American Greetings, DQ Partner for Maryoku Yummy

NEW YORK, June 20: American
Greetings Properties has signed a co-production deal with India’s DQ
Entertainment to create a 52×11-minute television series for the Maryoku
Yummy brand.

Jymn Magon, whose credits
include Duck Tales, Rescue
Rangers and Winnie The Pooh, has been retained to create the episode scripts
and oversee the overall direction of the Maryoku Yummy series. DQ Entertainment along with American
Greetings Properties will co-produce the show. DQ Entertainment will hold
entertainment distribution rights for broadcast and home video in France and
India. They will also have all the merchandising rights in India. American
Greetings Properties will retain rights for the rest of the world. American
Greetings Properties is currently in discussions with several broadcasters to
debut the series in Fall 2008.

Targeted towards children
aged two to five, the animated series follows Maryoku, an adorable
"Yummy" who lives in a quirky, fantastical world where all children's
wishes go to be granted. Jeffrey Conrad, the studio chief at American Greetings
Properties, and creator of Maryoku Yummy, notes: "Maryoku means ‘magical'
in Japanese and the characters grew out of doodles that I created over the
years. I've always been fascinated by the landscape prints from the Edo Period
because they create a visual journey that inspires both philosophical and
poetic reflection. We are very excited about partnering with DQ Entertainment
to bring Maryoku Yummy to life
in animation."

Beyond the TV show,
American Greetings Properties is seeking partnerships in the publishing, toy,
apparel, accessories, and home entertainment categories.

In other Licensing Show
news for American Greetings, the company has extended its relationship with
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. This new agreement grants Fox the
exclusive marketing and distribution rights in North America to several
additional franchises from AGP's roster, among them Sushi Pack and the all-new Care Bears series, as well as Twisted Whiskers and Maryoku Yummy.

The companies are
currently preparing for the release of Oopsy Does It!, an all-new feature length Care Bears adventure that will be released theatrically this
summer and on DVD in the fall. In addition to the Care Bears home entertainment
releases currently handled by Fox Home Entertainment, it will now also
distribute the new Care Bears
animated series, which is premiering this fall on the Saturday morning
programming block on CBS.