fight to protect their world from being captured
by Lord Kann, an evil elfin king. Other BFC shows available at
NATPE include Altair in Starland (K6-10), Mission Odyssey (K8-12) and
Adventurers Master of Time (K8-12). Trailers for these series can
be viewed at the
www.BFC.net.
Other fantasy series available at NATPE include preschool series Toad
Patrol, Astro Boy (Sony) and a slightly different kind of fantasy in the
preschool animated series Dive Olly Dive! (Mike Young Production) to
mention a few.
On the live action side, TV news veteran Al Primo is at
NATPE with his kid hosted news program, recently re-titled Teen Kids
News. Created by Primo the series premiered last fall on more
than 170 local stations and is presented in partnership with Weekly
Reader Magazine. The Weekly Reader website contains in-class
activities and copies of the show scripts to be used in-class.
DPS Film Roman has partnered with Cracked Magazine to
create TV and DVD productions featuring some of the 45 year old
publication's best characters, parodies, jokes an on. The humor in
Cracked is much like you may remember it, really kid and really
funny. Dick Kulpa, Publisher/Cracked explains, “at Cracked, our
primary goal is to make people laugh using humor that appeals to
kids.” Licensing and merchandising rights have also been optioned,
with DPS Film Roman planning to create T-shirts, novelties, and
considering a game.
Weekend Box Office Estimates for kids/tweens/teens rated G, PG or
PG-13, January 1618:
Along Came Polly (Universal)
PG-13
Opening weekend $27.6m
Big Fish (Sony)
PG-13
$10.4m-6 wk total $38.0m
Torque (Warner Bros.)
PG-13
Opening weekend $10.3m
The Lord of the Rings: Return King (New Line) PG-13 $10.2m-5 wk total
326.8m
Cheaper by the Dozen (Fox)
PG
$8.8m-4 wk total $112.0m
Something's Gotta Give (Sony)
PG-13
$6.m-6 wk total $101.0m
Calendar Girls (Disney)
PG-13
$3.1m-5 wk total $17.2m
Chasing Liberty (Warner Bros.)
PG-13
$2.8m-2 wk total $10.0m
Paycheck (Paramount)
PG-13
$2.7m-4 wk total $50.6m
Teacher's Pet (Disney)
PG
Opening weekend $2.4m Source: Box Office Mojo
HEY YOU GUYS! Following on the success of the Sesame Street
teen apparel line, apparel manufacturer Junk Food will launch a
line of apparel based on the 1970s program The Electric
Company; a literacy based TV series also produced by Sesame Workshop,
then know as Children’s Television Workshop. The new line of tees
and accessories will feature segments from The Electric Company including
The Adventures of Letterman (remember the segment was narrated by Joan
Rivers and featured Gene Wilder as the voice of Letterman), The Six
Dollar and Thirty Nine Cent Man, and Easy Reader (voiced by cast member
Morgan Freeman) as well as the show logo and phrases used on the series
like, Can you dig it? Products are scheduled to hit the market in
February 2004. Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit organization,
therefore all proceeds from the sales of products based on its properties
go back into the Workshop’s projects.
While we are back in the 1970s, this February 24, UAV Entertainment
will release two new VHS/DVD titles of DIC Entertainment’s
animated series Heathcliff, Terror of the Neighborhood and Fish
Tales. The DVD releases of each title will include two bonus
Catillac Cats episodes. Created originally as a newspaper comic by
George Gately in 1973, the animated series premiered in 1984 with the
famous Mel Blanc (who incidentally also did voice work on The Electric
Company) providing the voice of the mischief making cat.
Schwab Learning, a nonprofit program of the Charles and Helen
Schwab Foundation, and kid centric interactive web site BrainPop,
producer of animated educational movies for kids, have joined forces to
create two new online movies that talk to kids about dyslexia and
how to get help in school to succeed in spite of having a learning
disability. Titled Dyslexia and Getting Help, and
targeted to kids in 4-6th grades who are struggling in school, both
animated short movies include a quiz and related games that are designed
to help kids better understand their own learning disabilities. The
National Institutes of Health estimate that 15% of the US population has
some sort of learning disability (LD) and many kids have at best a
limited understanding of their LD, which is a significant contributing
factor in low self-esteem. The movies can be viewed/downloaded for
free at Schwab Learning’s site for kids with LDs,
www.sparktop.org
and at www.BrainPop.com. If you haven’t played on the BrainPop site, it is a lot of fun.
