Category: Home Entertainment

The ever-popular VeggieTales characters are trekking to DVD and VHS on March 4, 2003 with the Artisan Home Entertainment and Big Idea Productions release of JONAH - A VEGGIETALES MOVIE. Starring Larry the Cucumber (as Pirate Larry, the laziest pirate in the world) and Bob the Tomato (as himself), as well as upper-crusty Archibald the Asparagus as Jonah, the monocle-sporting prophet, JONAH - A VEGGIETALES MOVIE is the first VeggieTales story to receive a theatrical release.

After opening at number one at the box office, STUART LITTLE 2 faded away quickly from theaters, but now has another shot at success with the release of a special edition DVD. Combining live-action and CG animation, and featuring a voice cast including Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith and James Woods, STUART LITTLE 2 continues the story of the little mouse who lives with his human parents in New York City.

Two blockbuster special editions are available on DVD November 26, 2002 and both feature some innovative CG animation.

The DVD battles are on! It's a little over two weeks since SPIDER-MAN claimed the one day sales victory (with 7 million units), and now Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced that STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES is the "fastest selling" home video release of the year. "Our tracking shows that the sales velocity for EPISODE II is faster than any other major title released this year -- and possibly ever," noted Mike Dunn, executive VP of sales and marketing, Fox Home Entertainment. Fox stated that more than 25% of initial shipments were purchased at traditional retail outlets throughout North America on the first day of release (November 12, 2002), with sales at retail topping $75 million for that first day alone. Although the studio declined to give actual numbers, it is estimated that after one week in stores, EPISODE II has sold about 7 million units. SPIDER-MAN has been available since November 1, 2002, and is estimated to have sold double that amount. Considering EPISODE II is still in many theaters, including the recently released big screen version ATTACK OF THE CLONES THE IMAX EXPERIENCE, it's unlikely that this installment of the STAR WARS saga will outsell the web-slinger, which took in a home video record of $190 million in three days.

October 2002 saw Disney/Pixar's animated hit MONSTERS, INC. earn a one day sales record of 5 million video and DVD units, and now Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment has announced that SPIDER-MAN has sold an estimated 7 million DVDs and videocassettes on its first day (Friday, November 1, 2002), based on day-one reporting. Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment shipped over 40 million units worldwide, with orders for 26 million in North America alone.

Touchstone Home Entertainment is finally giving Roger Rabbit what he deserves. Not a trip to The Dip, but a deluxe VISTA Series 2-disc DVD release. Scheduled for release on March 25, 2003 in celebration of the film's 15th anniversary, this newly restored version of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT will be presented in widescreen format with digital sound and a host of bonus features that go behind the scenes of this groundbreaking mix of live-action and animation.

In one week of sales, Disney/Pixar's MONSTERS, INC. sold 11 million DVD and videocassette units in the United States and Canada, shattering every DVD-era home entertainment industry sales record. Only THE LION KING, in its 1995 pre-DVD era release, sold more units in its first week of sales (20 million videocassettes). On September 18, 2002 Buena Vista Home Entertainment reported that 5 million DVD and videocassette copies of MONSTERS, INC. were sold, topping the industry one day sales record previously reported at 4.5 million units.

The season of record-setting DVD sales has officially begun. Pixar and Walt Disney have announced that on its first day, the home video release of MONSTERS, INC. sold 5 million units on DVD and video in North America, topping the previous record of first day sales held by Disney's THE LION KING at 4.5 million units.

Hollywood-based producer and distributor C Cubed Entertainment has acquired distribution rights for ADVENTURES IN ODYSSEY, an animated series from Christian radio ministry Focus on the Family. C Cubed will distribute the made-for-video series, based on the radio program of the same name, to all non-religious television and home entertainment entities worldwide. Although this distribution agreement marks Focus' first entry into the mainstream entertainment arena, ADVENTURES IN ODYSSEY is one of the Christian broadcaster's most successful franchises.

SecondSun Entertainment plans to add new dimensions to Heathcliff the cat, when they re-launch the feline in 3D on two direct-to-video releases. Together with Los Angeles partners Pterodactyl/Kew Productions (P/K), SecondSun plans to begin production on the feature length videos later in 2002. P/K writer/producers Barney Cohen and Kathryn Wallack (SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH) will be responsible for updating Heathcliff's style, while Aaron L. Gilbert, will executive produce and spearhead the initial licensing and re-branding the HEATHCLIFF franchise.

Anime and manga distributor ADV Films has acquired the short anime film THE VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR and plans a DVD-only release for the title. Using a mix of traditional and computer animation, the film was written, directed, edited and animated by Makoto Shinkai using a Power Macintosh 7600/120 computer and several consumer and professional-level design and animation software programs. Shinkai recently won the award for "Most Valuable Newcomer" at the 2002 Tokyo Anime Fair.