UK-based distributor HIT Entertainment has announced the opening of HIT Entertainment Canada, Inc. Officially launched on August 1, 2002, the Toronto-based office will function under the leadership of vice president Pam Westman, and is comprised of an entirely Canadian staff who are responsible for video, DVD and audio sales and distribution, as well as marketing, consumer products, licensing and broadcast sales for HIT's brands in Canada. "HIT recognizes the importance of having a corporate office in Canada," said Rob Lawes, CEO, HIT Entertainment.

The Animation Guild, Local 839 IATSE (formerly Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists) has signed a contract with Spaff Animation for work on Disney's upcoming theatrical release JUNGLE BOOK 2, as well as the direct-to-video release LION KING 1 1/2. Long-time animation vet Dave Spafford, who was a lead animator on WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, THE SECRET OF NIMH, OLIVER AND COMPANY, THE FOX AND THE HOUND and many others, runs Spaff Animation, which has provided animation for a wide variety of projects for the past 15 years.

Family entertainment company Raven Moon Entertainment, Inc. has
signed a multi-faceted development deal with Pangea Corporation, a
strategic marketing and content development entity, which specializes
in the kids entertainment and toy industries. Pangea will assist
Raven Moon in the further development of its intellectual properties,
while also establishing licensing and cross-promotional opportunities
for Raven Moon's GINA D'S KIDS CLUB brand, a series of
live-action/animated videos for children. Pangea has worked with DIC

Vancouver-based independent producer Samantha Daley has launched Nudge Productions to provide strategic production consulting, product marketing strategy, production management and sales and marketing. Her current clients include Atomic Cartoons, Pork and Beans Productions Inc. and MX Solutions. "Current market trends show production work moving from large conglomerate studios to smaller boutique studios.

It probably comes as no surprise that the incredible success of Columbia Pictures/Marvel Studios feature film release SPIDER-MAN ($800 million worldwide) has led the company into strong second quarter revenues. Revenue in this quarter rose to $71 million from $45.9 million a year ago. For its quarter ended June 30, Marvel reported a net profit of $4.2 million after provisions for preferred dividends, or 10 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $11.4 million, or 33 cents a share, a year before.

Citing the success of MONSTERS, INC. and strong sales of its Renderman animation software among other factors, Pixar Animation Studios announced higher than expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter ended June 29, 2002. For the quarter, Pixar earned $10.4 million or $0.20 per diluted share. These results compare to earnings of $8.8 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, achieved in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $22.8 million, as compared to $16.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Target Stores have announced that they have struck a deal with Gullane Entertainment to carry an exclusive array of THOMAS & FRIENDS merchandise including apparel, toys and home entertainment. One Target exclusive will be a series of pocket-sized, die-cast, portable THOMAS & FRIENDS trains called "Take Along Thomas & Friends," which will be accompanied by all-in-one play sets. Target will also carry exclusive lines of THOMAS & FRIENDS apparel for toddlers and young children, and will introduce an exclusive line of children's footwear.

Family entertainment producer TV-Loonland AG continues to expand operations in its home entertainment unit by increasing its stake in the UK-based DVD and video distributor Metrodome Group plc, London. The deal, worth some £1.25 million (US$1.92 million), will be paid with 7.36 million Metrodome shares, increasing TV-Loonland's share in the company from 29.9% to a majority stake of 54.18%. Metrodome will subsequently assume Loonland's home entertainment rights for such series as PONGWIFFY, LITTLE GHOSTS, YVON OF THE YUKON and THE CRAMP TWINS.

IMotion Picture Screen Cartoonists, Local 839 IATSE will now be known as The Animation Guild. The union, which represents animators, designers, technical crafts and story people in the animation field, has been known by its former name (or the acronym MPSC) for over fifty years. But effective with its approval by the IATSE general executive board on July 23 and the Local 839 membership on July 30, 2002, the union will now official be known as The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 IATSE.

McFarlane Toys and Warner Bros. Consumer Products have joined forces to create action figures based on Warner Bros. Pictures' highly anticipated second and third installments of THE MATRIX Trilogy -- THE MATRIX RELOADED and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, both slated for release in 2003. Action figures based on the films will debut in conjunction with each film's release. McFarlane Toys is working closely with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to determine which characters will become action figures.