Hasbro is preparing to release a new action figure line called Xevoz, which is targeted to kids 6+ and allows them to build figures and play with them in a multi-level battle game. What is unique about the Xevoz line is that the parts are interchangeable so kids can ‘customize’ their own superhero warriors, head into battle and demolish their opponents and re-build and start again. There is also a web component to the product where kids can log-on and build virtual characters/warriors on the internet. Xevoz figures will initially be offered in a Basic Battle Kid Assortments, each containing one unassembled figure and additional part for customization as well as pieces and of course the rules; Master Modifier Assortments featuring more powerful game pieces and parts for battle and Battle Attack that contains two unassembled figures and Battle terrain game board.
Electronic toy manufacturer Radica Games will add a range of new products to its Girl Tech line including; Girl Tech Photobooth, Room Buzz, Pen Shredder, Tech Scrapbook and an updated version of its Girl Tech Password Journal. Girl
Tech was founded in 1995 with the mission of creating a personal electronic toy line for girls 8-12 that encourages them to play with technology while build their confidence with the technology. Radica Games acquired the line in 1998
Pepsi-Cola North America has signed 14 year old US Major League Soccer player Freddy Adu to a two year endorsement deal for its Sierra Mist brand. Sierra Mist soda is the Official Soft Drink of Major League Soccer. As part of the agreement, Adu will become the spokesperson for the Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score youth program and Pepsi-Cola’s Get Out There & Play initiative. Adu will also appear in print and TV ads as well as in store marketing materials. This past summer Adu entered into a $1 million promotional deal with Reebok.
Specialty Board Games Inc. has entered into a multi-year agreement with CBS Consumer Products and Alliance Atlantis to license the international board game rights for the TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The game, targeted to players 13+, will have its official debut next month at The American International Toy Fair, NYC.
Kids Cable Network Averages in thousands (000) for Thursday, January 15, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1288; K6-11 631; TWEENS 9-14 338
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 824; K6-11 457; TWEENS 9-14 344
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 644; K6-11 363; TWEENS 9-14 245
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 117; K6-11 53; TWEENS 9-14 24
ABC FAMILY: K2-11 106; K6-11 88; TWEENS 9-14 162 Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
A MESSAGE FROM CYNOPSIS Kids!
psst! what are you waiting for?
Answer to Friday's Trivia Question:What fearless crimefighters kept watch over Empire City? COURAGEOUS CAT AND MINUTE MOUSE. Kudos to: Charles Restrepo-CBS/NY; Mike Tormey-Noggin/NY.
Today's Trivia Question: He was born in the Great Forest, though once he moved to the city he dressed in suits, went to school and became quite a sophisticate. Then he decided to go back to Great Forest where he marries and has as son. Who is this guy? (To answer the trivia, click hereand please remember to include your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four from each time zone will appear in tomorrow's kudos list.)
Later -- Gwen
Gwen Billings for Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis Kids!
