Mary Engelbreits illustrated version of "The Night Before Christmas" led to a DVD version in 2004.
|
Faced with continued retail consolidation and shrinking shelf space, non-media-based properties often struggle for consumer
recognition and popularity. "Licensing non-media characters is more difficult because they aren't yet known personalities,
whereas a character you've grown to know and love on TV is going to be an obvious candidate," says Paul Archuleta Whitney,
vice president of Japan Publicity, Inc./ARTas1 Licensing. "Also, large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target control a huge
percentage of, say, preschool items, and only have a limited number of slots on their shelves, so they are going to scrutinize
a non-media character more because it's not an automatic sale for them."
As a result, some artists such as Mary Engelbreit and Cosmic Debris' Rob Reger decided to bring their characters to life via
TV and DVD/movie deals, as well as various other multimedia applications. Other artists seek to follow suit but face a serious
challenge in piquing studio interest.
Screen Life
"We have had on-again, off-again conversations regarding animation over the last 10 years, but had never looked seriously
at the opportunity," says Greg Hoffmann, CEO of Mary Engelbreit Studios, which signed its first major license—with Sunrise
Greetings—almost 20 years ago and now sells primarily through retailer chains such as Barnes & Noble and Michaels. "However,
the success of Mary Engelbreit's illustrated version of 'The Night Before Christmas' led to further discussions, and ultimately
the launch of the video version, narrated by Kevin Kline, in 2004." According to Hoffmann, "The Night Before Christmas" was
an ideal first project to animate because it is a widely recognized title. "That made it appealing to our young target audience,
as well as to Engelbreit's traditionally adult customers." Mary Engelbreit Studios now works closely with Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, CA, after being introduced to the agency
through Cedric the Entertainer and his partner, Eric Rhone—both fans of Engelbreit's work. With the help of CAA, The Night Before Christmas project was produced by St. Louis-based Schwartz and Associates and distributed by GoodTimes Entertainment. Notes Hoffmann,
"We now are working with Creative Artists Agency to take a closer look at future animation opportunities," which include Engelbreit's
alter-ego book character, Ann Estelle. "The character is well known to Engelbreit fans and is gaining recognition among young
girls through the series of stories currently being published by HarperCollins," says Hoffmann. The characters in "Mother
Goose" (due out this month) and its companion book, "Nursery Tales" (due out in fall 2007), also have been mentioned as animation
opportunities. Hoffmann admits, "We are still neophytes in this business, but good writing and well-loved characters are the
key to success."
Twentieth Century Fox currently is developing a live-action/animated feature film based on art property Emily the Strange.
Created by Cosmic Debris, Inc., co-founder Reger in 1993, Emily the Strange is a brooding 13-year-old whose gothic look mirrors
her adventures. Early on, Reger built a devoted following by disseminating promotional stickers, skateboards, and T-shirts
from his garage. Today, the brand is a multimillion dollar franchise, including an apparel line, three best-sellers published
by Chronicle Books, and a quarterly from Dark Horse Comics. According to published reports, Reger had the idea to turn Emily
into a movie about five years ago, following the first wave of publicity for the character.
