Los Angeles, CA (May 20, 2010) The Jim Henson Company will further enhance awareness in the Asia Pacific region for its key brands with new licensing agents Wild Pumpkin, Medialink and Empire all newly signed to develop consumer products programs. The announcement was made today by Melissa Segal, Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Products, The Jim Henson Company.

Wild Pumpkin will represent various brands in Australia and New Zealand including: the Company’s newest preschool brands SID THE SCIENCE KID and DINOSAUR TRAIN, together with evergreen brand FRAGGLE ROCK and lifestyle brand SKATELAB. Nickelodeon Australia currently airs SID THE SCIENCE KID and will debut DINOSAUR TRAIN in Fall 2010. Medialink will represent DINOSAUR TRAIN in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan; and Empire will represent SID THE SCIENCE KID and FRAGGLE ROCK in those same territories.

“The Pac-Asia region offers a vast array of opportunities, and we now have solid partnerships in place with these reputable agencies that have the expertise needed to penetrate the marketplace,” stated Segal. “The Jim Henson Company has a built-in global brand awareness and a proven track record for delivering top-quality properties that are both entertaining and educational. We look forward to offering these stellar children’s brands to the region.”

DINOSAUR TRAIN is created for 3–6 year-old children and airs in the U.S. on PBS KIDS®. Global licensees for the brand, to date, are master toy licensee Learning Curve, Crayola, LLC and Hallmark Cards. New DINOSAUR TRAIN merchandise is scheduled to debut in fall 2010 in the U.S. DINOSAUR TRAIN is seen through the eyes of Buddy, a preschool-aged Tyrannosaurus Rex. Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons go for adventures on the Dinosaur Train to meet all kinds of dinosaurs in different eras and learn fascinating new facts about these incredible creatures.

SID THE SCIENCE KID is also created for 3–6-year-old children, and airs in the U.S. on PBS KIDS®. Hasbro is the global master toy and game licensee for the brand, and debuted its first SID THE SCIENCE KID products in the U.S. in spring 2010. The series has garnered several accolades including four Daytime Emmy® Award nominations, Common Sense Media’s Best 2008 series for children 4- years old, and a Parents’ Choice 2009 Recommendation. Developed to inspire a lifelong curiosity and love for learning in young children, SID THE SCIENCE KID appeals to preschoolers’ instinctive quest to figure out how things work, using humor and music as key teaching tools. Sid, the show’s energetic and inquisitive “star,” starts each episode with a new question and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers, inspiring preschoolers at home to think about how to find answers to their own questions.

With five international Emmy Awards, the wonderfully inventive FRAGGLE ROCK is as popular today as it was when it premiered more than 25 years ago. In September 2009, The Jim Henson Company spearheaded a resurgence of FRAGGLE ROCK licensing programs including a partnership with Archaia for the
first FRAGGLE ROCK comic book and the launch of the new FRAGGLE ROCK™ FOREVER merchandise collection featuring apparel by trend driven designer Dr. Romanelli, jewelry by Anita Ko and classic plush by Manhattan Toy. Additional deals have been completed in the U.S. with Bioworld Merchandisingand Classic Imports and Rasta Imposta. Outside the U.S., deals have been done with Fashion UK as well as with the popular fashion driven chain Zara, which willhave Fraggle Rock tees available in their stores around the world. Lionsgate rounds out the assortment with FRAGGLE ROCK: THE COMPLETE SERIES COLLECTION, FRAGGLE ROCK: THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON, FRAGGLE ROCK THE ANIMATED SERIES, WEMBLEY’S EGG SURPRISE and A MERRY FRAGGLE HOLIDAY.

SKATELAB, based in Simi Valley, California is termed by those who skate as the “holy grail” of skate parks. SKATELAB is also home to the “best skate shop” in the country as coined by Sports Illustrated for Kids and Fox News and is also the home of the first skateboarding museum in the country, “The Skateboarding Hall of Fame.” In addition, SKATELAB is constantly featured in popular television shows, feature films, commercials and music videos as a favorite shooting location. SKATELAB has recently been extended into a global lifestyle brand aimed at Boys 6-15 featuring apparel, accessories, footwear, home furnishings, stationery and electronics

For media inquiries, please contact:
Michelle Orsi
Three.Sixty Marketing & Communications
310.418.6430
michelle@360-comm.com

Nicole Goldman/Ann Schwarz
The Jim Henson Company
323-802-1608/323-802-1608
Ngoldman@henson.com
aschwarz@henson.com

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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-ficult 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’s Henson Alternative brand has recently launched the national tour of “Stuffed and Unstrung,” a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly.

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