from The Jim Henson Company:
The Jim Henson Company announced that it is launching a new merchandise collection, Fraggle Rock Forever, based on the global fan-favorite brand that is as popular today as it was when it premiered more than 25 years ago. The collection slated for both the specialty and department store market will have a tiered rollout with a selection of product due in store for holiday 2009 with much more to come in spring 2010.
“We have found Fraggle Rock to be an extremely desirable franchise among the hip fashion industry around the world. The property’s appeal is especially strong to many of the young men and women who loved Fraggle Rock as kids and who are now working in the apparel, accessories and retail business,” said Melissa Segal, Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products for The Jim Henson Company.
The Fraggle Rock Forever collection, which celebrates the whimsy and celebratory spirit of the classic series, will feature product in categories including apparel, tote bags, belt buckles, jewelry and classic plush. In addition, adult Halloween costumes aimed to appeal to Fraggle fanatic men and women will be available in 2010. Deals have been completed in the U.S. with Bioworld Merchandising, Manhattan Toy, and Rasta Impasta and in the UK with Fashion UK as well as with the popular fashion driven chain Zara which will have Fraggle Rock tees available in their stores around the world.
Also bringing the collection to a new level are hot trend driven designers such as Dr. Romanelli based in Los Angeles and Carri Munden of London based Cassette Playa who appeal to fashion influencers. They are collaborating on the creation of a range of high end clothing which will be featured in upscale boutiques this holiday season. Dr. Romanelli will also be interpreting the brand via a micro-site at drdoozer.com which will host not only the collection of tees, hoodies, jackets, and posters but will also house Fraggle Rock music remixes by hot artists plus clips from the series. (An “under construction” teaser page is online now with the full site to go live in November.) Also, part of this boutique designer collection will feature a high end costume jewelry line designed exclusively by Anita Ko in collaboration with jeweler Pascal Mouawad.
Lionsgate is rounding out the Fraggle Rock assortment with the release of Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series Collection. In addition a new DVD special, A Merry Fraggle Holiday, and the much requested Fraggle Rock: The Complete Final Season (Season 4) will be debuting on DVD in time for the holiday 2009 shopping season.
The Jim Henson Company is also launching virtual merchandise including video ring tones and mobile wall paper. 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 Sid the Science Kid, and Pajanimals. Features include The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Unstable Fables. Television productions include Fraggle Rock and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state of the art and vintage equipment.
The Company is currently in production on 40 episodes of Dinosaur Train, an animated preschool series teaching concepts of natural science and history, set to debut on PBS KIDS in fall 2009. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand continues to produce Puppet Up! — Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show that runs monthly at the Avalon Hollywood. The Company has also announced the creation of Jim Henson Designs, a merchandise collection inspired by Jim Henson’s earliest sketches, and The Jim Henson Company: Discoveries, an acquisitions banner that celebrates outstanding third party produced independent film, television and video productions from around the globe embodying the Company’s enduring legacy.