Publisher/Editor Cynthia Turner
01/19/04 5:38am PT Free Subscriptions-- SubjectKids! Searchable Archivewww.Cynopsis.com Cynopsis Kids! Ad Sales 203-526-8978 Submit Press Releases to Gwen Billings at
Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004
CYNOPSIS Kids! CLASSIFIEDS JOB OPENING:SALES OPS COORD/Outdoor Life Network, Stamford, CT- Maint business ops procedures for Ad Sales computer systems including Inventory and Contract maint utilizing BMS/DealMaker/Excel. Resume/salary (1/24)
JOB OPENING:ACCOUNT MANAGER/Eclipse Marketing Morristown, NJ Direct marketing firm seeks go-getter w/ 2-3 yrs cable or ad agency exp to sell-in direct marketing programs to MSOs. Send resume/salary to (1/24)
JOB OPENING:REGIONAL NATL SALES MGR, Tribune's CLTV News, Chicago. Experienced aggressive/proactive hands-on seller will also secure/manage reps in key mkts; travel required. Email:
. More info: www.cltv.com (1/24)
JOB OPENING:DIRECTOR, AD SALES MKTG, Outdoor Life Network, CT-Create/dev strategic promos and sponsorable events to drive ad sales revenue. 5-10 yrs cable/brdcast exp in ad sales support role reqd. Resume/salary: (1/23)
JOB OPENING:FIELD MARKETING COORDINATOR/Outdoor Life Network, CT 2-3 yrs cable sales/mktg exp; Resp for selling mktg campaigns, systems training, coord promo events & attending trade shows. Email resume/salary to (1/23)
JOB OPENING:ACCOUNT MANAGER, AFFILIATE SALES/Outdoor Life Network, Stamford, CT. 5+yrs cable ind sales/mktg exper; Highly motivated, goal oriented ind. w/strong pres/analytical skills. Email resume/salary to (1/23)
JOB OPENING:RESEARCH MANAGER, ABC-TV, 3+yrs research exp. Proficient on Nielsen systems, experience with program estimates.Writing skills necessary. Reply: (1/23)
JOB OPENING:MARKETING MGR/CONSUMER-TBS/Atlanta. Work w/Mktg Dir & sr. staff to develop/manage/implement strategies & execution for various mktg initiatives and on/off air elements. Apply at: www.turnerjobs.com, Job #16918. EOE. (1/22)
JOB OPENING:SR MGR/CONSUMER MKTG, ORIGINAL SERIES-TBS/Atlanta. Dev./execute strategies for multiple orig. series launches & cons. mktg initiatives w/variety of on/off-air elements. Apply at: www.turnerjobs.com, Job #17861. EOE (1/22)
JOB OPENING:ACCOUNT MANAGER, TechTV NY Min. 3 yrs exp. Selling TV/Web inventory to agencies/clients; see accounts from proposal through post analysis; Media, Marketing, Internet, TV previous exp. reqd. Resume: (1/21)
JOB OPENING:ON-LINE AD OPERATIONS COORDINATOR, TechTV, NY- Minimum 2 yrs exp,. Responsible for implementing advertising insertion orders and creative, posting and scheduling of web campaigns. Send resume to (1/21)
JOB OPENING:RESEARCH ANALYST, Fox Sports/ New York. 2+ yrs TV exp pref; exp w/Prism system and Microsoft a +, prep single day and O&O single day schedules, various research reports & analysis. Email(1/20)
JOB OPENING:ASSISTANT, Fox Bcsting Group/NY. 1-2 yrs sales exp pref. Must be detailed oriented, resourceful, good comm. skills, team player, reliable, self starter. Computer skills a must. Email(1/20)
JOB OPENING:DIR., PGM RSCH, NYC. Provide info/insight for pgm dvlopmt, strategic planning, ntwk positioning, sched & acq decisions. 10+ yrs exp in TV rsch w/ focus on pgm rsch. Email or fax 212-907-9402 (1/20)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED --
SITUATION WANTED: NYC ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATOR seeks Full-Time or Freelance work. Experienced in Advertising, 3D, Character & Story Design and Development. Email: (1/21)
SITUATION WANTED: Experienced WRITER/EDITOR with four-year degree seeks creative position within Research, Public Relations &/or Marketing. New York-based but will travel - contact Darren at for resume and references (1/21)
SITUATION WANTED: MAY '03 COLLEGE GRAD with experience in CASTING, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION. Strong interest in casting, public relations and children's television, NY. Email: (1/20)
E-mail
for rates and specs for Job Openings. Your ad will be read by 63,760+ Cynopsis & Cynopsis Kids! readers every day. No wonder Cynopsis ads get results.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here --Email
for specs.
