IDT Entertainment plans to wrap up the holidays by acquiring yet another entertainment company, buying home video distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment Group, from Handleman Co. for about $60 million. With this purchase, expected to clear in late December 2003, IDT adds an important a vital distribution component to its rapidly, escalading entertainment empire.

DIC Home Entertainment (DIC) and KOCH Entertainment, in partnership with American Greetings, has announced that the STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE Christmas music CD, BERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS, has sold more than 100,000 units in one month in release. For the week of Dec. 1, 2003, the CD finished #7 in the Billboard children’s record charts. The CD also broke into the Top 20 of all Independent Label releases landing at #12.

e frontier and Curious Labs have merged in an effort to "create greater synergy of products and business models." "e frontier has the reputation as one of the top selling 3D tools in Asia," said Curious Labs' ceo Marc Keohane. "Curious Labs has the well established Poser product. Combined, we will now offer a worldwide solution for the creative 3D artist community."

The new company will retain the separate names of each entity making e frontier the parent company of Curious Labs in the U.S.

The same week that ousted Roy Disney mounted his coup, Walt Disney's Buena Vista Film Distribution Group announced a new industry record for global box office in 2003 with its combined domestic and international gross exceeding $3 billion - thanks in no small measure to the record-breaking back-to-back $300 million duo of FINDING NEMO and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

Three award-winning veterans of the animation industry have joined forces to form a new media company, phuuz entertainment in North, Hollywood, California. Co-founders of this new enterprise are Emmy Award-winning producer/director and former exec creative director at Film Roman, Eric Radomski, former production vp at Warner Bros. Animation, Ken Duer, and former vp/gm for LEVEL13.NET (Film Roman’s Internet entertainment site), Jay Francis.

Tiger Aspect Productions has signed a raft of broadcast and licensing agreements with international partners who for animated MR BEAN, extending the popular character and his outlandish adventures to new markets around the world.

The property’s U.S. and Canadian licensing agent The Sharpe Company has negotiated a deal with Toy Play to launch an innovative figural toy range to the mass and specialty retail market. Cinder Block, a well-known adult/youth apparel vendor, has signed for T-shirts and sweatshirts.

If the honey jar don’t fit you must… In another twist to the legal battle between WINNIE THE POOH U.S. rights holders the Slesinger family versus Walt Disney Co., the Slesingers have hired O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial lawyer Johnnie Cochrin – their ninth lawyer, reported the Associated Press. In mid October, the law firm Jones Day stepped down from the case after less than five months on the 12-year long case, because the family could no longer afford its services.

Roy E. Disney, vice chairman of Walt Disney Co. stepped down from the board of directors and called on chairman/chief exec Michael Eisner to resign in a scathing letter.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, he sent a three-page letter to Eisner criticizing the chairman's leadership over the past seven years. Disney has called for Eisner's resignation in the past, but the idea was rejected by the board.

Following is the text of Roy Disney's Letter sent to Michael Eisner, asking him to resign:

Mr. Michael D. Eisner, Chairman
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

Dear Michael,

It is with deep sadness and regret that I send you this letter of resignation from the Walt Disney Company, both as Chairman of the Feature Animation Division and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. has teamed with Disney Publishing Worldwide to bring Disney character to its LeapPad Learning System. Children place the Disney books on the LeapPad player, pop in the cartridge and touch any page with the Magic Pen to have LeapFrog read the words. These books also work with the LeapPad Plus Writing Learning System and the Quantum Pad Learning System.

The U.S. Congress, under Republican leadership, and the White House agreed late Nov. 24, 2003 in Washington DC to a new limit on the number of television stations one company can own, a compromise reached to help make way for approval of a massive spending bill that will keep the government running for a year.

Walt Disney Pictures and McDonald's have teamed up to bring THE HAUNTED MANSION movie to Happy Meals. Launching Nov. 26 and running until Dec. 18, Happy Meals will feature six different toys from the movie including Ramsley's Trunk, Zombie Surprise, Madame Leota, Singing Bust, Gracey's Camera and Mortifying Mirror.

DIC Entertainment (DIC), Bandai America Inc. (Bandai) and ADV Films (ADV) navigating a course for the 2004 U.S. retail launch of the anime property, KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC, across all platforms with a comprehensive marketing and promotional campaign supporting the rollout.

CINAR Corp. will hold a special meeting of shareholders on Jan. 15, 2004 at the Omni Hotel in Montreal to obtain approval for a $143.9 million acquisition by an investor group comprised of former Nelvana execs Michael Hirsh and Toper Taylor with TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners.

Madrid’s Zinkia Ent. is busy signing up top creative talent to start production on its 3D CGI animated preschool property, POCOYÓ. The 52x7 series is being co-produced with Carlton International, for U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV.

Already on board is one of Spain’s leading 3D animation specialists, Magoga Piñas, who has joined the Pocoyó team. Magoga, has more than a decade of experience in the 3D animation field, working on feature films such as LA GRAN AVENTURA DE MORTADELO Y FILEMON (2003) as well as commercials and graphics.

Nasscom, India’s premier information technology body, is betting big on the Indian animation industry, predicting the sector is all set to register an exponential growth in the coming years, according to the BUSINESS STANDARD in a report from its bureau in Bangalore, India.

As part of its larger holiday season promotional push, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. will give one lucky consumer $1 million as part of its "PlayStation's Million Reasons to Play PlayStation 2 Combo Pack $1 Million Giveaway." Customers can enter by supplying the serial number from their new PlayStation 2 Combo Pack online at www.us.playstation.com by Jan. 16, 2004. A winner will be randomly chosen on Jan. 26, and presented with a check for a one-time payment of $1 million dollars by the beginning of March 2004.

Kellogg Company have partnered with Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Imagine Entertainment for the promotion of the family film, DR. SEUSS' THE CAT IN THE HAT, which opens in theaters Nov. 21, 2003. As part of the deal, Kellogg’s will release for a limited time a CAT IN THE HAT cereal and Pop-Tart.

Worldwide licensing agent, The Sharpe Co., has negotiated a number of licensing partners for DECODE Entertainment’s 3D animated pre-school show, THE SAVE-UMS!

New licensing and merchandising partners include Copyright Promotions Group in the U.K., France, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux territories and Italy; Licensing Works in Australia and Newman International in New Zealand. Plus Licens is a licensing partner for Scandinavia and Eastern Europe with the company also picking up merchandising rights for Scandinavia.

IDT Corp., a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company that has been showering investment capital based on animation companies has created IDT Entertainment Inc., a new business subsidiary, which will incorporate Digital Production Solutions (DPS), IDT’s existing animation company, DPS/Film Roman and its joint venture and equity interest with Vanguard Animation. Upon completion of its purchase of Mainframe Ent. in Vancouver, the CGI production house will also become part of IDT Entertainment.