In
an official statement issued, the license agreement
covers original Cartoon Network properties for the
6 to 11 age group and also carries a first-look option
on all newly created original series and programming.
As
per the deal, Mattel will have licensing rights to
multiple toy and games categories including vehicles,
action figures, playsets, role-play, board games,
puzzles, and youth electronics items for the Cartoon
Network brand as well as shows including Fosters
Home for Imaginary Friends, The Powerpuff Girls, Camp
Lazlo, Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy
& Mandy, the newly launched My Gym Partner's
a Monkey and The Life & Times of Juniper
Lee. Existing relationships for other original
series will remain unaffected by the deal.
Mattel has licensing deals with Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon
and movies studios as Warner Bros. and Disney-Pixar.
"We are pleased to be aligning the Cartoon Network
brand with one of the world's largest and most respected
toy companies, setting the stage for great success
in the all important toy and games category,"
Turner Entertainment sales and marketing president
David Levy says. "We've always had a very strong
relationship with Mattel as an advertiser and now
we are extending that into consumer products. This
will enhance the brands of both companies by combining
our assets as a leading entertainment company with
their expertise in the global toy market."
In
2007, the first product lines to come to market under
the agreement will be toys based on one of Cartoon
Network's most successful series, the Emmy-winning
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, created
by Craig McCracken, the visionary behind The Powerpuff
Girls. Products for Ed, Edd n Eddy, Camp Lazlo
and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
will also debut in 2007.
"We're
confident that combining Cartoon Network's strength
in creating original, quality programming with Mattel's
expertise in developing innovative products will engage
kids in new ways," Mattel Brands president Neil
Friedman says. "By leveraging the Cartoon Network
brand as well as their original content, we're opening
up a whole new type of creative and licensing partnership."