Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Premieres Maggie and the Ferocious Beast on VHS and DVD August 6

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Premieres
‘Maggie and the Ferocious Beast'
On VHS and DVD August 6

Imaginative Stories from Top-Rated Nick Jr. Television
Show Make ‘Maggie' a Hit with Preschoolers and Older Kids

Stories Based on Best-Selling Books by Mother-Son Creative Team


Culver City, California (July 12, 2002) – The most exciting new female character in preschool television debuts in two new titles on VHS and DVD August 6 with Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment's release of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Adventures in Nowhere Land and We Are Family.

Produced by animation powerhouse Nelvana and currently airing as one of the top-rated programs on Nick Jr. television, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast encourages young viewers to engage in pretend play with Maggie and her imaginative friends while teaching life lessons about friendship, cooperation, responsibility and good manners.

Adventures in Nowhere Land and We Are Family, each with five captivating stories for a VHS suggested list price (SLP) of $12.95 each, are available in English and Spanish versions and are closed-captioned. The Adventures in Nowhere Land DVD also includes a bonus story and such special features as interactive menus and episode selections for a SLP of $19.95.

The bright, bold, animated Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is a "smart show" and recently received a Parents' Choice Gold Award. Betty and Michael Paraskevas, a mother-son creative team who also consult on the television series, base the program on their best-selling books. While the script and pacing appeal to preschoolers, older children enjoy the program as well. "We wanted this to be a show that a kid could grow into instead of growing out of," explains Michael Paraskevas, who illustrates Maggie. "School-aged kids tell us that they like to watch it with their younger brothers and sisters."

A precocious five-year-old, Maggie imagines Nowhere Land where she and her two favorite toys, Hamilton Hocks (a cautious pig with a love for music and singing) and the Ferocious Beast (a red polka-dotted creature who's anything but ferocious!), have one adventure after another while learning life lessons in a gentle, non-threatening way. These colorful and endearing characters present situations that are familiar to children ages two to six — or anyone who's ever hugged a favorite cuddly toy and engaged in imaginative play.

The social interaction between Maggie and her friends is realistic and balanced with loads of humor. Ferocious Beast and Hamilton Hocks sometimes disagree, but Maggie helps smooth the way, resolving any differences. Hamilton keeps all sorts of treasures in his beloved cardboard box, leading the threesome to new and fun activities.

Smart dialogue, imaginative sequences, gentle pacing and charming characters – with a strong female lead – make Maggie and the Ferocious Beast unique among children's programming. It garnered a number-one Nielsen rating after just three weeks of broadcast when it launched in June 2000 and remains one of Nick Jr.'s top-five preschool shows. The popular web site, www.ferociousbeast.com, invites viewers to play along with fun games and activities featuring Maggie and her friends.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a division of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television production and distribution, worldwide channel investments, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment products, services and technologies, and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment may be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.spe.sony.com.

Corus Entertainment is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is Canada's market leader in both specialty TV and Radio. Corus also owns Nelvana Limited, one of the world's largest international producers and distributors of children's programming and products. The company's other interests include music, television broadcasting and advertising services. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) and New York (CJR) Exchanges. Corus' Web site can be found at www.corusentertainment.com.

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Visit Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment on the worldwide web at:
www.sonypictures.com
For more information on Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, please visit:www.ferociousbeast.com


Please call or fax screener and artwork requests:

Andrea Blain
Andrea Blain Public Relations
9750 Crawford Ave.
Skokie, IL 60076
Phone: 847-933-9884
Fax: 847-673-5836
Email: ablain@aol.com

MAGGIE AND THE FEROCIOUS BEAST: VHS AND DVD SYNOPSES


ADVENTURES IN NOWHERE LAND – VHS $12.95 Approximately 38 minutes

Beastly Picture – Maggie has painted a wonderful portrait of the Beast. When the Beast accidentally ruins the painting, he tries to paint a replacement, but it's very hard to paint with big beastly paws. His artwork sure doesn't fool Maggie, but she loves it just the same.

The Big Duck – Who is that big duck in the River of Dreams and why is she following Maggie, Hamilton and the Beast? Hamilton and the Beast are a little scared of her, but Maggie makes friends with the Duck and finds out she just wants to give them a ride across the river.

Hamilton's Pet – Hamilton finds a friendly little fish in the River of Dreams and decides to keep him for a pet. He puts Fishy in a baby carriage and takes him for a walk, but Fishy looks very unhappy. Realizing that his pet is homesick, Hamilton decides to take him back go the River and says goodbye.

My One and Only Box – Maggie, Hamilton and the Beast are having great fun making snow sculptures and snow angels and throwing snowballs. Hamilton's box makes a very good sled, until it hits a rock and is torn. Hamilton is filled with remorse and sings a sad little song about his beloved box. Maggie eventually saves the day, fixing the tear with one of the Beast's spots.

Mr. Shivers – Maggie has a magic snow globe that makes it snow in Nowhere Land. The three friends build a snowman that comes to life as the jovial Mr. Shivers. When the sun comes out, they must escort Mr. Shivers to the top of the Highest Mountain, where it's always snowy and he won't have to worry about melting.

ADVENTURES IN NOWHERE LAND – DVD $19.95 Approximately 47 minutes (same as above plus):

The King of Nowhere Land – Maggie's brought a crown to Nowhere Land and Hamilton volunteers to be the king. Once he is crowned, however, he realizes that kings don't get to do anything fun. He finally abdicates to bake some apple pies.

WE ARE FAMILY – VHS $12.95 Approximately 38 minutes

Maggie the Mommy – The world of make believe comes to life in the first episode. Maggie dons her mommy's hat and high heels and convinces Hamilton to play the baby while the Beast barks and wags like a dog. As they walk along they meet three singing cows and tumble down a hill. The roles reverse as Hamilton plays daddy and Maggie rests in the baby carriage.

One, Two, Three – Maggie is watching her three real baby cousins, the triplets Oscar, Zach and Max. It takes Maggie, the Beast and Hamilton's full attention to keep track of the lively babies. Meanwhile they learn that babies don't always play the way you'd expect. A little mix up of identities is resolved when the three friends figure out which triplet is which by their unique actions.

Nap Time – It's time for an afternoon rest, but no one can sleep. Maggie tries several solutions: water, blankets and earmuffs. But the best one of all is watching the clouds turn into sheep. These fluffy dream sheep provide a comfy cushion for their naps.
Spring Cleaning – Hamilton Hocks thinks cleaning is the ultimate fun. He's scrubbing everything in his box. The Beast makes a mess when he tries out Hamilton's fascinating vacuum cleaner. After cleaning the rocks and trees for a while, Maggie and the Beast decide to head for the beach. Hamilton is torn between vacuuming the hills and the beach trip.
Say Cheese – Hamilton is upset because Maggie has framed a picture of herself and the Beast and he doesn't have a similar picture of Maggie and himself to put in his box. At first he can't express his feelings, but Maggie finds a clever way to get the truth out of him and resolve the problem. In the end, all three friends follow Maggie's map to find the land of the llamas.





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