The latest licensees include:

• TV Mania, Collective Brands, Mlab Concepts and Aykroyds for apparel
• Simon & Schuster U.K., Egmont U.K. and Egmont VGS, Random House and Alligator Publishing for publishing
• Herding Heimtextil for bedding
• Trends International, Alpha U.K., Paperline Designs, Union-Transit Company for stationery
• Procos for party paperware
• Pyramid International for posters and badges
• Sandylion for accessories
• Rubies for dress-up
• Toyster for puzzles
• Vast Sky for backpacks

The film has already signed Spin Master as the master global toy partner for action figures, vehicles and role-play items; Paramount as global DVD partners; and THQ as global interactive games partner.

The Last Airbender hits theaters on July 2.

In MTV Networks International news, the following programming sales were made: “MTV Unplugged,” featuring Katy Perry, to Switzerland’s SF; Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Global Edition” to Iceland’s 375 Media; “The Hills” and “My Super Sweet 16” to Ireland’s TG4; “American Mall” and “Rocko’s Modern Life” to Denmark’s DR Ramasjang; “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “TDS Global Edition,” both one-year extensions, to French-speaking Africa’s Canal Plus Horizons; “The Troop,” “Double Dare,” “El Tigre,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to Georgia’s Teleimedi; “Mind of Mencia” (seasons 1 to 4), “Trigger Happy TV” (season 3) and “Dave Attell” to Sky Mexico; “Jackass” to Panama’s TVN; and “Rugrats,” a renewal, to Ecuador’s Ecuavisa.

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The latest signings include:

• Accessory Innovations for tote bags, wallets, bag clips, messenger bags, cross-body satchels, key chains and bookmarks (U.S.)
• Bif Bang Pow for figures and bobbleheads (worldwide)
• C&D Visionary for stickers, patches, magnets, buttons, key chains and (non-lenticular) bookmarks (U.S.)
• Fundex for games, co-branded games and puzzles (worldwide)
• Genki Wear for fragrances (U.S.)
• Hallmark for greeting cards and other social expressions (U.S.)
• Harper Collins for an original novel (worldwide)
• Jerry Leigh for fashion T-shirts and hoodies (U.S.)
• LTL Prints for removable wall art (North America)
• Philcos for fashion T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, mood jewelry, blankets, headwear, glassware, buttons and wallets (Canada)
• Rubies for costumes, masks and accessories (U.S./Canada)
• Rock Paper Pencils for lenticular journals, bookmarks, pens and stationery (U.S.)
• Storm City for a video game (worldwide)
• Scorpio for posters (U.S.)
• Sticker You for stickers, decals, static clings and appliqués (U.S.)

“We have teamed with industry-leading licensees to bring the Beastly merchandising program to life for this much-anticipated summer film,” says Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products. “The licensing and retail programs will give fans the opportunity to extend their enjoyment of the film into their everyday lives.”

Beastly, which stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer, will hit theaters on July 30 in the U.S. and Canada.

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The Monty Python brand celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and this has led to a flurry of activity. Sony is due to release a DVD box set containing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Life of Brian, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl and Now for Something Completely Different. A one-off Python stage show, starring Eric Idle, is set for London’s Royal Albert Hall on October 23 and a new Python documentary is also due for theatrical and DVD release later this year, followed by a TV broadcast around the world. PPC’s licensing program in the UK includes voice key chains, dress-up, branded T-shirts, skill-with-prize machines, and greeting cards.

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“Securing key licensing categories with market leaders will help us achieve massive exposure at retail and we are pleased to partner with such a highly renowned apparel licensee in the UK,” says Marie-Laure Marchand, managing director of Big Bocca Productions.

Huntik’s UK licensing program already includes toys and a trading card game through Upper Deck in stores now. In 2010, other merchandise to roll out includes a monthly Huntik magazine, full line of mini collectible figures and sticker albums from Panini, a Nintendo DS title developed by Rainbow Media and a DVD by E1.

Huntik: Secrets & Seekers airs on Disney XD in the U.K. and on CITV. The show is created by Iginio Straffi, the author of Winx Club, and developed through a partnership with Big Bocca Productions, Rainbow SpA. and m4e.

