HIT Entertainment and Callaway Digital Arts Bring Angelina's New Ballet Teacher to the App Store

NEW YORK, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Callaway Digital Arts (www.callaway.com), interactive developer of children's and lifestyle apps, and HIT Entertainment, one of the world's leading providers of high-quality children's entertainment, are pleased to announce their Angelina's New Ballet Teacher App for iPad is now available on the App Store. The Angelina's New Ballet Teacher App brings the delightful dancer to life with narration, animation, puzzles, paint, and video.

Based on the PBS KIDS® TV episode of the same name from the series Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps, Angelina's New Ballet Teacher ushers this beloved character onto the latest iOS devices. Little dancers will delight in reading, watching, playing, and twirling alongside Angelina as she meets Ms. Mimi on her first day of dance class at her new school. Each page of the story magically transforms into a painting page or interactive puzzle with the simple tap on the screen.

The launch of Angelina's New Ballet Teacher continues the award-winning collaboration between HIT and Callaway. In May 2011, the companies launched Thomas & Friends™: Hero of the Rails, which roared to the number-one spot on the App Store's Books chart. Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue, another team effort from HIT and Callaway, was released in December 2010 to great acclaim, winning Children's Technology Review's Editor's Choice Award as well as being selected as "Best in Show" at Kidscreen's first iKids App Showdown.

"Angelina's New Ballet Teacher App incorporates the innovative Multi-Touch user interface into a full 3-D CGI animated environment. A child can reach right into the story and interactively bring to life a magical world," says Callaway Digital Arts Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Callaway. "Together with HIT, Callaway is bringing beloved characters beyond the page and the linear screen."

"What's really special about the Angelina's New Ballet Teacher App is that it perfectly embodies the spirit of Angelina, a timeless and beloved character well known through the classic book series," says Natasha Fishman, Senior Vice President, Global Brand & Digital Media, HIT Entertainment. "By using vivid CG animation, the story comes to life on iPad through Callaway's award-winning technology. Staying true to Angelina's passion for dance, the story features pop-up ballet lessons, prompting kids to tap specific dance terms and watch and listen to Angelina herself as she talks them through how it's done."

Angelina's New Ballet Teacher App is available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About Callaway Digital Arts

Callaway Digital Arts (CDA) publishes innovative children's and lifestyle applications for Apple's iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices. Funded in August 2010 with an investment from Silicon Valley's Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, we create meaningful digital experiences that transform the way families connect with media and with each other. With a grant from the Department of Education, CDA is also reinventing learning by creating a platform that builds reading and math skills for children ages two through eight. Our apps have reached the number-one spot in Books and have been featured as App of the Week and among Apple's Best Interactive Story Apps of 2010.  For more information about CDA, visit www.callaway.com.

About HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Thomas & Friends™, Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™, Mike the Knight™, Pingu™ and Rainbow Magic™. HIT represents Chapman Entertainment's Fifi and the Flowertots™ and Roary the Racing Car™ in North America, as well as Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun the Sheep™, Timmy Time™ and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations.  HIT also acts as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan.  HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, Sprout®. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

SOURCE Callaway Digital Arts