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MGA Ent. & Mike Young Prod. to Fashion Animated Bratz

Mike Young Productions (MYP) is fashioning a new CGI animated look for BRATZ, MGA Entertainments wildly popular brand of fashion dolls who will be making their way onto TV in a cutting edge new series and feature length DVD, aimed at kids 6-13, scheduled for worldwide release in September 2005.

MYP is focusing on the details realistic hair, multiple wardrobe changes, fashionable footwear and everything a tween lifestyle series needs to be has been integrated into this new series. Up until now, hair has been one of the most challenging aspects of CGI only produced in mega budgeted movies, said Mike Young, founding partner at MYP. The Bratz girls have real, wavy, full-motion hair and they change their dos constantly.

Adds Young, Hair wasnt the only design challenge faced, the show is full of action and adventure that takes place in fantastic CGI sets that had our background artists working at full tilt. I think this series will really push television CGI to new heights.

BRATZ are cool, edgy and hip and we look for partners who share these qualities, according to Jay Fukuto, vp of entertainment from MGA Ent. When it comes to 3D, CGI-animation, Mike Young Prods. is more than a trendsetter. They are leaps and bounds ahead of the pack. Our millions of fans around the world are going to be blown away by this latest incarnation of their favorite Bratz characters.

The BRATZ brand revolves around the contemporary lifestyles of a group of multi-cultural, diverse girls with a passion for fashion.

Originally introduced in 2001 as fashion dolls with a myriad of accessories, the BRATZ are now a phenomenally successful girls brand with more than 70 million units sold worldwide since their debut. Today, the property boasts more than 300 licensees around the globe, including everything from apparel, accessories, health and beauty to publishing, party supplies, school supplies and videogames. It has also spawned a number of popular spinoffs, including LIL BRATZ, BRATZ BABYZ and BRATZ PETZ.

Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, Jade and the rest of the BRATZ cast are ideal candidates for CGI animation, said says Ellen Levy-Sarnoff, senior creative director for Bratz Ent. at MGA. They have come to life through this process and we are excited to show their fans around the world their stylinnew looks and hip attitude. We have also been able to attract an incredibly talented cast of actors including Tia Mowry, Soleil Moon Frye, Kaley Cuoco, Lacey Cabert and Wendie Malick.

Liz Young, the shows supervising producer and partner at MYP, added, We have worked very hard to complement the cutting edge technology with smart, savvy storylines. The look of the series, its style and attitude are as diversified as the audience who will be tuning in to watch it. We even hired teenage consultants on the production team to ensure that the series accurately reflects todays tweens and teenagers.

MGA Ent. has already done a BRATZ DVD, BRATZ: THE VIDEO STARRIN & STYLIN, animated by CinéGroupe, which was released in August 2004.

With more than 12 years experience in the industry, MYP (www.mikeyoungproductions.com) is one of the most prolific independent animation studios working in North America today. Recent credits include the Emmy Award-winning JAKERS! THE ADVENTURES OF PIGGLEY WINKS airing on PBS KIDS and networks around the world; Scholastic Entertainments CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG and its spinoff, CLIFFORDS PUPPY DAYS, both on PBS KIDS; the syndicated VOLTRON: THE THIRD DIMENSION. Currently in production are PET ALIEN, airing on Cartoon Network, TF1, CiTV and GMTV in the U.K.; and TODDWORLD on Discovery Kids and TLC. On the distribution front, MYP (headquartered in Woodland Hills, California) recently announced the creation of Taffy Entertainment, a new business unit dedicated to the rights management and worldwide distribution of family and childrens programming.

Headquartered in Van Nuys, California, MGA Ent. (www.mgae.com) is a leader in consumer entertainment products for children of all ages. The company creates and manufactures lines of proprietary and licensed products, including toys and games, dolls, consumer electronics, home decor, stationary and sporting goods. Alien Racers, its first intellectual property and action figure-R/C line for boys, will be introduced in 2005.

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