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Dragon Booster Boasts New Licensing Deals

Alliance Atlantis announced that it has secured North American publishing and apparel deals for its childrens CGI animated property, DRAGON BOOSTER. Hyperion Books for Children, having acquired the U.S. and Canadian publishing rights, will launch a series of DRAGON BOOSTER books beginning in fall 2005. Extreme Concepts, who will begin rolling out the clothing line in fall 2005, has licensed the DRAGON BOOSTER apparel rights in the U.S.

As DRAGON BOOSTER continues to gain momentum internationally, the creative and commercial appeal of the brand is also thriving, said Jennifer Bennett, vp, merchandising & licensing, children's television, Alliance Atlantis. Working with Hyperion Books for Children and Extreme Concepts builds on our goal of creating a range of dynamic and integrated products that will enable boys around the globe to experience total immersion into the world of DRAGON BOOSTER.

A leading publisher of childrens books, Hyperion Books for Children will launch its DRAGON BOOSTER books in major bookstores in September 2005 with the first and second DRAGON BOOSTER chapter books, THE CHOOSING and RELEASE THE DRAGON, as well as THE ULTIMATE DRAGON BOOSTER SCRAPBOOK. Targeted at boys 7-10, the chapter books will be digests that retell stories from the show. Approximately 96 pages, each book will feature an eight page four-color insert with original art from the series. The 32-page scrapbook will give readers a detailed description of the characters, the world, and the history of the dragon.

In November 2005, Hyperion Books for Children will introduce the third chapter book INTO THE FIRE followed by the fourth and fifth installments OPPOSING FORCE and FANNING THE FLAMES in January and March 2006 respectively. Three additional chapter books are also planned for spring 2006.

We at Disney Publishing are delighted to add DRAGON BOOSTER to our extensive portfolio of book properties based on Disney Channel programming, said Jeanne Mosure, vp, global publisher/gm. DRAGON BOOSTER is just the kind of action-packed, heroic story that boys respond to whether through television, books, apparel, or other mediums

Extreme Concepts will be launching the DRAGON BOOSTER apparel line for holiday 2005. The apparel line will launch with a series of t-shirts, to be followed by a broader line of sportswear in 2006.

Extreme Concepts is thrilled to be partnered with Alliance Atlantis on the DRAGON BOOSTER property. DRAGON BOOSTER offers boys new levels of entertainment value, from communicating with a secret alphabet to choosing which dragon crews they will join and represent. An exciting line of boys novelty tops will be launched for holiday 2005, says Susan Peia, vp of licensing, Extreme Concepts.

The show airs on ABC Family/Toon Disney in the U.S., CBC and VRAK TV in Canada, Sky One (Pay TV) in the U.K. and ABC TV in Australia. The series will also launch on Five (Free TV) in the U.K. in fall 2005. Alliance Atlantis previously announced a worldwide master toy licensing agreement with Jakks Pacific, Inc., a worldwide trading card deal with SCORE Entertainment and a North American home entertainment deal (VHS/DVD) with FUNimation. The company is continuing to finalize agreements with other key merchandising categories and international broadcasters.

DRAGON BOOSTER was conceived by The Story Hat and the animation of the series is being produced by Nerd Corps Ent., a 3D animation facility based in Vancouver, B.C.

In 2005, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. celebrates its 10th anniversary as a leading specialty broadcaster, continuing to offer Canadians recognizable brands boasting targeted, high-quality programming across 13 specialty channels. The company co-produces and distributes a limited number of television programs in Canada and internationally and holds a 51% limited partnership interest in Motion Picture Distribution LP, Canada's leading motion picture distribution business. The Company's Web site is www.allianceatlantis.com.

Hyperion Books for Children is a unit of Disney Publishing Worldwide. Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) is the largest childrens publisher in the world, with 274 childrens magazines published and 120 million childrens books sold each year. Headquartered in New York, DPW publishes books and magazines in 55 languages in 75 countries, reaching more than 100 million readers each month.

Extreme Concepts is a full-service apparel company focused on boys 4-20 and girls 4-16 t-shirts, fashion tops, separates and sets. The principals of Extreme Concepts have 30+ years experience in the quick turn T-shirt business. The company specializes in servicing key retailer t-shirt programs through forecasting trends and responding to sales.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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