Monday, February 22, 2010

SHOUT! FACTORY & MARVEL ANIMATION, INC.

ANNOUNCE CONTENT PARTNERSHIP



Shout! Factory Secures Home Entertainment Rights to Marvel Animation’s The Super Hero Squad Show



Los Angeles, Calif., – Shout! Factory and Marvel Animation, Inc. announced today a new alliance to bring Marvel’s successful animated series The Super Hero Squad Show to the home entertainment marketplace. Under the multi-year deal, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive U.S. home entertainment distributor with licensing rights to the action-packed half-hour episodes of The Super Hero Squad Show, Marvel Animation’s highly successful animated series currently airing on Cartoon Network. The announcement was made by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos and Marvel Animation President Eric Rollman.



“We are thrilled with this exciting opportunity to work closely with Marvel Animation, a globally recognized studio for its fantastic productions and pop culture content. This strategic partnership with Marvel continues to build on our continuing success in distributing some of the most premiere brands to the marketplace,” stated Shout! Factory founding partners. “The Super Hero Squad Show has become one of the most popular animated series on television. There’s a lot of interest from loyal fans, and we plan to do a great job with upcoming releases. We hope that this is just the start of a mutually beneficial relationship.”



“We have found a tremendous and passionate partner in Shout! Factory who bring some of the most innovative DVD releases to market, and always with unique bonus features and packaging that deliver the best value to the fans,” stated Eric Rollman, President of Marvel Animation. “We have some great ideas for the upcoming Super Hero Squad Show DVDs and look forward to continuing the Super Hero Squad experience from Cartoon Network to our fans on DVD.”



The Super Hero Squad Show launched on Cartoon Network US in October 2009 to tremendous ratings and continues to deliver impressive numbers in its regular M-F 8:30am and Saturday 7:30pm time slots.



Boasting a stellar ensemble of voice talent from Hollywood, The Super Hero Squad Show animated series features super-stylized versions of Marvel’s popular characters (including Captain America, Silver Surfer, Thor, Hulk, Wolverine and Iron Man) with a comedic twist. Marvel has attracted some top voice talent to play the roles of Marvel’s iconic heroes and villains of Marvel Super Hero Squad, including Tom Kenny (aka Spongebob) as Iron Man, Captain America and M.O.D.O.K., Grey DeLisle (Fairly Oddparents) as Ms. Marvel and the Enchantress, Alimi Ballard (NUMB3RS) as the Falcon, and Charlie Adler (Cow & Chicken, Transformers 1 & 2) as Dr. Doom. In addition, superstar guests have joined the cast to play various villains and heroes from throughout the Marvel universe, including Shawn Ashmore (X-Men films) as Iceman, LeVar Burton (Ali, Roots) as Rhodey, Taye Diggs (Private Practice) as the Black Panther, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Dormammu, Greg Grunberg (Heroes) as Ant-Man, Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as the Red Skull, Lena Headey (Sarah Connor Chronicles) as the Black Widow, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Sif, Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Ugly Truth) as Stardust, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) as Egghead, James Marsters (Smallville, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as Mr. Fantastic, Jennifer Morrison (Star Trek, House) as the Wasp, Adrian Pasdar (Heroes) as Hawkeye, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Meet The Spartans) as Ka-Zar, George Takei (Heroes, Star Trek) as Galactus and Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl) as the Valkyrie. The cast is also joined by comics legend Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and many other Marvel characters) in a recurring role as the Mayor of Super Hero City.



When the greatest heroes on the planet unite to face the world’s greatest villains, you get the biggest, most family-friendly Super Hero team-up in TV history… The Super Hero Squad Show. It’s no small job protecting Super Hero City from the wild, weird (& even wacky) villainy of Villainville’s infamous baddies… but Iron Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Thor and the Falcon are always up for the job. Shouting “Hero Up!” as they rush into battle, the Squad must keep Dr. Doom’s minions from gathering pieces of the Infinity Sword. Otherwise, Doom will use the Sword to rule the universe! Luckily, the City is filled with Marvel super-hero guest-stars to help out in a pinch. These brave heroes totally deliver the action – but with plenty of humor on the side.



Shout! Factory plans a strategic rollout of The Super Hero Squad Show home entertainment product-line later this year, utilizing the same sales and marketing strengths that has made them one of the leading independent studios in the entertainment industry.



About Marvel Entertainment, LLC

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics). Marvel's strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world, including feature films, consumer products, toys, video games, animated television, direct-to-DVD and online. For more information visit www.marvel.com.



About Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated boxed sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. With its fingers on the pulse of pop culture, Shout! Factory continues to impact the entertainment media landscape through acquisition of top quality programming for home entertainment releases. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit ShoutFactory.com

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