The Brit Chicks virtual world at www.britchicks.com will launch in October 2009. The brand, owned by UK-based Brand Champions, is targeted to girls ages 7 and older.

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In the first of a seven-part video series, Lasseter introduces the new collectible Toy Story Definitive toy line from Thinkway Toys and Disney Consumer Products. The range features film-accurate replicas of Sheriff Woody, Rex, space aliens, RC Remote Control Car and Buzz Lightyear. The toys are available now at mass retailers, Disney Stores and www.disneystores.com.

This October, the first two classic films in the Toy Story franchise will be re-released in 3D, followed by a third new movie in summer 2010. Other licensed merchandise will hit retailers this fall. Products will include light-up apparel, home décor, a motor-powered Buzz Lightyear robot with 25 voice commands, food, personal care, stationery and party items. Toy Story 3 ranges will be available at the time of the movie’s release.

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The Marvel Hallmark line will feature characters from upcoming films such as Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers, as well as from popular animated series — The Super Hero Squad Show, Iron Man: Armored Adventures and Wolverine and the X-Men. Product will range from social expressions with lights, sounds, personalization, as well as electronic and mobile greetings and Crayola arts and crafts products.

“The social expressions category is an impactful channel to capture new and existing fans and keep them immersed in our character base,” says Paul Gitter, president of consumer products for North America at Marvel Entertainment. “Entering into an expansive relationship with Hallmark — a true thought leader in the industry — enables us to further extend the reach and image of the Marvel brand in a meaningful way.”

“The Marvel Universe and Marvel Studios’ upcoming slate of feature films are ideally suited for trading cards and trading card games that will appeal to a wide audience,” says Paul Gitter, president of consumer products, North America, for Marvel Entertainment. “Upper Deck is a true industry leader with a wide network of retail distribution, enabling us to fully leverage the trading card and gaming arena to bring fans another exciting, interactive experience with the Marvel brand.”

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“Laura Ashley is widely recognized for fashion and home furnishings rich with pattern, texture and fresh colors,” says Penne Cairoli, general manager of Laura Ashley. “Launching a contemporary collection of scrapbooking products is a natural extension of our product line. We look forward to offering our customers another reason to choose Laura Ashley.”

The Fort Hill, South Carolina-based Laura Ashley brand appears on women’s and children’s wear, as well as home furnishings. Current licensees include Russell-Newman, Revman International and Kincaid Furniture.

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Clinton owned the Birthdays chain until Birthdays was placed into administration last month.

The 196 Birthdays stores that Clinton has bought include 29 that operate under Clinton leases. The stores will be managed from the Clinton head office in Essex.

The deal saves the jobs of almost 1,500 people.

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Prestige, the company’s first rookie card line, will hit stores in October 2009. The cards will include the five prospects in uniforms of the NBA teams that selected them in the 2009 NBA Draft presented by EA Sports.

“Rookies are a key part of the trading card business and we’re excited that fans will have the opportunity to receive autographed cards of these great players exclusively in Panini packs,” says Mike Eisenstein, chief executive officer of Panini America. “As we look forward to beginning our first year as the NBA’s exclusive trading card partner, it was important for us to build around great basketball players and great people. We feel strongly that these five will make a positive impact both on and off the court.”

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“Consumers love to find new ways to share a laugh and with Talking Heads they have a quirky way to celebrate any sense of humor,” says Carol Miller, executive director of new product categories at American Greetings. “The cards are a lot of fun, and we think shoppers will enjoy picking them out just as much as sending them.”

The line is available at drug chains, grocery stores and supercenters nationwide, as well as at American Greetings and Carlton Cards retail stores.

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“We are pleased to announce that two offers have been accepted and are hopeful that contracts will be finalized in a matter of days,” says Peter Saville, partner at administrator Zolfo Cooper Europe. “No purchaser has been forthcoming for the remaining 132 stores or the head office at Bury and we will be implementing a closure program with immediate effect, with all stores scheduled to cease trading by close of business on June 24.”

