Disney launches 'Winnie the Pooh's' 80th celebrations

Add as a preferred source on Google

Courtesy: UNI

Disney is marking 'Winnie the Pooh's 80th anniversary' in 2005-2006 with an 18 month-long celebrations to be commemorated with an exciting range of entertainment activities and special edition products for fans across the Asia-Pacific region.
A Disney release here yesterday said the anniversary celebrations kicked off late last year with the New York premiere of Disney Live! and continues globally through 2007 with entertainment from Disney Live!, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Records.

Disney Consumer Products will also offer exciting special edition products including clothing, stationery, toys and much more.

The release said a new, original song ''My Friend Pooh''-- from Walt Disney Records' artist Ralph Covert-- is also scheduled for release with celebrations culminating with the 2007 premiere of Disney Channel's learning-focused CG-animated series 'My Friends, Tigger and Pooh' for pre-schoolers.

In India, Disney Consumer Products has several reasons to celebrate this anniversary. Winnie the Pooh has been in India for over seven years and is today the highest selling plush toy in the market, the release said.

Winnie the Pooh products range covers infant and kids apparel, back to school products, stationary, toys, footwear, the newly launched Disney-Nerolac paints and bedding. Winnie the Pooh contributes about 30 per cent of the Disney's licensing and merchandising business across the country, the release said.

''Winnie the Pooh is one of Disney's premier character franchises that remain as relevant to parents and kids today as it did 80 years ago,'' Matt Ryan, Senior Vice President, Disney Corporate Brand Management was quoted saying in the release.

''Pooh's 80th anniversary celebrates the tremendous heritage of this franchise, and a key initiative for Disney is to continue to develop Pooh with new creative programmes across the company, which will keep it fresh for the next 80 years. The new Winnie the Pooh television show planned for next year is part of that effor,'' he said.