DVD revives B-List kidvid fare

The superior storage capacity of the DVD-ROM format is giving little-known family movies a new lease on life. For proof, you need look no further than Long Beach, California-based distribco Program Power Entertainment’s new DVD series Family Outdoor Adventures (FOA). Due to launch with seven titles later this month, each of Program’s FOA titles are Disney-esque live-action movies that are set in the great outdoors. All of the movies have either aired previously on TV or were released on VHS, except Ghost Ship, a film about kids who discover a Spanish galleon buried in the desert that will debut this month. To try and generate interest for movies that kids may have never seen before, PPE has added a host of bonus features, such as a script-writing tutorial that teaches kids how the writer of the film put the script together; behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast; a making-of featurette; and coloring books containing scenes from the movies that kids can print off.

‘We hope the script-writing feature will appeal to kids who may be considering show business as a career,’ says Mary Ivory, VP of PPE. All seven of the movies, Walking Thunder, Ghost Ship, Wind Dancer, Heaven Sent, Little Heroes, A Dog’s Tale and The Long Road Home, retail for US$19.98 each and will be available at select specialty video retailers in the U.S.

LBT shows no signs of extinction

Universal Studios’ US$1-billion kidvid franchise The Land Before Time is poised to spawn yet another addition. On November 28, Uni will release the animated feature The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire on VHS (US$19.98) and DVD (US$24.98).

For the latest installment, which prebooks on VHS on November 6, Universal has coordinated a number of consumer promotions to help give the title a push during the all-important Q4 selling period. Licensee Sound Source Interactive is offering consumers a discount on its LBT Activity Center CD-ROM with proof of purchase of Post Alpha-Bits or Mashmallow Alpha-Bits cereals. Post will also be giving US$3 rebates to consumers who purchase either of the Alpha-Bits cereals and any of the first six LBT videos. Additionally this month, Universal is co-sponsoring ‘Big Animals, Big Kids,’ an in-school educational program that will teach 10,000 preschoolers about dinosaurs and teamwork. Also this month, Universal will launch its mom-targeted TV campaign. Next month, Uni will distribute 50 million full-page inserts promoting LBT VII to households across the U.S.