JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) announces a strategic partnership with
Dentsu Inc., a leading producer of Japanese animation, to produce an
animated television series based on MONSUNO™, a new original Boys Action
property.
The MONSUNO property, developed around the concept of re-awakened
Monster DNA that finds its way into the unsuspecting hands of
adventure-seeking boys, is being simultaneously engineered as 52
animated episodes and an innovative, feature-driven toy property,
targeted to boys 6 – 11. As a deeply impactful, action-packed and
character-driven entertainment experience, MONSUNO is timed for a 2011
launch in North America, Europe and Asia.
"This new venture is an exciting new direction for JAKKS Pacific into
owning our own entertainment and leveraging it into the toy line,” said
JAKKS’ President and Co-CEO Stephen Berman. "We have been scouring the
globe and are assembling the MONSUNO team, and we believe Dentsu is the
perfect partner, given their production expertise and global leadership
position in developing children’s television.”
MONSUNO will be developed by JAKKS and Dentsu in conjunction with
Dentsu’s Los Angeles-headquartered subsidiary, DCI-LA. Along with
DCI-LA’s involvement, Mr. Mitsuharu Inoue will serve as creative
director and is the former producer of the hit animated series, Bakugan
Battle Brawlers, a Cartoon Network Japanese-animated series based on one
of the most successful toy lines in North America.
"We have been working on MONSUNO for the past year and are extremely
excited about the momentum we’ve built and the partnerships that have
fallen into place,” added Berman. "We believe MONSUNO will be relevant
both to TV broadcasters as great content and to toy buyers as a
phenomenal toy line with truly demonstrable features.”
Mr. Yoshio Takada, Executive Officer and Director of the Media
Services/TV Division at Dentsu, commented, "This collaboration with
JAKKS Pacific on MONSUNO has incredible potential. We are confident that
our producers and animation teams in Japan will successfully collaborate
with JAKKS and our development partners in North America on characters
and storylines that will have a global appeal.”
About Dentsu Inc.
Dentsu Inc., founded in 1901, is the largest advertising company brand
and the fifth largest marketing and communications organization in the
world. Based in Tokyo, the Group has more than 6,000 clients and more
than 18,406 full-time employees* in both Japan and in its offices
overseas. Consolidated billings (net sales) for fiscal year 2008 were
recorded at $19,211 million. Dentsu is publicly quoted on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange (Code 4324).
*As of March 31, 2009.
About DCI Los Angeles
Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, DCI Los Angeles (DCI-LA) was formed
in 2008 to develop and co-produce animation content for broadcasters and
media businesses worldwide. The company’s strategy unites North American
and European development talent with Japanese animation expertise.
DCI-LA will also manage the distribution and licensing efforts for its
own productions, and for those in which it has invested.
About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) is a leading designer and marketer of
toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature
some of the most popular children's toy licenses in the world. JAKKS’
diverse portfolio includes Action Figures, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up,
Role Play, Halloween Costumes, Kids Furniture, Vehicles, Plush, Art
Activity Kits, Seasonal Products, Infant/Pre-School, Construction Toys,
and Pet Toys sold under various proprietary brands including JAKKS
Pacific®, Creative Designs International™, Road Champs®, Funnoodle®, Go
Fly a Kite®, JAKKS Pets™, EyeClops®, Plug It In & Play TV Games™, Girl
Gourmet™, Kids Only!™, Tollytots® and Disguise™. JAKKS is an
award-winning licensee of several hundred nationally and internationally
known trademarks including Disney®, Nickelodeon®, Warner Bros.®,
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Hello Kitty®, Graco® and Cabbage Patch
Kids®.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements (within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS
Pacific's business based partly on assumptions made by its management.
These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what
is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors,
including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand
for JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and
deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and
difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking
statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are
made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.