NEW YORK -- June 22, 2005 -- 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and Toei Animation announced today a multi-year licensing agreement with Mattel, Inc. for the toy company to serve as master toy licensee for ONE PIECE(TM), a popular animated series airing on 4Kids TV(TM), 4Kids Entertainment's Saturday morning children's programming block on FOX, as well as on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on Saturday evenings.
The master toy license grants Mattel the exclusive rights for a full range of products including action figures, play sets, role-play items, and games and puzzles. The initial launch of ONE PIECE toys is anticipated to be available at retail in the United States and Canada by December 2005.
"Mattel continues to be a great partner for our Company," said Alfred R. Kahn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 4Kids Entertainment. "They understand how to take the essence of this brand, which includes action and humor, and create toys that truly engage kids and allow them to re-enact storylines or develop their own adventures for Luffy and his friends."
"Mattel is thrilled to extend its relationship with 4Kids Entertainment and help bring the adventures of ONE PIECE featuring Monkey D. Luffy and his friends to life with exciting and innovative toys," said Matt Bousquette, President of Mattel Brands.
Whether kids are recreating the search for ONE PIECE or creating their own pirate adventures with these fun action figures and role-play items, they will be immersed in the world of pirates that is ONE PIECE.
4Kids Entertainment and Toei Animation recently awarded Bandai rights to create ONE PIECE video games for the Sony PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube platforms and collectible card games. Bandai video games and the trading card game are anticipated to debut at retail in Fall 2005.
About 4Kids Entertainment, Inc.
Headquartered in New York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE) is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing. 4Kids, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides domestic and international merchandise licensing; television, film, music and home video production and distribution; media planning and buying; product development; and Web site development. For further information, please visit the Company's Web site at www.4KidsEntertainment.com.
About Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp or http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/english/index.html) is the largest animation production company in Japan since 1956, and has produced many celebrated works ranging from feature films such as "The White Snake" and "Puss 'N Boots" to TV series starting from "Ken, the Wild Boy" to "Dragon Ball," "Sailor Moon," "Digimon Adventure" and "One Piece." The Toei Animation library consists of approximately 8,500 titles that total close to 4,200 hours of animation. Toei Animation is publicly quoted on JASDAQ (code 4816). Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and its affiliate company registered as "Toei Animation Inc." in Century City, California.
About Mattel, Inc.
Mattel, Inc., (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products, including Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever created. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price brands (www.fisher-price.com), including Little People®, Rescue Heroes®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than 25,000 people in 42 countries and sells products in more than 150 nations throughout the world. The Mattel vision is to be the world's premier toy brands -- today and tomorrow.
