4Kids Entertainment, Inc. has announced that it will be bring seven properties to MIP-TV 2004 for the first time. These programs include TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, YU-GI-OH!, POKÉMON, KIRBY: RIGHT BACK AT YA!, ULTIMATE MUSCLE, THE WINX CLUB and SHAMAN KING.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES arrives with 26 new half-hour episodes and 78 episodes available in total. The adventures and irreverent series continues the battles of cult heroes Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello. The show already airs on TF1 (France), GMTV (U.K.), Fox Kids Europe and Latin America (satellite TV), Foxtel (Australia), Teletoon (Canada), DR TV (Denmark), MTV (Finland), Children's Channel (Israel) and Icelandic Broadcasting Corp. (Iceland), among others.
YU-GI-OH! comes to MIP-TV with 48 new episodes and 192 episodes in total. One of the hottest kids TV series in the world, YU-GI-OH! follows the story of Yugi, a smaller than average high school student, who unexpectedly becomes the powerful Game King, an alter-ego who morphs into a mighty hero and defeats monsters. According to Brian Lacey, evp, international of 4Kids Entertainment, leading international broadcasters set to launch the third season of the YU-GI-OH! series include M6 and Canal J (France), Nickelodeon (U.K.), RTL 2 (Germany), Mediaset (Italy), SIC (Portugal), RTL-TV1 (Belgium), RTE (Ireland), Star TV (Greece), YTV (Canada), TVNZ (New Zealand), Nickelodeon (Australia) and Nickelodeon (Latin America), among others.
POKÉMON collects 52 new episodes and 364 available in total. The seventh season of the popular series includes characters from the popular new POKÉMON RUBY and POKÉMON SAPPHIRE game series, along with the ensemble cast characters, including Ash, Pikachu, Team Rocket, Meowth and others.
KIRBY: RIGHT BACK AT YA! has 48 new episodes and 100 available in total. The consistent performer on the FOX BOX in the U.S., the series follows Kirby, a Warpstar knight-in-training, who inhales monsters' powers and gives them back a taste of their own medicine. A number of leading international broadcasters are home to the popular animated series including TF1 and Teletoon (France), Disney (Spain and Germany), Fox Kids (Latin America) and Media Set (Italy), among others.
ULTIMATE MUSCLE powers forth with 26 new episodes and 77 available in total. The series follows prince Kinnikuman, who was accidentally displaced as prince of his home planet and to prove his princely heritage must compete in the ultimate intergalactic wrestling tournament.
THE WINX CLUB makes its first season debut at MIP-TV with 26 episodes. Set in the far reaches of the universe where witches and fairies battle in the name of good and evil, this comedy adventure follows Bloom and her smart, sassy, stylish and magical girlfriends.
SHAMAN KING descends on the conference with 12 new episodes and 64 available in total. This is a thrilling adventure series about a young shaman's quest to become Shaman King by taking place in a competition, which occurs once every 500 years.
Returning series from last year's conference include CG animated series CUBIX, the live action adventure series ULTRAMAN TIGA, the animated adventure series FIGHTING FOODONS and the young children's animated series TAMA AND FRIENDS.
Headquartered in New York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE) is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing. 4Kids, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides domestic and international merchandise licensing; television, film, music and home video production and distribution; media planning and buying; product development; and Website development. For further information, visit www.4KidsEntertainment.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
