The Harvey Entertainment Company has announced an agreement with Canada's
Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. to produce the first all-CGI direct-to-video
film based on Harvey's Casper, the Friendly Ghost franchise. Production,
which has already started, will be funded by Harvey Entertainment, with a
release to the home video market scheduled for Christmas 2000. A previous
live-action/CGI Casper direct-to-video feature, CASPER, A SPIRITED
BEGINNING, sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Alisha Serold, Executive
Director of Production and Acquisitions at Harvey Entertainment will
oversee production. Distribution rights are currently being discussed with
an undisclosed, major studio. Mainframe Entertainment shows currently air
on Cartoon Network, YTV, Fox Kids, and Fox Family Channel and include
titles such as BEAST MACHINES and WEIRD-OHS. The Vancouver-based company is
also involved in a three picture deal with IMAX to produce large-format CGI
films, the first of which will be GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. With this new
alliance and other recent ventures, Harvey Entertainment is aggressively
using its large library of well-known characters to try to propel the
company into the future and solidify its bottom line.