Licence Agreement with Universal Studios
Kazoo3D PLC
27 April 2000
Kazoo3D announces licence agreement with
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group's 'Rocky and Bullwinkle and
Friends' become the first 3D cartoon characters to be made available
for purchase online
Kazoo3D plc (LSE: KZO), the specialist 3D software company which
listed on AIM last month, today announced it has entered into a three
year agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, for the
worldwide licence to create and sell 3D computer models of Rocky and
Bullwinkle and Friends characters.
The agreement predominantly consists of characters from Jay Ward's
classic cartoon series. The family of characters include Rocky,
Bullwinkle, Sherman, Mr. Peabody, the villainous Boris and Natasha,
the squeaky clean Dudley Do-Right and Nell and his dastardly
counterpart, Snidely Whiplash, and Fractured Fairy Tales, the offbeat
interpretations of classic fables.
Kazoo3D's software enables PC users to insert chosen 3D character
models into pre-existing photographs or lets them create documents,
images or graphic representations using 3D character models for
personal use.
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group's Rocky and Bullwinkle and
Friends are set to become the first high profile cartoon characters to
be made available to PC users in this 3D format. The characters will
be made available in 'Character Packs' and will come in a variety of
poses and contexts with different thematic elements.
Commenting on the deal, Stuart Green, Chief Executive of Kazoo3D said,
'we are breaking new ground here with Universal and believe this is
the world's first non-game computer 3D licensing deal. It's a high
profile deal for Kazoo3D. Rocky and Bullwinkle are already household
names in the US and are set to become internationally popular once
their film is released in the Summer. We are continuing to talk to
Universal and others about licensing other cartoon characters and hope
to be able to announce further deals in the coming months.'
'Digital photo sharing is one of the hottest consumer growth areas on
the web,' commented Jeremy Laws, Executive Director, Clips & Stills,
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group. 'Kazoo3D's product allows
us to leverage our characters into that marketplace and gives us a new
way to foster relationships between current and future fans and those
characters.'
On June 30, 2000, watch Rocky & Bullwinkle foil their arch rivals,
Boris and Natasha, in Universal Pictures and Tribeca Productions' The
Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, an innovative and irreverent live-
action/animated comedy adventure, which combines the talents of Robert
De Niro as the insidious Fearless Leader, Jason Alexander as the evil
Boris Badenov and Rene Russo as the seductress Natasha Fatale. The
trio is joined by a CGI-created Rocky and Bullwinkle from the wizards
of Industrial Light & Magic.
Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends are licensed by Universal Studios
Consumer Products Group, a division of Universal Studios
(www.universalstudios.com), a diversified entertainment company and
worldwide leader in motion pictures, television, home and location
based entertainment. Universal Studios is a unit of The Seagram
Company Ltd., a global entertainment and beverage company.
For further information:
Stuart Green, Chief Executive Tel: 0114 266 8404
Kazoo3D plc
James Longfield/John Williams Tel: 020 7357 9477
Hogarth Partnership
Background to Kazoo3D:
Kazoo3D is a UK based 3D specialist based in Sheffield and with
offices in California. The Company has developed proprietary 3D
technology that can be embedded into mass market software applications
enabling users to incorporate and manipulate pre-built 3D images
within these software applications. To achieve rapid market
penetration for its 3D technology, Kazoo3D has licensed its 3D
technology to partners including Adobe Systems and Streetwise Software
for their photo manipulation software. The Company is in discussions
with over 100 other potential licensees.
In order to meet the consumer and business demand for 3D content that
its technology will create, Kazoo3D is in the process of building the
world's largest collection of 3D models and to make them available for
PC users to purchase worldwide through a dedicated e-commerce website
(www.kazoo3d.com). These models will cover a range of different
objects from plants, animals, household goods, office products, food,
buildings, vehicles, tools, sci-fi objects, cartoon characters etc.
Kazoo3D plans to launch its e-commerce website in July this year.
Kazoo3D raised £12 million via a Placing with institutional investors
in March this year. The shares are listed on AIM and the company has
a current market capitalisation of £40 million.