Nickelodeon has bought out the other 50 percent of educational network Noggin from joint venture partner Sesame Workshop, pending customary regulatory approvals. Financial details of the buyout were not disclosed. The channel will be operated and managed by Nickelodeon, with Noggin general manager Tom Ascheim continuing to oversee the network’s day-to-day operations. Ascheim will report to Herb Scannell, president, Nickelodeon, TV Land and The New TNN.

In a considerable licensing deal, Cartoon Network has acquired over 600 half-hours of programming from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution to air on Cartoon Network UK. "In a fiercely competitive market, this is a major boost for Cartoon Network. With these titles added to our formidable library plus other Cartoon Network productions, co-productions and acquisitions, we have an unbeatable line up," said Finn Arnesen, vice president of programming, acquisitions and development for Cartoon Network, Europe.

Strega Imaging, a new visual FX and motion graphics design company, has opened its doors in Universal City, California. Partners and co-creative directors Colin Cheer and Michael Jackson gained their industry experience from their previous work on an eclectic array of projects. Cheer, an illustrator and designer, was involved in the early days of the desktop publishing revolution, and in 1997 he was recruited to head the 3D effects team at 525 Studios, working on effects for the series THE OUTER LIMITS along with other film and video projects.

AtomTelevision, a new joint venture between Internet short film provider AtomFilms and Global Media Holdings, has announced it will launch a digital network in early 2003 using its extensive library of short films and animation titles. As part of AtomTelevision's debut, the company is announcing the launch of its VOD (video-on-demand) initiative, Atom on Demand.

Despite the strong box office performance of recent hits LILO & STITCH and THE ROOKIE, The Walt Disney Company has reported lower than expected earnings for the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2002. Referencing the downturn in the international and domestic travel and tourism industry as well as the economy as a whole, Disney cited in particular the drop-off of attendance at its domestic theme parks and resorts, and the lack of television advertising dollars at the ABC television network.

Vancouver, Canada's Pork and Beans Productions recently moved to a brand new 5000 square foot studio in the Yaletown district of Vancouver. The company is expanding to accommodate a growing staff as they prepare to start Flash animation production on the series YAKKITY YAK, in association with Studio B Productions. Distributed by MTV Networks International, YAKKITY YAK was created by Australian company Kapow Pictures and follows the life of a yak that longs for his big break into show business. It is scheduled to broadcast on Teletoon and Nickelodeon Australia in 2003.

Barcelona-based Grupo Neptuno has completed a major deal with Basque television producer Euskal Irrati Telebista (ETB) for the distribution of its catalogue worldwide, excluding Latin America and Spanish-speaking stations in the United States. ETB's complete line up of more than 1,000 hours of documentaries, entertainment, animation, feature films and live-action series will join Grupo Neptuno's existing catalog, which includes the preschool series CONNIE THE COW, distributed by AAC Kids and TV-Loonland, and the Flash animated series 2020, a co-production with Megatrix.

North
American anime distributor A.D. Vision, Inc. (ADV), has partnered
with CoMix Wave, Inc., a Japanese anime and manga management and
production company, to promote and popularize CoMix Wave's creative
talent and holdings. CoMix Wave manages more than 50 of Japan's top
manga artists and illustrators, and works to discover and promote new
talent within the industry. The company also manages production --
both in Japan and overseas -- of a variety of anime projects,

Pixar Animation Studios has settled its lawsuit against
software developer Exluna, Inc. The settlement resolves all pending
litigation and any other disputes between the two companies. Exluna,
a privately held software company specializing in software
development technology for film quality graphics rendering, was
charged with the misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright
infringement and patent infringement. In a separate announcement,
NVIDIA Corp. announced the acquisition of Exluna, Inc. as part of

Gullane Entertainment’s popular children’s property THOMAS & FRIENDS, has now been translated into Spanish and Portuguese and will be seen in eighteen countries across Central and South America including Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico, and throughout The Caribbean. The series launched in early July 2002 on Discovery Kids Latin America’s newly expanded pre-school block.