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Key iCarly products are set to make their debut this autumn for Christmas 2009 trading. Among the upcoming launches are Activision with iCarly video games for Nintendo Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 2, and master toy licensee Vivid Imaginations in conjunction with Playmates Toys to launch a range of toys and tween electronics encompassing figures, playsets and roleplay items that will be supported on TV from October.

Alligator Books will launch a range of activity books this summer with International Greetings debuting a stationery range and Pyramid Posters launching posters and badges. Martin Yaffe will launch a range of wheeled toys and hair appliances and Trade Mark Collections will launch a range of fashion backpacks and bags.

February saw the launch of the first series on DVD from Paramount, a range of Simon & Schuster Books and a Wrappz range of skins for laptops, PCs and iPods launched in May 2009. An iCarly CD of music from the show launched in 2008.

Licenses are now in place for toys, books, apparel, video games, accessories, outdoor toys, posters, stationery, badges and bedding. Licensees also include J&K Henderson, Character World and Aykroyds. Other deals are in the pipeline.

Since launching, www.icarly.co.uk has had more than 21 million page views. The website allows users to see latest episodes, send emails, play games and submit their own videos to get shown on the site.
“We are really excited about the iCarly phenomenon and great ratings demonstrate that there’s great anticipation ahead of the launch of the new product ranges hitting retailers for Xmas 2009,” says Clare Piggot, Nickelodeon UK’s vice president of consumer products.

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Panini has previously worked on Rainbow properties such as Tommy and Oscar, Winx Club and Monster Allergy. The business already distributes Huntik sticker albums in Italy and has expanded the deal to include 3D flow-pack figurines and comic books. Panini has committed to support the Huntik launch with a television, press and sampling campaign.

The first Huntik series is airing in over 30 countries. The second season has sold to over 50 territories, including the UK and the US. The launch of the Panini product range will complement the broadcast of the series in each territory.

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Redan will feature ToddWorld in its Fun To Learn Friends and Fun To Learn Favorites titles. Todd and his friends will appear in a range of formats from activity pages and storylines to cover mounts, posters and workbooks.

ToddWorld is the Emmy-nominated children’s television series based on the books by Todd Parr and is currently airing on CBeebies in the United Kingdom. Scheduling is secured with the BBC until 2012.

“ToddWorld delivers a unique sense of charm to the preschool sector and fits in perfectly with the ethos of our Fun To Learn Friends and Fun To Learn Favorites titles,” says Julie Jones, publishing director at Redan.

CCL’s licensing program for ToddWorld includes toys from Trends UK and interest from the publishing, apparel and stationery categories.

“We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Redan,” says Andrew Alston, licensing director at CCL. “With its striking visuals and important messages about acceptance and tolerance, we believe ToddWorld to be a very exciting property and a perfect fit for the Fun To Learn series.”

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“Universal and Hallmark have enjoyed a great partnership for many years, and our alliance brings the partnership to a new level of commitment,” says Stephanie Sperber, executive vice president for Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “By drawing on our incredible library and amazing line-up of new films, Hallmark customers will now be able to express themselves through the most unforgettable moments from their all-time favorite movies.”

“The expanded partnership gives millions of consumers new ways to celebrate meaningful occasions and include their favorite television shows and movie,” says Karen Mitchell-Layton, Hallmark’s vice president of licensing. “This aligns with our company’s purpose of enhancing relationships and enriching lives.”

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New licensing partners in the US include Jay at Play for novelty room décor for children and Liquid Crystal for personal care items, also for children. For young adults and juniors, Mr. Men T-shirts and offered by Demand Made, which is making printed on-demand apparel and accessories via yerzies.com.
In the UK, the licensing program will continue to expand into new categories with Martin Yaffe producing a range of electrical goods, including hairdryers and food processors. The Corporate Clothing Company will develop Mr. Men apparel for the souvenir market. Blueprint has renewed its stationery deal, and Euromark has renewed its homewares range.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Mr. Men merchandising program has grown to over 40 partners. Qantas has renewed its partnership for a second year with new Mr. Men in-flight activity kits. Fonterra Brands will launch a range of yogurts destined for retail shelves in September, backed by an in-store consumer promotion.

