'Lady and Tramp' Is Out Again
Vista Home Entertainment here will re-release the Disney animated classic, "Lady and the Tramp" Sept. 15. The only time the title was out on video was in 1986. Suggested retail price will be $26.99 with an Aug. 4 prebook.
"Lady and the Tramp" has earned a cumulative $280 million in box-office revenues and has a 95% consumer-awareness level, according to the studio. The title is being digitally remastered and restored for its limited re-release this year.
Marketing support for the title will include national print, TV and radio advertising, as well as other consumer promotions and point-of-purchase materials. It will be trailered on several upcoming Disney releases, including "The Little Mermaid," "Melody Time," "The Spirit of Mickey" and the direct-to-video "Pocahontas: Journey to a New World."
A special collector's set, featuring the wide-screen version of the movie and a premium, also will be available Aug. 4, as will a Spanish language version.
Harvey Gets Into Home Video
LOS ANGELES -- Harvey Entertainment Co. here, best known for its Casper cartoon character, has formed a new home-video label: Harvey Home Video.
Don Gold has been named senior vice president. Gold joins Harvey from Trimark Pictures, Santa Monica, Calif., where he was senior vice president of sales and marketing for home video.
In his new position, Gold will focus on making marketing and distribution alliances for the company's video titles. Harvey plans to expand its direct-to-video activity from its one title in 1997 -- "Casper, A Spirited Beginning," distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Beverly Hills, Calif. -- to two such titles in 1998 and three in 1999. Gold is also charged with unifying Harvey's marketing, branding and packaging efforts.
The company's 1998 projects include the fall release of "Casper Meets Wendy," a continuation of the Casper series, and a planned Christmas release of "Richie Rich: A Christmas Wish." The 1999 plans include titles featuring Casper, Richie Rich and Wendy the Witch.
'Mouse Hunt' Due Out in May
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- "Mouse Hunt," starring Nathan Lane, will become the first direct to sell-through title from DreamWorks SKG here to be distributed by Universal Studios Home Video when it's released May 5. The title will have a $22.98 suggested retail price and an order close date of April 20.
The title will be released in both English and Spanish versions, and in clamshell packaging. The release will be supported by a national media campaign embracing network and cable television, print and Internet advertising and point-of-purchase merchandisers.
The ad campaign will include spots on A&E, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, The Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment, Lifetime Channel, Nick-at-Nite, Nickelodeon, TBS, TBS Kids, TLC, TNT and the USA channels. Additionally, spot TV ads will run on Hispanic stations in the top 50 markets. The campaign is expected to reach 97% of television households an average of 14.5 times. Total advertising and promotional impressions will be nearly 1 billion.
Goalie Videos to Debut in April
NEW YORK -- National Hockey League Video here will release "NHL's Masked Men: The Last Line of Defense" April 7. It will have a suggested retail price of $14.98.
The video will feature such goaltenders as the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils' Martin Brodeur, and include comments from players who wore microphones during games.
