Casper’s Scare School

TV Kids Weekly, September
25, 2007

ORIGIN: More than 60 years
old, Casper, the perennial ambassador of Halloween and the world’s friendliest
ghost, has already spawned a Steven Spielberg blockbuster (Casper in 1995),
thousands of comic books, 100 TV episodes, and three best-selling DTV
(direct-to-DVD) movies.

The deal to produce a new
Casper TV series followed the success of the CGI-animated feature Casper’s
Scare School with a star-studded voice cast, including Bob Saget, Jim Belushi,
Phyllis Diller and The Simpsons’ Dan Castellaneta. The animated feature-length
movie premiered on Cartoon Network in the U.S. in 2006 and the DVD hit stores
in August 2007.

DISTRIBUTOR: Distribution
of the new TV series will be shared between the co-production partners:
Entertainment Rights and Taffy Entertainment (a MoonScoop subsidiary in
France).

TV SHOW: There are 52
11-minute episodes in the series, produced in CGI. “Our co-production partners
MoonScoop and DQ Entertainment bring production expertise and a track record in
delivering hit shows to broadcasters around the world,” says Doug Schwalbe, the
executive VP of sales and co-production at Classic Media. “We are thrilled to
produce a fresh new series based on one of the world’s most beloved and
recognizable kids’ properties.”

SYNOPSIS: Scare School was
founded 10,000 years ago to reform and re-educate the misfits, losers and wimps
of the monster world—in other words, to turn them nasty and scary. Under
the watchful eyes and slimy tentacles of Alder and Dash (the two-headed
headmaster), the students spend every day perfecting the craft of horrifying
humans…but, no matter how hard Casper tries to be scary, he can’t help but be
friendly. Will he be true to Boo—or true to himself?

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Classic Media, an Entertainment Rights company, and MoonScoop in France are
co-producing the series. India’s DQ Entertainment has also come on board as
co-production partner and the series will be developed with TF1 in France.

COMMISSIONING BROADCASTER:
The lead broadcaster is TF1 in France. Key broadcasters include Super RTL,
Cartoon Network U.K., Cartoon Network Europe and Disney Channel in Latin
America.

MASTER TOY LICENSEE:
Giochi Preziosi for Italy, France, Russia, Germany and Eastern Europe.

OTHER PRODUCTS: A deal has
been signed with Compedia for educational computer games. An agreement is also
in place for video games for the PlayStation, DS and Wii platforms.

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT:
Entertainment Rights is set to launch the new CGI-animated series, aimed at
kids 6 to 9, at MIPCOM this October.

In the U.S., Casper
already has a 95-percent brand awareness, according to Nicole Blake, the senior
VP of marketing at Classic Media.

Blake says that Classic
Media has a “dual strategy” for the global merchandising campaign, focusing on
products related to the original 2-D classic Casper look and products for kids
inspired by the new CGI-animated version, intended to bring Casper “into the
modern era.”

In the case of Casper’s
new look, apparel will be a key category, along with the party-goods market and
everything related to Halloween.

Internationally, the
company has appointed Giochi Preziosi as its master toy licensee for a host of
markets, with the priorities being Italy, France and Germany. This deal
includes action figures, play sets and vehicles, carnival and Halloween
costumes, board games, puzzles made from paper, construction toys and plush and
stuffed toys. “The key categories will be action figures and playsets,” Blake
says.

The merchandising campaign
has a “rich world” to draw on, Blake says, with great story lines, the Scare
School setting and a cast of characters including Casper’s group of friends and
his nemeses. Blake says the brand has the added bonus of being “mom-endorsed,”
and the series plans to offer up an underlying 365-day/year message of safety
and of encouraging children to be themselves. “It tells kids it’s okay to be
you,” Blake says. A brand new style guide for the CGI-animated Casper will
debut this fall.