4Kids Inks New Licensing Deals

NEW YORK, June 11: 4Kids
Entertainment has been appointed as the licensing, marketing and promotional
agent for the Russian animated series Smeshariki in the Americas, Asia and English-speaking
territories by Munich-based rights holder FunGameMedia.

Through its agreement with
FunGameMedia, 4Kids Productions will also be adapting the more than 200
episodes of the Smeshariki animated
series produced by Animation Studios of St. Petersburg for their U.S. broadcast
debut in TheCW4Kids Saturday
block on The CW network in the 2008-09 television season, as well as for
international broadcast.

Smeshariki follows the adventures of a group of colorful,
roundly-shaped characters. Since launching in Russia in 2003, the brand has
garnered 80 percent recognition in the region. More than 3,000 Smeshariki licensed products are sold in Russia, ranging from
apparel and toys to publishing and food from partners such as UNICEF, Aeroflot,
LG, Chupa Chups and Egmont Publishing. The television series was honored with
the “Cartoons On The Bay” award.

To support the television
launch of Smeshariki this fall,
4Kids Entertainment is planning a full-scale licensing program across multiple
categories, including toys, publishing, apparel and stationery. Building on the
success of its daily radio show and branded gift shops throughout Russia, a Smeshariki feature film release is in preproduction and
scheduled for release in 2010.

“Smeshariki is innovative and imaginative, and its unique
combination of humor, and colorful palette of personality will quickly become a
favorite of retailers and manufacturers in a myriad of product categories,”
said Alfred
R. Kahn, the chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment. “With the enormous
success of the property in Russia, we are confident that Smeshariki has the potential to grow into a successful
evergreen property in the U.S.”

4Kids Entertainment has
also been named as the worldwide licensing agent for The Kookys brand by rights holder Courage International. The
Kookys are based on the character
pens known as the Kooky Klickers. Each Kooky Klicker is uniquely named and
numbered, with collections released in limited-edition “Krews.” Millions of
Kooky Klickers have been sold since they hit the market in 2002.

Building upon the plush
product range produced by Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Co., 4Kids
Entertainment will expand The Kookys brand into multiple categories. 4Kids is developing a comprehensive
licensing program that will initially focus on categories such as apparel,
accessories, games, stationery, candy, bags and backpacks, and room decor. The
property’s target audience is boys and girls 6 to 11 and tween/teen girls 12 to
17.

“Kooky Klickers have
captured the attention of “kool” kids of all ages across America,” said Carlin
West, the executive VP of acquisitions and development at 4Kids Entertainment.
“Kookys are a highly collected
icon of today’s generation. 4Kids is tremendously excited about making the
world of licensed product a lot more Kooky.”

—By Irene Lew