The Jim Henson Company Inks Licensing Deals for Pajanimals

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Press Release from The Jim Henson Company:

Hollywood, CA: February 3, 2012: World-renowned family entertainment producer and distributor The Jim Henson Company has finalized a multitude of licensing deals for its preschool brand, PAJANIMALS, in key categories including home entertainment and apparel. The consumer products campaign will support the television series, currently airing exclusively in the U.S. on 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout®.  The announcement was made today by Melissa Segal, SVP, Global Consumer Products, The Jim Henson Company.

The Jim Henson Company is extending its home entertainment licensing agreement in the U.S. and Canadawith NCircle Entertainment to include new full episodes of the PAJANIMALS series. The first PAJANIMALS DVD title to be released under the new deal isslated for May 2012. NCircle previously distributed the original PAJANIMALS’ short form series. The Company has also entered into a licensing agreement with SaraMax Apparel Group, Inc. to create sleepwear, available in fall 2012, featuring the popular PAJANIMALS characters, Sweetpea Sue, Squacky, CowBella and Apollo.   

Additional new licensing deals signed featuring the PAJANIMALS characters, include the parade balloon company, StarBound Entertainment, who has created parade balloons featuring the PAJANIMALS’ characters with Apollo making an appearance in the recentPhiladelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade; California Costumes will be developing toddler Halloween costumes, which will be available at retail in time for the fall 2012 festivities, and LightHeaded Beds, who are developing illuminatedgraphic children’s headboards that will be available spring 2012 for purchase on their website www.lightheadedbeds.com [1].

“PAJANIMALS has already developed a loyal and enthusiastic fan base among parents and their young children, and now those fans will be able to enjoy interacting with their favorite characters on a new level,” commented Segal.  “Our continued relationship with NCircle, as well as collaborating with our new partners, will enable us to deliver products across key categories with which parents and kids will identify.”

PAJANIMALS follows the amazing adventures of four sweet and gentle characters—Sweetpea Sue the pony, the excitable duck Squacky, the creative cow CowBella and the optimistic puppy Apollo—who were designed and built by the world-famous Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop™ from original concepts by Los Angeles-based toy and clothing designer, artist Jeff Muncy. Through their imaginary journeys, these cuddly musical puppets venture out on amazing adventures of discovery, modeling the skills preschoolers need to move through their days successfully.

Produced in Northern Ireland as a co-production between The Jim Henson Company, Sprout and Northern Ireland’s Sixteen South Television, PAJANIMALS has obtained funding assistance from Northern Ireland Screen.  The Jim Henson Company’s CEO Lisa Henson and Executive Vice President of Children’s Entertainment Halle Stanford serve as Executive Producers for the series, along with long-time Henson producer, Alex Rockwell (Bear in the Big Blue House, Elmo in Grouchland) and Jeff Muncy. PAJANIMALS was created by Muncy and Rockwell. Serving as Executive Producer for Sprout is Senior Vice President of Programming Andrew Beecham, while Lisa O’Brien, Sprout’s Vice President of Original Programming and Development, serves as Executive in Charge of Production. Sixteen South’s Colin Williams (Sesame Tree, Big City Park, Big & Small) serves as producer for the series, with Michael and Patty Silversher (Winnie the Pooh, Animal Jam, Dinosaur Train) composing the music. PAJANIMALS was created by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell.  The series airs in the U.S. on Sprout, the 24-hour digital cable channel dedicated to preschoolers. The Jim Henson Company is handling all ancillary use of the property including licensing, video and merchandising.

About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated "Sid the Science Kid," "Dinosaur Train," "Wilson & Ditch: Digging America" and "Pajanimals." Features include "The Dark Crystal," "Labyrinth," "MirrorMask," and "Unstable Fables" and television productions include "Fraggle Rock" and the sci-fi cult series "Farscape."

With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry's top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s HensonAlternative brand has recently launched the national tour of "Stuffed and Unstrung," a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly. www.henson.com [2]; www.facebook.com/hensoncompany [3]; www.twitter.com/hensonparents [4]

About NCircle Entertainment/Alliance Entertainment Corp.
Established in 2006, NCircle Entertainment currently distributes over 300 DVD titles from 20 popular animated and live-action children’s programs, primarily geared to a preschool audience, that combine high-quality production, entertainment and education values.  As part of its commitment to making a positive difference in all children’s lives, NCircle is a proud member of K.I.D.S. (www.kidsdonations.org/ [5]), whose efforts to date have reached over 65 million kids globally with new products valued at over one billion dollars. 

About SaraMax Apparel Group, Inc.
SaraMax Apparel Group, Inc. designs, merchandises and produces a broad array of women’s and children’s underwear, intimate apparel, loungewear and sleepwear.The company was founded in 1985 and is based in New York, New York.

About LightHead Beds
LightHeaded Beds LLC (www.lightheadedbeds.com [1]) is a Park City, Utah-based company which designs, manufactures and markets unique children’s beds, headboards, furniture and lighting products and associated graphics (“HeadLightz”™).  Launched in October 2011, the company has received industry-wide recognition for its lighting technology’s employment in home furnishings.

LightHeaded Beds™ has introduced a totally new concept in children’s room décor.  Beds are uniquely constructed with a patent-pending, safe, low voltage LED light box integrated into the headboard to illuminate easily interchangeable, large-scale images called HeadLightz™. The beds’ back-lit panels are remote controlled and function as a dimmable nightlight, with “lights out” or “fade-to-off timer”.  HeadLightz designs are available online at www.lightheadedbeds.com [1] and sell from $19.95 to $29.95 each.

About StarBound Entertainment
Toni McKay’s StarBound Entertainment giant helium balloon company has entertained thousands worldwide and made millions of spectators clap with joy with their giant helium parade balloons.

For over two decades StarBound Entertainment’s giant parade balloons have been rented to countless national special events and parades.  The balloons have appeared in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade, the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., the Gator Bowl, Sun Bowl and Orange Bowl parades, the Disney Christmas Parade, the Indy 500 and the Oakland and San Jose holiday parades. The balloons have also made international appearances in London, Paris, Scotland, Germany, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Chile.

StarBound Entertainment has over 350 balloons available. And they are constantly adding new character licenses to their portfolio.   

About California Costumes
Established in 1992, the home office is located in the historical toy district of Los Angeles [6] right next to the garment district that neighbors Hollywood [7]. The innovative and talented design team is inspired by every facet of film, music, fashion and cultural diversity that this entertainment center has to offer and it resonates through our collections. At California Costume Collections, creativity is combined withgarment knowledge and construction expertise to craft quality costumes that set the industry standard. Better known for a unique line of proprietary designs, we also offer several well known licenses [8] ranging from toddler classics to sport and celebrity costumes.