The Jim Henson Company To Develop "FROG AND TOAD" Animated Feature Film

~Adaptation of popular children's books to be written by Craig Bartlett and directed by Cory Edwards

~~The Jim Henson Company becomes licensing agent for property through a deal with HarperCollins Children's Books to launch first ever multi-category licensing program for FROG AND TOAD in the U.S. and Canada

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The Jim Henson Company

Jun 08, 2012, 01:12 ET

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jim Henson Company has acquired rights to the beloved children's books FROG AND TOAD and is developing an animated feature film. Written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel in the 1970s each of the four FROG AND TOAD books include five short stories chronicling the exploits of a frog and his friend, a toad, simply named Frog and Toad.

"FROG AND TOAD has tremendous value with parents who read these charming stories when they were children and are now sharing them with their own kids," said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "With such high caliber talent on board, the delightful and funny adventures of these two great friends--with a nod to the classic 'buddy movie'--will bring a whole new audience to their big screen debut."

Lisa Henson will produce for The Jim Henson Company. Adam Lobel and Adrianne Lobel will executive produce. Craig Bartlett ("Dinosaur Train" and "Hey Arnold!") will write the screenplay and Cory Edwards ("Hoodwinked") is attached to direct.

The Jim Henson Company has also signed a deal with HarperCollins Children's Books to develop and implement the first-ever multi-category licensing and merchandising program in the U.S. and Canada for the classic literary property. The Company will be presenting FROG AND TOAD at the upcoming Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

Melissa Segal, Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products at The Jim Henson Company said, "As the feature film develops we will be looking to grow awareness of the property with licensed products based on the wonderful body of art from the original classic books in primary categories like apparel, accessories, gifts, toys, home furnishings and room decor. The plan is to launch a program aimed at both kids and adults in department and specialty stores in 2013."

About The Jim Henson Company:
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated "Sid the Science Kid," "Dinosaur Train," "Wilson & Ditch: Digging America" and "Pajanimals." Features include "The Dark Crystal," "Labyrinth," "MirrorMask," and "Unstable Fables" and television productions include "Fraggle Rock" and the sci-fi cult series "Farscape."

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About HarperCollins Children's Books:
HarperCollins Children's Books is one of the leading publishers of children's books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures—Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, Goodnight Moon, Where the Sidewalk Ends, the Ramona series, Where the Wild Things Are; and popular new classics—The Graveyard Book, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Warriors, and Fancy Nancy. Consistently at the forefront of digital innovation, HarperCollins Children's Books delights young readers through engaging storytelling in all formats, including ebooks and apps. HarperCollins Children's Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia/New Zealand, and India. You can visit HarperCollins Children's Books at www.harpercollinschildrens.com and HarperCollins Publishers at www.harpercollins.com.