Jakks Pacific® and Dentsu Announce Partnership for New Animated Television Series and Toy Line
JAKKS-Created MONSUNO™ Property Currently in Development; Building to a 2011 North America Launch
MALIBU, Calif.--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.
“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.”
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.
MALIBU, Calif.--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.
“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.”
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.
bookmark/share with:
