If you are a fan of all the green-skinned gloriousness that being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan has to offer, New York Comic Con brings with it a very special event that you won’t want to miss. This Thursday and Friday before the con begins, the turtles will be roaming streets and major landmarks in the city chatting it up with fans and taking photos.
If you don’t want to go searching for them, you can simply wait until Comic Con begins to track them down. Among the activities planned will be a retro game challenge hosted by Ubisoft which you can come away from with a Nintendo Wii and a Turtles in Time tournament. If you get the highest score using only one credit in the latter competition, you have a shot at getting into the Guinness Book of Video Games!
Unrelated to all these festivities: the PR person that came up with the word “Shell-abration” shouldn’t just be fired, he should be set ON fire.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES®
TO BE “SHELL-EBRATED” AT NEW YORK COMIC CON
TMNT’s 25 Years of Turtle Power Highlighted with Panels, Photo Opportunities and Prizes at East Coast’s Largest Pop Culture Convention
NEW YORK – February 2, 2009 – The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to their New York City home to “Shell-ebrate” as Mirage Studios, owners of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand, Playmates Toys, the Turtles’ longtime master toy licensee, andTMNT licensing agent 4Kids Entertainment, mark the 25th Anniversary of the lean, green, crime fighting machines with a major fan-based commemoration at the New York Comic Con show (booth # 1057) February 6 to February 8, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York.
The Turtles will rise from the sewers and hit the streets and major landmarks in Manhattan prior to New York Comic Con, on Thursday, February 5 (Noon – 5 p.m.) and Friday, February 6 (8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.), to engage with fans, locals and NYC visitors about their TMNT memories and enthusiasm for the brand. Footage of the brothers taking Manhattan will be available at www.TMNT25.com. From there, the Turtles will play a starring role at Comic Con with exciting activities planned for fans including a TMNT photo station, a Ubisoft retro TMNT video game challenge where attendees can win a Nintendo Wii, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time arcade game tournament to win the title in the Guinness Book of Video Games Record for highest score in one credit, and onsite raffles to win an iPod touch from UCLICK, the Turtles’ mobile content licensee.In addition, there will be signings and booth appearances by TMNT artists and Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, co-creators of the TMNT, over the course of the show.
Comic Con will be educational for TMNT fans, as well, with panels covering the artistic evolution of the TMNT over the past quarter century, led by Mirage artists on Friday February 6 (5:45 – 6:45 p.m.) in Panel Room 2 (1A07), and another focused on the animation of the TMNT hosted by the producers, directors, writers, and storyboard artists of the current 4Kids TMNT TV series, on Sunday, February 8 (12:15 -1:15 p.m.) in Panel Room 8 (1A23).
In addition, to bring their newer and younger fans some live TMNT magic, the Turtles will participate in New York Comic Con’s Kids Day on Sunday, February 8. Activities will include martial arts demonstrations by the TMNT and the black belt instructors of Tiger Schulmann’s Mixed Martial Arts in the BattleZone located in the Galleria, a panel hosted by the Turtles’ newscaster sidekick, April O’Neil, who’ll host a tribute to the TMNT brand and pay tribute to the 25th Anniversary with an interactive skit. The panel will be from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m., followed by the skit at 2:45 p.m. – both in the Galleria. Throughout the day, kids will have the chance to practice mixed martial arts moves, meet the TMNT, and win TMNT prizes from Playmates Toys, TMNT master toy licensee. A full schedule of TMNT events at the show can be found at TMNT25.com.
“New York is the home of the Turtles, and we are eager to get them back to their roots for our fans. A lot has changed since their debut in 1984, but the TMNT have never forgotten their comic origins or their fans, said Gary Richardson, CEO of Mirage Studios. “New York Comic Con is only the beginning of a very exciting year for the TMNT and we can’t wait to leave our mark on NYC.”
New York Comic Con is the first major event in the year-long Shell-ebration that began on January 1, when the TMNT launched a nostalgic, interactive Web site dedicated to their 25th Anniversary. The site includes an online sweepstakes, open until March 17, 2009, where one lucky prize winner will receive an original, limited edition TMNT bronze statue and a trip for two to New York City (including airfare, hotel and spending money).
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About Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios, Inc. is part of the Mirage Group, a group of companies located in Northampton, Massachusetts that owns, manages, nurtures and protects the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property.
About 4Kids Entertainment
With U.S. headquarters in New York City, regional offices for its trading card business in San Diego, California and international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE) is a global organization devoted to the creation, development, production, broadcasting, distribution, licensing, and manufacturing of children’s entertainment products.
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, 4Kids produces animated television series and films, distributes 4Kids’ produced or licensed animated television series for the domestic and international television and home video markets, licenses merchandising rights worldwide to 4Kids’ owned or represented properties, operates Web sites to support 4Kids’ owned or represented properties, and produces and markets collectible trading card games. Additionally, the Company programs and sells the national advertising time in “TheCW4Kids” five-hour Saturday morning children’s television block on The CW Television Network.
Additional information is available on the www.4KidsEntertainment.com corporate Website and at the www.4kids.tv game station site.
About The Playmates Toys Company
For over 40 years, Playmates Toys, Inc., has been among the most well respected and innovative marketing and distribution companies in the global toy industry with a proven history in both the creation of innovative and imaginative products as well as the development and management of profitable, long-term brand franchises. Core licensed
character and entertainment brands include DISNEY(r) PRINCESSES and classic characters, DISNEY FAIRIES, Paramount Studios/CBS “Star Trek”, Warner Bros. “TERMINATOR: SALVATION” and 4Kids Entertainment/Mirage Licensing’s “TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES” and 4Kids Entertainment/”YU-GI-OH.” From its offices in Hong Kong, China and the United States, Playmates designs, develops, markets and distributes its products in over 60 countries worldwide.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has teams in 28 countries and distributes games in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of 928 million euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
