Thomas & Friends Launches New iPhone & iPod Touch App

All aboard! Steaming out of the station, HIT Entertainment announces the launch of a brand new Thomas & Friends™ application, Thomas Tilt and Go, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

Press Release from HIT Entertainment

New York, NY (September 15, 2010)—All aboard! Steaming out of the station, HIT Entertainment announces the launch of a brand new Thomas & Friends™ application, Thomas Tilt and Go, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. This is the first side-scrolling mobile “train game” designed for young children to simulate the fun and thrill of actually rolling on the tracks. Timed to the release of the new DVD movie Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue, Thomas Tilt and Go is available for $2.99 USD / £1.79 GBP on iTunes® this month. In its first week of launch in the iTunes store worldwide, the new Thomas Tilt and Go charted as the #1 paid app for children in the UK and the #7 paid app for children in the US. Because of its fast-rising momentum, the app was selected by Apple® to be featured in the “New and Noteworthy” Kids and Racing Sections in the Apple App Store on September 7th.

The app is HIT Entertainment’s latest digital offering and follows on the heels of several other popular mobile apps recently launched by the company including the Thomas & Friends Game Pack, which was recommend by the Parents’ Choice Foundation and is also currently in the Top 10 paid apps for kids in the UK and the Top 25 paid apps for kids in the US. Earlier this year, HIT Entertainment also released the Dress Up With Angelina Ballerina™ app which had been a number one download among kids’ apps on the Apple iTunes Store. The Thomas & Friends and Angelina Ballerina apps were developed by Smartfish, based in Brooklyn, NY.

With Thomas Tilt and Go, children can race against the clock on the Island of Sodor with their favorite engines, discover new destinations like Misty Island and unlock countryside and snowy weather adventures while traveling through mines and tunnels, collecting objects to score points to get to the next mission. By tilting their devices, little engineers can take Thomas, Percy and Toby on four unique missions, each with two timed levels. The new app also features video in CG animation from Thomas & Friends, including clips from Misty Island Rescue.

“The innovation of the Thomas Tilt and Go iPhone app gives kids an engaging new way to interact with the beloved Thomas & Friends characters,” said Natasha Fishman, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management and Digital Media, HIT Entertainment. “We are thrilled that the demand for Thomas apps continues to grow, and are focused on expanding Thomas and other key HIT properties across digital platforms.”

In addition to the new mobile application, a new Thomas & Friends series featuring Thomas in CG animation, with the engines speaking in their own voices for the very first time on broadcast television, launched on PBS KIDS this month. In the UK series 14, the second in CG animation, will premiere in October on Channel 5’s ‘Milkshake!’. Also rounding out Thomas the Tank Engine’s 65th anniversary year, the new Misty Island Rescue movie launched on DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment in the US on September 7th. It will be released in Australia and New Zealand on October 7th and in the UK on October 11th, and is being supported by extensive marketing and PR activity, including celebrity ‘blue-carpet’ premieres. Thomas & Friends licensees worldwide, including Fisher-Price, Random House, Egmont, Mega Bloks and Learning Curve have created tie-in products, including books, games, engines, playsets and apparel based on Misty Island Rescue.

About HIT EntertainmentHIT Entertainment is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, Pingu, Fireman Sam, Angelina Ballerina and Rainbow Magic. HIT represents Chapman Entertainment’s Fifi and the Flowertots and Roary the Racing Car in North America, as well as Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations. HIT also acts as representative for The Wiggles in the UK. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, PBS KIDS Sprout. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

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