Compressed Kids Headlines: August 2003, Part 2
Teens wearing characters targeted at preschoolers, Buster Baxter on a road trip, and a girl detective that should be in her sixties now selling like hotcakes on CD.
I'm taking this opportunity to allow you to find out about all the stuff happening in the kids TV world, too small to talk too much about, the stuff I'd usually throw at the end of the page.
Postcards from Buster
One of the programs to debut on the PBS Kids digital cable station, slated to launch September, 2004, is "Postcards from Buster", an "Arthur" spin-off. This new show, promoting literacy and multicultural understanding among school age children and blend animation with live action footage. WGBH Boston, PBS, Marc Brown Studios and CINAR are currently working on developing this show.
"It's important for children to experience cultures different from their own," says WGBH
executive producer Carol Greenwald. "Putting Buster on the road and immersing him in real-life settings via the live-action 'postcards' is a perfect vehicle to teach children about the rich and complex cultural life that exists across North America."
Muppets Take Back Manhattan
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of The Muppet Babies. In June 1984, The Muppet Take Manhattan was released into theatres, with a single scene of Kermit imagining what it would be like if the gang had grown up togerther. This one cute little sequence of baby Muppets brought us successful CBS Saturday morning cartoon, starring Baby Kermit, Baby Miss Piggy, Baby Fozzie Bear, Baby Gonzo, Baby Rowlf, Baby Scooter and Baby Skeeter. Four years in a row, it won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Winner of five Emmys total, it focused on the importance of imagination.
After running for eight successful years, and still airing internationally in syndication, the show has left a positive mark on the entertainment landscape. It also sold $25 million in plushes alone with Hasbro; plush premiums were included with Procter & Gamble products, selling $1 million; McDonald's holiday plush promotion sold $38 million toys.
But now the babies are back. Torrid, Urban Outfitters and Juicy Boutique are selling t-shirts, while Rainbow Shops, Hot Topic, Mandee are to launch a line of socks, hats, flip-flops and other accessories this fall. There's also cuddle pillows, plush and plush beanies on the market. Retailers hope tweens and teens will go for these lines, which is quite possible; anything that could be considered "retro" seems to have a certain attraction with my generation.
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