Warner concocts creepy Halloween lineup

Warner Home Video is hoping to cast a spell on kids this fall with its spooky roster of Halloween videos. Topping the ghoulish list is Scooby’s Creepiest Capers, a best-of compilation featuring four classic Scooby eps. Next up is Casper Saves Halloween, another comp containing seven eps from the original Casper cartoon. Bugs Bunny’s Halloween Hijinks, a two-ep compilation starring Warner’s wise-cracking rabbit, and Scarecrow, a full-length animated feature about a scarecrow who longs to be human, round out the offering. All four titles street August 22 and will prebook July 18. Each video has an SRP of US$14.95. Warner will be pulling out the stops to try and get retailers into the Halloween spirit by offering discounts to accounts that purchase its 36- and 48-unit Halloween merchandisers between July 17 to October 31. WHV has also cooked up a brew of consumer promotions to support the titles, which include a ‘buy three, get one free’ mail-in deal good for one of five WHV repromotes from Halloweens past, and an on-pack trick-or-treat bag, promoting the new DTV Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, due out October 3.

WHV’s Halloween video marketing blitz, which kicks off this fall, will consist of print (Child, Disney Adventures, Family Fun, Kid City, Nickelodeon and Parenting) and on-line (CartoonNetwork.com, Nick.com, Yow.com and Yahooligans.com) advertising.

Franklin DTV waddles into retail

USA Home Entertainment will release the animated Franklin and the Green Knight on October 3. The 75-minute DTV (VHS, US$19.99), starring Nelvana’s preschool powerhouse Franklin (which airs in the U.S. on Nick Jr.), prebooks September 5 and features three new original songs. The DVD (US$24.99) version also comes with French-, Spanish- and English-language tracks. For promotional support, USA is including an on-pack catalog containing discounts on a variety of Franklin and the Green Knight licensed merchandise.