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Disney Channel Announced New Animated Series

DISNEYS BRANDY & MR. WHISKERS and DISNEYS AMERICAN DRAGON: JAKE LONG will join the Disney Channel new season schedule while Toon Disney and ABC Family will add three new series, SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO from Walt Disney Television Animation, the mid-season series W.I.T.C.H. from SIP Animation, based on the fast-selling international comic magazine from Disney Publishing; and DRAGON BOOSTER from Alliance Atlantis.

PHIL OF THE FUTURE, a live-action comedy headlined by Ricky Ullman joins the Disney Channel as well and will also be part of the ABC Kids Saturday Morning lineup.

The announcement was made by Rich Ross, president, entertainment, Disney Channel, during recent upfront presentations to advertisers on the multiple kids programming platforms of The Walt Disney Company: ABC Kids on broadcast TV, and ABC Family, Toon Disney and Disney Channel on cable television. Ross is also the exec in charge of the JETIX programming block on ABC Family.

DISNEYS BRANDY & MR. WHISKERS, a new animated series from Walt Disney Television Animation, is the quintessential buddy comedy about a pampered pooch and an excitable, offbeat rabbit who must forge a friendship while surviving their comical misadventures in the Amazon rainforest. Its THE ODD COUPLE meets GILLIGANS ISLAND as they try to survive both with and in spite of each other. Among the many jungle occupants are Lola, an over-analytical boa; twin Toucan sisters Cheryl and Meryl, and river otter Ed, as well as the scheming leader of the jungle, Gaspar Le Gecko. Charlie Adler (RUGRATS) voices Mr. Whiskers and Kaley Cuoco (8 SIMPLE RULES) provides the voice of Brandy. Russell Marcus (MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) is creator and executive producer of the series. Bill Motz and Bob Roth (DISNEYS THE LEGEND OF TARZAN) and Timothy Bjorklund (DISNEYS TEACHERS PET) are exec producers. DISNEYS BRANDY & MR. WHISKERS premieres in August on the Disney Channel.

Also joining the Disney Channel schedule mid-season is the animated series DISNEYS AMERICAN DRAGON: JAKE LONG. Its a coming of age action/comedy produced by Disney TV Animation about an Asian-American boy trying to find balance in his life as a skateboard-grinding New York City teen who is also entrusted with the mystical powers of the American Dragon, guardian of all magical creatures secretly living amidst the human world.

SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO is a futuristic anime-style action series that pits the forces of ultimate evil against a scrappy band of high-tech monkey warriors led by a resourceful 13-year-old boy named Chiro. The series has a TV-Y-7 parental guide.

DRAGON BOOSTER is a computer-animated series set in mythic times where man and dragons co-exist. Artha Penn is a reluctant hero chosen as a teammate by the worlds faster dragon, Beau, to compete in the elite dragon races. They are pursued by Moordryd, who wants to capture the dragon and use his powers to control the world. Beau and Artha run deep into the underbelly of Dragon City where Artha lives two lives: street racing by day and, disguised as the mythical hero Dragon Booster, seeks justice by night to protect humankind. The Alliance Atlantis adventure has a TV-Y-7 parental guide.

W.I.T.C.H. is an action series based on Disney Publishings comic magazine of the same name, popular in 64 countries. The series combines epic adventures, magic and comedy through the lives of five young heroines Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay-Lin each chosen to be Guardians of the Veil, chosen to maintain order in the universe. At the same time, they must cope with the trials and tribulations of being teenagers. The SIP Animation production has a TV-Y-7 parental guide.

Toon Disney expands its action/adventure evening block, JETIX, to 19 hours a week and will premiere the first original JETIX series, the animated SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE, W.I.T.C.H. and DRAGON BOOSTER, plus all new episodes of BEYBLADE in its third season, BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION, for the 2004-05 season. Toon Disney will also add daily primetime airings of the acclaimed series THE PROUD FAMILY ALONG with the cable premiere of SABRINAS SECRET LIFE on weekends, it was announced by Jonathan Barzilay, svp/gm, ABC Kids and Toon Disney.

JETIX, a newly branded programming block seen mornings on ABC Family and evenings on Toon Disney, is the first Disney television brand dedicated to the action/adventure/comedy genre.

SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE, W.I.T.C.H. and DRAGON BOOSTER will also air on ABC Family, joining the reinforced lineup of the top-rated POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER (the 12th incarnation of the international phenomenon POWER RANGERS) and two other cornerstone series, the third season of the anime sporting adventure BEYBLADE entitled BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION - and the fourth season on the anime sensation DIGIMON. In addition, several classic series from Marvel, including SPIDER-MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK will be seen during JETIX on ABC Family.

The JETIX 2004-05 schedule on ABC Family is (all times ET/PT):

WEEKDAYS7:00 am, DIGIMON, (returning series)7:30 am, BEYBLADE, (returning series)8:00 am, POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER, (returning series)8:30 am, DIGIMON, (returning series)

WEEKENDS7:00 am, BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION, (returning series, new season)7:30 am, BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION, (returning series, new season)8:00 am, POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER, (returning series, new episodes)8:30 am, POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER, (returning series, new episodes)9:00 am, SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO, (new series)9:30 am, DRAGON BOOSTER, (new series, October premiere)10:00 am, DIGIMON, (returning series)10:30 am, SPIDER-MAN, (returning series)11:30 am, GARGOYLES , (returning series)

Disney Channels hit THE PROUD FAMILY, televisions first animated sitcom with an African-American girl as the lead character, will also air nightly on Toon Disney (10:30 p.m., ET/PT). SABRINAS SECRET LIFE, the latest animated installment about the teenage life of the popular witch, will air twice weekend mornings (7:00 and 7:30 a.m., ET/PT) and weekend afternoons (4:00 and 4:30 p.m., ET/PT).

Premiere dates for Toon Disneys 2004-05 season lineup will be announced at a later date. The JETIX schedule is as follows (all times are ET/PT):

MONDAY-THURSDAY:7:00 pm, DISNEYS THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, (returning series)7:30 pm, POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER, (returning series)8:00 pm, BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION, (new series)8:30 pm, POWER RANGERS NINJA STORM, (returning series) 9:00 pm, BEYBLADE VFORCE, (returning series)9:30 pm, DIGIMON, (returning series)

FRIDAY:9:00 pm, BEYBLADE VFORCE, (returning series)9:30 pm, DIGIMON, (returning series)

SATURDAY-SUNDAY7:00 pm, SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO, (new series)7:30 pm, POWER RANGERS DINOTHUNDER, (returning series)8:00 pm, BEYBLADE G-REVOLUTION, (new series)8:30 pm, DRAGON BOOSTER, (new series) 9:00 pm, SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO, (new series)9:30 pm, DIGIMON, (returning series)

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