Playmates' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys will hit retail shelves nationwide starting in January 2003. First out-of-the-shell will be newly designed action figure collection, each with authentic Ninja weapons, and an awesome variety of vehicles, role-play weapons and playsets to follow later in the year.

"Playmates sold over 245 million Ninja Turtle action figures back in the early 90's," said Lou Novak, President of Playmates Toys Inc. "And what made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a success 10 years ago is still valid today. There's a whole new generation of kids to enthrall with the unique story of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo" Novak continued.

In a full-blown marketing effort, Playmates partners, 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios Inc., will launch an all-new, animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series on The Fox Box, starting in February 2003. The season kicks off with 26 new half-hour episodes on Saturday mornings that will feature "hot" new music and all new action packed animation. The combination of humor and action that made the Turtles so unique and successful before is now taken to a whole new level for today's kids.

Also adding to the on-air exposure -- January 2003 marks the beginning of two new Playmates Toys kids TV advertising campaigns. Spots supporting the new TV series and products will begin airing on January 3, and continue throughout the year on The Fox Box, and other kid networks.

"In order to capture and communicate the essence of the Turtles brand, Playmates, 4Kids and Mirage will deliver a comprehensive message to kids via numerous platforms including broadcast, print, home video and DVD releases, Online, and other media." commented Jill Will, Senior Vice President, Marketing, for Playmates Toys.

And for the collectors who grew up with the Turtles in the '90's, Playmates Toys will release a 12" Deluxe scale, cold cast resin sculpture of Leonardo, (the first of four Turtles) based on artwork from the original comic book series. The 12" Leonardo figure will be available in December through Diamond Comics. The figure comes with its own custom base, that is designed to fit together to form a detailed diorama when combined with the other three sculptures in the series.

History on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the famous terrapin foursome was much loved back in the early 90's, and enjoyed a vaulted stature as one of the most successful boys action brands in the past 20 years, with worldwide sales exceeding $1 billion from 1989 to 1993 alone. Adding to the brand's
reputation were the 11 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game titles, which sold 18 million units and generated nearly $450 million in sales.

And the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles success was not limited to TV and toys. -- with three movies to their credit, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles combined worldwide box office, video retail and video rental gross receipts totaled more than $724 million, and total worldwide licensed merchandise sales amounted to $2 billion.

Playmates Toys

Playmates Toys Inc. manufactures, markets and distributes a wide range of girls' and boys' toys, activity and novelty electronics, and products based upon character-rich licensed entertainment properties. Among the company's best-known brands are the "Amazing" family of interactive dolls and the unique water-filled "Waterbabies" dolls.

Key licensed properties include Disney's Princesses and other classic characters from The Walt Disney Company, Twentieth Century Fox's "The Simpsons," and Mirage Studios' "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Playmates Toys is a division of Playmates Holding Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company whose stock is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.