Animaniacs Marathon on Christmas Eve -- on the Hub

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Daily broadcasts of Animaniacs return to your TV starting in late December 2012/early January 2013 on The Hub. Gooooooooo, the Hub!

As a sneak peak, the Hub is running a four-hour Christmas Eve Animaniacs marathon of holiday themed episodes. Here's the press release:

As the perfect Christmas gift, Animaniacs will join The Hub on Monday, December 24 with a marathon from 4-8 p.m. (ET).

Here are some of the episodes airing:

• “Twas the Day Before Christmas; Jingle Boo; The Holiday Concert” – Slappy Squirrel reads a classic Christmas poem to nephew Skippy in “Twas the Day Before Christmas.” Chicken Boo dresses up as Santa Claus in “Jingle Boo.” Wakko performs “The Great Wakkorotti: The Holiday Concert,” and the Warners make mischief in “Toy Shop Terror."”
• “A Christmas Plotz; Little Drummer Warners” – On Christmas Eve, the Warner siblings subject Warner Bros. chief, Thaddeus Plotz, to a Dickensian nightmare in “A Christmas Plotz.” Later, the three Warners star in “Little Drummer Warners,” a musical version of the nativity.
• “My Mother the Squirrel; Oh Say Can You See; 12 Days of Christmas” – In “My Mother the Squirrel,” the Bluebird thinks Slappy is his mother. The Flame helps Francis Scott Key write our nation’s anthem in “Oh! Say Can You See,” and the Bluebird returns to sing his version of a holiday song in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
• “Cutie and the Beast; Boo Happens; Noel” – The Tazmanian Devil plays the Beast and Dot is Cutie in “Cutie and the Beast.” In “Boo Happens,” Chicken Boo relives the life of “Forrest Gump.” Then, the Warners have fun with puns in a Randy Rogel musical number sung to the tune of classic Christmas carol, “Noel.”
• “The Christmas Tree; Chicken Part 1; Prom Night; Chicken Part 2” – Slappy Squirrel awakens to find her house is now “The Christmas Tree” at “Rockyfellow” Center, Katie Ka-Boom tries to negotiate a mutually acceptable curfew for “Prom Night” with her dad, and the entire cast appears on the TV news program “Punchline.”

a PEANUTS feature film worldwide in 2015!

CHARLES SCHULZ’S BELOVED PEANUTS GANG TO HIT THEATERS

Iconix Brand Group Announces Film Release To Coincide With The 65th Anniversary Of The Iconic Comic Strip In 2015

October 9, 2012—(New York, NY)—Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICON) announced today that Peanuts Worldwide, a joint venture with Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, will release a PEANUTS feature film worldwide in 2015. The film is based on creator, Charles Schulz’s, iconic comic strip. Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang are among the most recognized characters in the world.

The as yet untitled animated event will be released on November 25, 2015. 2015 will mark the 65th anniversary of the debut of the “Peanuts” comic strip and the 50th anniversary of the landmark television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The Peanuts screenplay has been written and will be produced by Craig Schulz, son of Charles Schulz along with his own son, Bryan Schulz and Cornelius Uliano. Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios have been chosen by the Schulz family to distribute, produce and animate the new Peanuts movie. Steve Martino will direct; previously, he brought to the big screen (with Jimmy Hayward) “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” Martino also directed (with Michael Thurmeier) Fox’s recent box-office smash “Ice Age: Continental Drift.”

Charles Schulz drew the most popular and influential comic strip of all time, which was read everyday by 355 million people in 75 countries. In addition to the famous strip, Peanuts holiday television specials such as “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” have won Emmy’s and continue to be among the highest rated prime time TV specials.

“This is a momentous step for the Peanuts brand. The beloved characters, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the whole gang resonate with multiple generations all over the world,” commented Neil Cole, CEO, Iconix Brand Group. “This film will give us a new medium in which to engage consumers globally and showcase the power of the Peanuts brand, ” added Cole.

Craig Schulz, President, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, commented, "We have been working on this project for years. We finally felt the time was right and the technology is where we need it to be to create this film. I am thrilled we will be partnering with Blue Sky/Fox to create a Peanuts movie that is true to the strip and will continue the legacy in honor of my father."

Vanessa Morrison, President, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, commented, "We are thrilled to partner with the Schulz family and Iconix and honored to bring the Peanuts characters to the big screen. This all started with our love and respect for the work of Charles Schulz. We thank the Schulz family and Iconix for letting Fox and Blue Sky bring his vision to new generations of film goers.” About Charles Schulz Charles Schulz once described himself as "born to draw comic strips." A Minneapolis native, he was just two days old when an uncle nicknamed him "Sparky," after the horse Spark Plug from the "Barney Google" comic strip. Throughout his youth, he and his father shared a Sunday-morning ritual of reading the funnies. After serving in the army during World War II, Schulz got his first big break in 1947 when he sold a cartoon feature called "Li'l Folks" to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In 1950, Schulz met with United Feature Syndicate, and on Oct. 2 of that year, "Peanuts," so named by the syndicate, debuted in seven newspapers. Schulz died in Santa Rosa, Calif., Feb. 12, 2000--just hours before his last original strip was to appear in Sunday papers. PEANUTS Worldwide The PEANUTS characters and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a joint venture owned 80% by Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and 20% by members of the Charles M. Schulz family. Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICON) owns, licenses and markets a growing portfolio of consumer brands including CANDIE'S (R), BONGO (R), BADGLEY MISCHKA (R), JOE BOXER (R), RAMPAGE (R), MUDD (R), MOSSIMO (R), LONDON FOG (R), OCEAN PACIFIC (R), DANSKIN (R), ROCAWEAR (R), CANNON (R), ROYAL VELVET (R), FIELDCREST (R), CHARISMA (R), STARTER (R), WAVERLY (R), ZOO YORK (R), and SHARPER IMAGE (R). In addition, Iconix owns interests in the ARTFUL DODGER (R), ECKO (R), MARC ECKO (R), ED HARDY (R) MATERIAL GIRL (R), PEANUTS (R), and TRUTH OR DARE brands. The Company licenses its brands to a network of leading retailers and manufacturers that touch every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in both the U.S. and worldwide. Through its in-house business development, merchandising, advertising and public relations departments Iconix manages its brands to drive greater consumer awareness and equity. About Jariel Studios Jariel Studios is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. POW's portfolio includes properties, such as Barney™, Arthur™, Tom and Jerry™, Looney Tunes ™, Scooby-Doo™, The Simpsons™, POW represents Chapman Entertainment's Young Justice™ and ThunderCats™ in North America, as well as Wallace & Gromit™, and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations. POW also acts as a worldwide representative for Big Idea's library of classic family brands and as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. Launched in 2012, POW's lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. POW is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, PBS KIDS Sprout℠, and international preschool channel JimJam, (outside of the US, UK and China). # # # Contacts: Iconix Maria Dolgetta 212.819.2084