In Germany, CPLG has signed to represent the brand, while in France, Canal Toys has come on board as partner for arts and crafts. Master toy licensee, Fisher-Price, launched its Mr. Men toy range in January.
A television tie-in publishing program has been developed with Egmont in the UK and with Hachette in France to launch a range of books later this year.

“The Mr. Men franchise continues to gain momentum in line with our most ambitious aspirations,” says Eric Karp, executive vice president of global licensing and merchandising at Chorion. “This autumn will mark the first time we will have toy, DVD, publishing, fashion and TV tie-in merchandise operating together at retail in our established markets in the US, UK, France and Australia.”

The young adult fashion business for Mr. Men and Little Miss continues to thrive at leading retailers around the world with H&M, Marks & Spencer and Target stocking a range of products.

The Mr Men Show is continuing its worldwide rollout with ABC Australia picking up season 2; and Cartoon Network Asia, Korea and Japan all taking both seasons 1 and 2 along with Canal J Russia and TG4 Ireland. The first season is also continuing to make new sales with True Visions Thailand, Happy TV Serbia, Disney Taiwan and RTP Portugal all taking broadcast rights.

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The greeting card line features 24 pocket card spinners; 12 activity cards with cling material, wall magic, stickers and sounds; and 12 activity books with fun facts and games. The cards will launch this year, followed by the activity items in 2010.

The Joester Loria Group brokered the deal.

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The letter line is available now through www.giftventure.com and www.store.sesameworkshop.org.

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• Children’s Apparel Network (master apparel licensee) for T-shirts, fashion apparel, daywear and activewear (available this fall)
• Saramax for sleepwear
• MTC for outerwear
• Berkshire Fashion for outerwear and cold weather accessories
• Added Extras for health and beauty products
• Penguin for publishing
• Dalmatian Press for coloring and activity books
• ES Originals for bags
• In Zone Brands for beverages
• Hasbro (master toy licensee)
• Fox Home Entertainment for CGI DVD “The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky’s the Limit”

Cookie Jar Entertainment will also showcase the latest product lines from its other properties, such as Richard Scarry, Johnny Test, Mommy & Me and Caillou.

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Fox L&M is currently seeking licensing partnerships for the new spin-off in toys, games and puzzles; gifts and novelty; collectibles; trading cards; electronics; confection; publishing; calendars; posters; and stationery.

The Cleveland Show follows the Griffin family’s neighbor Cleveland as he moves back to Virginia to marry his high school sweetheart Donna and his adventures with her three children and new neighbors. Voice talent will include Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown, Sanaa Lathan as Donna and others. Special guest appearances by Taraji P. Henson and Kanye West are also scheduled.

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A new fruit-scented toy line will roll out through master toy licensee Hasbro in August featuring playsets, vehicles and small dolls, and will include the new Strawberry Shortcake look. CPLG Canada has already renewed deals with Strawberry Shortcake licensees such as Buzzerk for underwear, NTD for apparel and sleepwear and Calego for bags.

“CPLG Canada is excited to be working on this powerful girl’s brand,” says Kelly Elwood, managing director of CPLG. “With 2010 marking the 30th anniversary for Strawberry Shortcake, we expect a great deal of consumer excitement and interest at retail.”

Cookie Jar Entertainment, the global licensing agent for Strawberry Shortcake, has recently signed licensees in North America spanning health and beauty aid products to publishing.

In other news, Cookie Jar Entertainment has until April 30 to secure financing in its bid to buy Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears from American Greetings for $76 million. If Cookie Jar cannot meet the deal by then, Moonscoop’s bid of $95 million ($76 million to American Greetings and $19 million to Cookie Jar, which has a stake) will be considered.

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Licensees for the movies include Alba, Brite Power, Carta Mundi, Character Options, Christy’s, Digital Blue, Famosa, Flair, Halsall International, Hasbro, John Leisure UK, Jumbo, Lazerbuilt, Martin Grossman, Mattel, Mega Brands, Mondo, Ravensburger, Re:creation, Rubies, Topps, Vivid, Winning Moves and World’s Apart.

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