Raven Moon Entertainment, Inc., a producer of children’s programming based in Orlando, Florida, plans to spin off Raven Moon Home Video Products LLC into a separate publicly traded corporation. Pending shareholder approval, the spin-off would take place by the end of April 2003. The proposed spin-off is expected to reduce Raven Moon Entertainment's debt by approximately $1,000,000.

The Walt Disney Company can rest easy for another twenty years as the Supreme Court has upheld a 1998 Congressional Act extending existing copyrights. On Wednesday, January 15, 2003, the justices voted 7-2 to uphold the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), a 1998 law that extended millions of existing copyrights by an additional 20 years.

Marvel Enterprises and video game publisher Activision, Inc. have signed a multi-year extension for their current video game licensing agreements, expanding their strategic alliance. The expanded agreements grant Activision the exclusive rights to develop and publish video game products based on Marvel's comic book franchises SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR and IRON MAN through the year 2009.

Creative edit house Northern Lights Post has launched a visual effects design division, which will be headed by effects artist/designer Tera Petersen. Petersen's experience includes CG/design work on commercials for Pepsi, Doritos 3D and Fruitopia, among others. "This is a natural progression for Northern Lights," said Northern Lights co-founder/editor David Gioiella.

In an effort to strategically streamline and organize its children's television animation programming, production and distribution under one business unit, Disney has moved Television Animation into the Disney Channel Worldwide division with former Television Animation executive vice president Barry Blumberg replacing David Stainton as president, Walt Disney Television Animation.

Illuminati Entertainment, a new management and production company focusing on clients with backgrounds in comic books and video games, has been founded by producer Ford Lytle Gilmore, former vice president of development at Goodman/Rosen Productions. In addition to representing its roster of clients and their properties, the company's mandate is to build new brands and franchises that can crossover into comics, games and toys.

FUNimation Productions, Ltd. has awarded JAKKS Pacific, Inc. the master toy license for DRAGON BALL, DRAGON BALL Z and the forthcoming DRAGON BALL GT. JAKKS will develop, manufacture and distribute action figures, action figure accessories and vehicles based on these animated series. The company, which acquired the license after original rights holder, Irwin Toy, Ltd., announced bankruptcy in early December 2002, signed a 3-year license for the DRAGON BALL brands and expects to show new products as early as the New York International Toy Fair in February 2003.

Toronto-based independent animation company Cuppa Coffee is not for sale. Owner Adam Shaheen reportedly turned down a US$38 million offer from a U.S. and Japan-based broadcast consortium. According to a statement released by Cuppa Coffee, the consortium offered Shaheen a deal which involved expanding the Toronto facility and opening a second studio in Tokyo that would create series animation exclusively for the Asian market. Shaheen responded saying, although the offer was flattering, he was never seriously interested.

All the speculation that the Muppets might join Mickey Mouse as part of the Disney family seems to have been for naught, as German entertainment company EM.TV and Merchandising AG announced that it has completed a letter of intent with a U.S. investment group for the partial sale of The Jim Henson Company, Inc. (JHC). EM.TV acquired 100 percent of Jim Henson in 2000 and then put the company on the block in 2001.

The U.K. MEDIA Desk is now offering U.K. industry professionals the opportunity to apply for development funding for long fiction, documentary, animation and multimedia projects. The MEDIA Plus program, based in Brussels, is calling U.K. production companies to apply for development funding for their projects throughout the first six months of 2003. The funding covers single projects and slate funding. The final date for submissions is June 16, 2003. In 2002, £1.6 million was awarded to U.K.

The animated adventures of MR. BEAN is heading to Scandinavia. The 26 x 30-minute series has been sold to SVT, Sweden and YLE, Finland by Fremantle International Distribution, which distributes both the original live-action series and the animated series. SVT will start to broadcast the series on December 23, 2002 and it will run through early February. The series launch date on YLE is still to be announced. MR.

David Pritchard, former CEO and president of Film Roman, has launched Fat Rock Entertainment, a new venture dedicated to producing and distributing family-friendly films. Fat Rock has licensed multiple properties from Hasbro, including MY LITTLE PONY and SUPER SOAKERS, upon which it will build its first slate of films. The first of the films is expected to debut in theatres in July 2003. The G-rated films will be in the $5-10 million budget range and will be a combination of live-action and digital animation.

Following the Asian programming markets DICON / BCWW in South Korea and Asia Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore, Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising AG has reported strong sales of children's programming across Asia for both home video and broadcast. EM.TV’s animation portfolio proved popular in China, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. EM.TV sold television and home video rights of the second season of MAYA THE BEE and the first two seasons of TABALUGA to Kiet Tuong Advertising in Vietnam.

The Eskimo that has had a place on the tail of all Alaska Airlines aircraft for over a quarter century is stepping down from one plane to make room for some popular Disney characters. Alaska Airlines has launched the "Spirit of Disneyland" Boeing 737-400 aircraft, which features the faces of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy painted on a bright blue background.

eStudio founders and creative team Ken Martin, Mark Cohn and Ivan Todorov have recently formed Blitz Digital Studios, a new animation studio and integrated marketing firm. While at eStudio, Martin, Cohn and Todorov produced online and interactive games for Warner Bros., spots for companies such as Best Buy, Pioneer Electronics and Kellogg's, and were the team behind the Web animated series GARY THE RAT. Blitz Digital Studios is currently in production on several new projects for Warner Bros., Showtime, J. Walter Thompson, the General Electric Company, Infogrames and Flipside.

Children's book publisher and distributor Scholastic now has rights to publish all novelizations, coloring and activity books, picture and storybooks based on DreamWorks' next five animated films, which include SHARKSLAYER and a sequel to the 2001 Oscar-winning hit SHREK.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner is partnering with children's entertainment developer Back Home Studios to produce KURT WARNER'S GOOD SPORTS GANG, a series of CG-animated programs targeted to kids from preschool to age 10. The Christian values-based property features Kurt Warner as the coach of the eight "Good Sports," who have crazy adventures while promoting faith, self-esteem, good sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The first of the half-hour episodes will be available in spring 2003 on both DVD and VHS, with other releases to follow.

Santa delivered early this year to Toronto-based visual effects studio GVFX, which has expanded its global operations to the Los Angeles area and brought on a new executive producer and head of business development. GVFX, which recently completed visual effects on the popular holiday film THE SANTA CLAUSE 2, has opened a new location in Santa Monica to augment its expanding efforts in Toronto and Vancouver.

4Kids Entertainment subsidiary, 4Kids Technology, Inc., has entered into a three-year agreement with Toys "R" Us to develop toys and games jointly for sale exclusively at Toys "R" Us retail locations throughout the world. Under the terms of the agreement, 4Kids Technology, Inc., will invent, create and engineer "Tech Toys" that use existing and novel technology. Toys "R" Us will be responsible for the final development, manufacture and sale of the products. "Tech Toys" include electronic features that enhance play patterns, making them particularly appealing to kids.

Tokyopop Releases Two New Cine-Manga Based On Disney Series. U.S. manga publisher TOKYOPOP continues its relationship with Disney with the release of two new Cine-Manga series for Disney's original television series LIZZIE MCGUIRE and KIM POSSIBLE. Each will launch as part of TOKYOPOP's developing Cine-Manga family, which currently includes CARDCAPTORS and the forthcoming AKIRA.