As a follow-up to Barbie's direct-to-video debut in Mattel's BARBIE IN THE NUTCRACKER, CGI animation company Mainframe Entertainment has been contracted to animate the second direct-to-video Barbie feature, BARBIE AS RAPUNZEL. Scheduled for a fall 2002 launch, BARBIE AS RAPUNZEL will feature the voices of Anjelica Huston as the evil stepmother, Cree Summer as Penelope the dragon and Kelly Sheridan reprising her role as Barbie. In this new adaptation of the classic fairytale, Barbie portrays an artist who paints her way out of the castle tower to save her beloved prince.

The RTV family entertainment company has licensed an extensive non-exclusive program package to tv.nrw, the provider of regional television programs in North Rhine Westphalia. The package includes among others the animation series TIMOTHY GOES TO SCHOOL, DONKEY KONG COUNTRY, MARVIN THE TAP-DANCING HORSE, SEVEN LITTLE MONSTERS and TALES FROM THE CRYPTKEEPER along with several live-action series. The deal with tv.nrw, which RTV plans on being a long-term cooperation, underlines RTV's desire to be an important provider of up-market entertainment for children and families.

Disney Feature Animation president Thomas Schumacher confirmed that more cuts are scheduled in the Mouse House Feature Animation division. According to the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Disney plans to lay off up to 265 employees at its Burbank facility over the next year. The cuts will reduce the staff to about 1,000 by May 2003 and are part of Walt Disney's ongoing restructuring of its animation division. When the company-wide cuts were announced in April 2001, approximately 200 animation employees were laid off from the Burbank facility and animation salaries were reportedly cut by 30% to 50%.

Canadian-based animation company Bardel Animation has a new digital production division comprised of two core departments utilizing Flash and 3D Maya. "Traditional animation is by no means dead," said Bardel's president Barry Ward. "It's alive and well and living digitally.

Miami-based Latin American distribution outfit Salsa Entertainment has concluded several deals with leading broadcasters throughout the Latin American region. Puerto Rican broadcaster Telemundo has picked up the live-action/animation preschool series SALTY’S LIGHTHOUSE (40 x 30 min) from Sunbow Entertainment.

Animation producer and distributor TV-Loonland has sold three preschool properties LITTLE GHOSTS (39 x 7 min), CONNIE THE COW (52 x 7 min) and HENRY'S WORLD (26 x 11 min), to public broadcaster France 5. The channel, which until recently was called La Cinquième, is recognized for being France's primary broadcaster of preschool programming and for providing its young audiences with television that promotes learning through play. LITTLE GHOSTS is a co-production between TV-Loonland and its subsidiary, UK animation studio Telemagination.

Gullane Entertainment has joined forces with independent animation company Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment to create a new animated preschool series called YOKO! JAKAMOKO! TOTO! UK broadcaster CiTV commissioned 52 five-minute episodes of the series. YOKO! JAKAMOKO! TOTO! is inspired by traditional Spanish, Latin American and African art and music and tells the tale of the friendship between Yoko (a bird), Jakamoko (an armadillo) and Toto (a monkey) solely through music and action.

Barcelona-based animation house Neptuno Films and Megatrix, a Spanish kids' content multi-platform provider, have sealed a co-production deal to produce the animated series 2020. Aimed at 8 to 12 year-olds, the series focuses on the everyday life of a middle-class family in the year 2020, but the series' creators say it is an ironic reflection on what is happening now. 2020 will consist of 26 half-hours animated in Flash for broadcast on television and the Internet. The first episode will be launched in April 2002 at MipTV, and the remaining episodes are scheduled for delivery in fall 2003.

Independent animation producer Delaney and Friends is planning to merge with 3D and interactive content providers Brainchild Studios and Furious Entertainment to create the new, publicly traded entity SecondSun Entertainment. Combining the strengths of the three Vancouver-based companies, the new venture will focus on the development, financing and production of animated TV series, direct-to-video features, TV commercials, special effects, movies and interactive games.

BRB Internacional's slate of animated programming will be seen in Spanish language markets in both Latin America and the U.S. BRB has signed an agreement with Venevision International, the production and distribution arm of the Cisneros Group, to distribute the BRB animation catalogue of over 700 half-hours and 20 TV movies throughout North, Central and South America, excluding Mexico.