Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids, IDT Media is developing two animated projects, a music video and an active play video through its 3D animation unit, Digital Productions Solutions (DPS), which recently bought a majority stake in Film Roman Inc. This marks the first-ever computer-animated depiction of the franchise, and the latest indication of DPS' aggressive pursuit of dolls and action figures to animate. The Cabbage Patch Kids is licensed by Original Appalachian Artworks (OAA) and represented exclusively by 4Kids Entertainment. Both are actively involved in the projects.
The music video features Jaimie Lee (J-ME) singing EVERY KID IS ONE OF A KIND to the computer-animated Cabbage Patch Kids. Plus there's an active play video, CABBAGE PATCH KIDS JUMP, which encourages children to exercise. Both projects will be packaged together for the direct-to- DVD market by 4Kids Entertainment Home Video in the fourth quarter.
In March, DPS acquired rights to never-before-seen Gene Roddenberry projects and recently made a series of 3D animations for the educational market, including Pearson Education's SING, SPELL, READ & WRITE. DPS was formed by IDT Media in late 2002. IDT Media is a subsidiary of Newark, New Jersey-based IDT Corp. (www.idt.net).
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
