Animation World Magazine, Issue 3.1, April 1998

Home Video

DIC Is Developing Direct-To-Video. Burbank, California-based DIC Entertainment is launching a division to produce all new animated fare for direct-to-video release. The new "video premiere" division will be headed by Riley Katherine Ellis, who was most recently a producer of live-action for Caravan Pictures. DIC Entertainment, owned by the Walt Disney Company, will release its videos through Buena Vista, one of Disney's distribution divisions. A title based on the Madeline animated series is slated for release in spring 1999. A feature length animated Inspector Gadget video is also planned, to coincide with the future theatrical release of a Disney live-action feature based on the animated character. "[Direct-to-video entertainment] is a new industry that I think will grow considerably," said Ellis, who has been getting her feet wet at DIC since mid-March. Though Ellis has no prior experience producing animation, she feels that her extensive live-action background will prove useful in developing compelling material for animation, and is looking to work with writers with experience writing for long-form projects as well as animated series.

The Mighty Kong.
© Warner Home Video.
The Mighty Kong. A Mighty Video at the Right Time. In June, 1998, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment will release a new, direct-to-video animated feature The Mighty Kong, a new animated feature produced by independent studio, L.A. Animation. The 2-D animated film was directed by Art Scott, an industry veteran whose 60-year career includes work at Charles Mintz and Disney studios. Mighty Kong features voices by Dudley Moore and Jodi Benson, and original songs by The Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). The film's story line is similar to that of Mighty Joe Young, Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming live-action feature remake of the 1949 film about a giant gorilla, which has just been pushed from a summer 1998 to a holiday 1998 release. This gives Mighty Kong ample time to cash in on what Warner Home Video's director of marketing Dan Capone calls, "the impending `Monster Mania'" which will emerge in the consumer marketplace. Mighty Kong runs 78 minutes and will be available June 16 for U.S. $19.94.

FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue.
© Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.FernGully 2

FernGully 2 In A Store Near You. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release the direct-to-video title FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue on March 17, 1998. The 75-minute film will be available for $19.98 in U.S. retail outlets.

Fern Gully 2 co-directors Dave Marshall and Phil Robinson of Wild Brain explain their pre-production process in the March 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine.

Peter Pan. © Disney.
Peter PanBatman Hits The Shelves. Warner Bros. Home Video will release the direct-to-video title Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero on March 17, 1998. The 70-minute film will be available for $19.96 in U.S. and $22.98 in Canada retail outlets.

Peter Pan Flies Onto Home Video. On March 3, 1998 Walt Disney Home Video released Peter Pan, the 14th animated feature from Walt Disney. The 77-minute video, which includes an historical introduction called "You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan" is priced at $26.99 and will be available for a limited time of 45 days. After its 1953 debut, the film was released theatrically in 1958, 1969, 1976, 1982 and 1989. Concurrent with the current video release, Walt Disney Records is offering a new 25-minute audiocassette and 40-page hard cover book product, Peter Pan Read & Sing Along.

Note: Send news worthy items to editor@awn.com.

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