BURBANK, Calif. -- July 9, 2002 -- Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products and Mattel, Inc. today announced a comprehensive, multi-year agreement that grants Mattel the master toy licenses for several of Warner Bros.' core franchises including Looney Tunes, Baby Looney Tunes, Batman, Superman, and Justice League. The agreements cover all global territories except Asia and include the rights to any related theatrical releases or television programs that are produced during the period of the deal.
"Mattel brings a wealth of creativity and quality to the products they produce across all key toy categories and demographics. Whether it's products geared to boys, girls, pre-schoolers, or adult collectors, they are uniquely positioned to meet the high level of expectations we have for these marquis brands as we continue to grow our licensing business," said Dan Romanelli, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products.
"Our partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on Harry Potter has been very successful. We are pleased to extend our relationship to a number of other great Warner Bros. franchises such as Looney Tunes, Batman and Justice League. Their focus on building long-term franchises is consistent with Mattel's strategies," said Matt Bousquette, President of Mattel's Entertainment division.
Mattel most recently partnered with Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products in 2000 when the company was awarded the much-coveted master toy licensing agreement for the literary phenomenon based on J.K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter books and for the feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures -- the first of which, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," set box office records around the world.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Mattel will develop and market products such as vehicles, action figures, playsets, plush, games, puzzles, dolls, adult collectibles and other categories based on Looney Tunes, Baby Looney Tunes, Batman, Superman and Justice League.
"With a new Looney Tunes film, 'Back in Action,' coming in November 2003, and the new Looney Tunes theatrical shorts and Baby Looney Tunes animated series set to debut this Fall, the franchise continues to be incredibly strong for Warner Bros.," added Romanelli. "Add the super heroic success of the Justice League animated series airing on Cartoon Network and the enduring strength of Batman and Superman, having a single, strong focus on these core franchises cannot be overstated."
Bousquette concluded: "Mattel's strategy for entertainment licensing requires all franchises to meet some fundamental criteria including long-term brand potential, global appeal, broad demographic interest, the opportunity to take the core essence of the property to make great toys, and it must be the right license to fit with our diverse portfolio. Our agreement with Warner Bros. fits them all in spades."
Warner Bros. Consumer Products is a division of Warner Bros., an AOL Time Warner Company, and is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
Mattel, Inc. is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The company's best-selling brands include Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price® and American Girl®. With headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel has offices and facilities in 36 countries and sells its product in more than 150 nations throughout the world. The company's website can be found at www.mattel.com.
