Nelvana and d-rights Team Up to Reboot Battle of the Planets

1/13/2015

Nelvana and d-rights Team Up to Reboot Battle of the Planets'

BEYBLADE Partners join Forces to Re-Imagine Global Boys Action Classic

(Toronto, Canada) Corus Entertainment's Nelvana and d-rights, two key partners behind the global phenomena BEYBLADE, are teaming up again to develop Battle of the Planets: Phoenix Ninjas (tentative title), a re-imagination of the classic Japanese and mega-hit Battle of the Planets. The new series, will be a re-envisioned version of the 1978 hit for a new generation of boys aged 6 to 11.

We're thrilled to be working with d-rights on a new version of Battle of the Planets, which has a devoted worldwide fan base, said Andrew Kerr, Co-Head, Nelvana Enterprises. This classic property has endured with fans and we are ready to reach out to a new generation of kids. The series will be new, but will feature the same big action stories and compelling characters.

Battle of the Planets: Phoenix Ninjas has a distinct look and feel that pays tribute to the classic series while ensuring that it works for today's sophisticated young audiences.

We are excited to partner with Nelvana to renew this reputable brand, said Daizo Suzuki, President of d-rights Inc. Battle of the Planets is one of the most well-known Japanese classic animation titles. Originally produced over 40 years ago, it has maintained its popularity until today. We are looking forward to working on its development to add another exciting installment of this evergreen property.

Battle of the Planets was originally adapted by Sandy Frank Entertainment in 1978 from a Japanese series Gatchaman produced by TATSUNOKO PRODUCTION Co., Ltd. which was released in Japan in 1972. In the original Battle of the Planets, five defenders known as G-Force protect Earth from planet Spectra, home to the villainous masked commander, Zoltar. The team's ship, The Phoenix, has the ability to transform into a flaming bird-shaped craft able to overcome any attack by functioning as a giant fiery phoenix. A feature film entitled Gatchaman, based on the original Japanese series, was released summer of 2013 in Japan.

About Nelvana

Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children's animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and boys action series and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana's content airs on Corus Entertainment's kids channels in Canada and in over 160 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,000 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys and Geminis. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.

About d-rights

d-rights Inc. is known for producing animation brands for boys that are popular around the world, such as the Beyblade series, B-Daman series, and Scan2Go series. d-rights furnishes every part of content creation, including product marketing and related animation production, rights management, finance, and licensing. Over 50 of their animation titles have been shown internationally. In the Japanese market, d-rights fully produces content-related products for sale in convenience stores from the planning stage to manufacturing, sales, and promotion. They also hold the license for Japan's professional basketball league, the iBJ League. J League.onal basketball league, the ion, including product marketing aMedia Asset Management (MAM).

Homepage: http://www.d-rights.com

-30-

Follow Corus PR on Twitter @CorusPR

Follow Nelvana Enterprises on Twitter @NelvanaEnt

For further information, please contact:

Kate Calder

Publicist, Corus Entertainment

416.479.6319

kate.calder@corusent.com

LINK:	http://www.corusent.com/home/Corporate/PressReleases/tabid/1697/Defaul...
	See more stories from nelvana

Most recent headlines