Pocoyo™ Toy Line Makes a Splash at Retailers

CYPRESS, Calif., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The lovable Pocoyo and his friends Pato, Elly and Loula are primed for their next life-size adventure with their biggest fans in households nationwide.  The Pocoyo toy line featuring characters from the multi-award winning animated series Pocoyo is now available at retailers including Toys"R"Us, Toysrus.com and Amazon.com.  Bandai's toys capture the vibrant and exuberant world of Pocoyo and his animal friends for preschool children ages one through three, encouraging them to learn through laughter.

Following the adventures of three-year-old Pocoyo ("little me" in Spanish), the CGI series brings children into the bright world of an inquisitive and fun-loving boy and his animal friends, Elly (the elephant), Pato (the duck) and Loula (the dog).  Co-produced by Zinkia and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment, the international smash hit series Pocoyo, which has been broadcast in over 100 territories worldwide, has gained a large following of young fans in the United States with episodes airing daily at 4:25 pm on Nick Jr., Nickelodeon's 24-hour commercial-free, educational preschool network in the United States, as well as airing on PBS, Univision and Discovery Familia.

Bandai America Incorporated, the master toy licensee for Pocoyo in the United States and Canada, has launched an extensive toy line, which captures Pocoyo's music and laughter.

The toy line includes:

• 6-Inch Mini-Plush Assortment - Preschoolers can take Pocoyo and his friends Elly, Pato and Loula where ever they go
• Squeeze n' Play Plush - Plush Pocoyo, Elly and Pato play popular music from the show when preschoolers squeeze their tummies
• Bath Figures - 2.5-inch figures of Pocoyo and Elly have a special water squirting chamber, while Pato  floats along
• Pocoyo Water Taxi - Scuba Pocoyo and friends can float in the tub or be pushed along the floor
• Bump n' Go - Pocoyo zooms around in his racing car while music plays!  If the car hits an obstacle, it stops, moves back and makes a U-turn

With more than 300 million hits on YouTube® and more than 25 million content downloads from the official Pocoyo website, the series, licensed in over 100 territories worldwide, is recognized as a global hit property. In addition to the successful TV series, the virtual world Pocoyoworld.com has attracted more than 4.5 million viewers, enabling children and care-givers to share a host of fun and educational activities with their favorite characters.  Also, the 'Pocoyize' application has proved a huge hit, allowing users, either online or via iPhone®, to create their own Pocoyo-style avatar by choosing details such as hair style, clothes, skin color and eyes. Approximately 10 million people have been 'Pocoyized' to date, and the iPhone application has received an impressive 500,000 downloads in the United States alone, in addition to being a Top 5 seller in both Spain and Japan.

"Pocoyo is just the kind of enriching, high quality toy line that Bandai is famous for," said Tor Sirset, Bandai America Incorporated's Vice President of Marketing, Girls & Preschool Business Unit.  "Bandai's preschool properties encourage young children to explore the world around them and to imagine the world beyond their everyday experiences."

Pocoyo has attracted a host of international accolades including a prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for Best Animated Preschool Series, three Pucinella Prizes at Italy's Cartoons on the Bay Festival and Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

Maria Doolan, MD Brand and Business Development at Zinkia added, "Pocoyo has proven to be a phenomenal ratings winner around the world, and we are confident that Bandai's new toy line in America will be highly successful. In Spain alone, the brand has sold more than 2.5 million toys, 700,000 books and leads the ranking in DVD sales with 1.2 million units."

Marina Lum-Kang, SVP Brand Extensions & Integrated Marketing at ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment said "ITV Studios is thrilled to have partnered with Bandai in launching Pocoyo, a quality global brand, into the North American market. Bandai's reputation of product quality and marketing savvy will help solidify the brand in the preschool space."

About Bandai America Incorporated

A leader in developing engaging, quality toys that capture children's imaginative spirit and provide endless "Fun for the Future," Bandai America Incorporated is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in children's toys and interactive entertainment today.  The Bandai America popular brand family includes Power Rangers®, Ben 10™, Harumika®, Tamagotchi®, Pocoyo™ and Teeny Little Families™ among other boys, girls, pre-school and hobby product lines.  Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc., an entity that resulted from the integration of Namco Ltd. and Bandai Co. Ltd. of Japan.  Global interests encompass three strategic business units: Toys and Hobby, Amusement Facility and Contents.  The company is headquartered in Cypress, California.  Find out more about our expertise in connecting with kids in fun and fresh ways at www.Bandai.com.

Bandai logo: ® and © 2010 Bandai. All Rights Reserved.

Power Rangers: ® SCG Power Rangers LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ben 10: TM and © CARTOON NETWORK. All Rights Reserved.

Harumika: TM and © SUNRISE, Layup. All Rights Reserved.

Tamagotchi: TM & © 2004-2010 Bandai, WiZ. All Rights Reserved.

Pocoyo: TM & © 2005-2010 Zinkia S.A. Licensed by Granada Ventures Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Teeny Little Families: © 2010 Vivid Toy Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Dixon-Manning.

About Zinkia Entertainment

www.zinkia.com

The Spanish company Zinkia Entertainment, which specializes in the creation and management of entertainment brands for the international market, is primarily involved in the animation business, creating quality content for the audiovisual market as well as interactive content for multi-player console and online games.

Founded in 2001, Zinkia is headquartered in Madrid, with commercial offices in Peking, China and Mexico City.  Zinkia's TV series and associated merchandising and licensing products are distributed to over 100 countries worldwide. TV credits include the multi-award winning series Pocoyo and the successful series Shuriken School. Pocoyo is one of Spain's most successful TV animation exports and has been awarded a host of accolades including Best Animation Series at BAFTA and Annecy. In addition to TV projects, Zinkia creates, develops and produces video console games, most notably Playchapas for PSP and Hello, Pocoyo! for Nintendo DS. Zinkia also created and recently launched the virtual universe PocoyoWorld.com, targeted at young children.

About ITV Studios Global Entertainment

ITV Studios Global Entertainment Ltd is one of the world's leading international TV distribution, home-entertainment, publishing, merchandising and licensing businesses. Based in London, Cologne, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, ITV Global Studios Entertainment is an integrated part of ITV Studios, led by Lee Bartlett, Managing Director.  International rights for Pocoyo are handled by ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment, excluding Spain, Portugal, Italy and Latin America which are handled by Zinkia.  Exploitation rights for China are shared by both companies.

About Pocoyo

www.pocoyo.com

The TV series Pocoyo (104 x 7 minutes), co-produced by Zinkia Entertainment and ITV Studios Global Entertainment, is produced using 3D Softimage XSi technology and rendered with Arnold. The property, which started as a TV series, is now a multi-platform global brand, licensed to over 100 countries worldwide, with extensive publishing, merchandising, licensing and home entertainment products. In October 2009 Zinkia launched a virtual universe, Pocoyoworld.com, enabling children and carers to share a host of fun and educational activities with their favourite characters.

The multi-award winning series is about curiosity and imagination, tolerance and respect, love and laughter. Packed with colour, music and vibrant visual images, the series is both educational and entertaining; Pocoyo is about learning through laughter.

SOURCE Bandai America Incorporated

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