He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe On DVD!

Press Release

Company to Release All 130 Episodes This Summer

Initial Two-Disc, 10-Episode "Best Of" Collector’s Edition
To Premiere, July 12th, and Be Featured at San Diego Comic-Con

Los Angeles, CA – One of the most requested—and anticipated—animation series ever created is heading to DVD. The recent agreement between BCI Eclipse, a Navarre Corporation Company, and UK media company Entertainment Rights granted BCI the license to distribute all 130 episodes of the classic "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" animated series on DVD. BCI Eclipse is currently working on an initial two-year release strategy, and the first, two-disc set—available July 12th during the week of the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con International convention—will be a special, 10 episode Collector’s Edition, and include a groundbreaking number of extra features. The announcement was made today by Greg Glass, Senior Vice President, BCI Eclipse.

"As studios and independent suppliers release television programming on DVD, one of the most requested shows for DVD release over the years has been the original ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,’" said Glass. "We have not only acquired the rights to this classic ‘80s, iconic animation series, but have spent many hours interviewing virtually all of the key players in the creation and production of the series. The initial Collector’s Edition is just the beginning of what ‘He-Man’ fans will see over the course of the next 18 months."

Mike Heap, CEO, Entertainment Rights, added, "We had the opportunity to work with a number of partners for ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ and decided to partner with BCI because of their innovative marketing approach to He-Man. The extraordinary level of demand for this release underlines the level of affection the public holds for He-Man and its position in the market as a classic brand."

"The Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" will feature five of the all-time best episodes from season one (disc one) and five of the all-time best episodes from season two (disc two). The "best of" episodes were chosen in part by "He-Man’s" multitude of fans through voting on the www.He-Man.org website. In addition, each disc in the Collector’s Edition will feature documentary interviews with a variety of talent involved with the original series, including Emmy-award winning writers, directors, artists, and others working behind the scenes. These first two documentaries, produced and directed by best-selling entertainment writer Andy Mangels, are the beginning of a 16-part documentary series produced by BCI Eclipse for release in future "season" box sets.

The two-disc set will also include two 4" x 6" He-Man art cards, which will feature one-of-a-kind renderings of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe characters drawn by two of the world’s most famous comic book artists. These first two cards will be part of a collector series of 16 cards released throughout the "season" box set series – each displaying the work of another world-famous comic book artist.

The Collector’s Edition will include two exclusive art cards by Bruce Timm and Adam Hughes. Timm is one of the world's finest animators, well known for his contributions building the modern DC Comics cartoon franchise. Timm landed his first animation job in 1981 with Filmation Studios where he worked on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra Princess of Power and a variety of others. He also illustrated a number of the mini-comics that came with the toys from Mattel, before going on to an Emmy-award winning career on shows such as Batman, Batman Beyond, Superman, Justice League and Teen Titans. Hughes is one of the greatest artistic contributors in the field of comics today, and has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards in the comic book industry. Primarily known as a ‘good girl’ artist, his credits include Justice League, Wonder Woman, Star Trek, Tomb Raider and Gen 13, as well as countless covers and pin-ups for just about every comic company. Hughes was recently chosen to illustrate Warner Bros. Wonder Woman film poster.

Beginning this fall, BCI Eclipse will begin releasing the complete, 130 episode series in multi-disc "season" box sets, each including an abundance of extras that, altogether, will make up the most comprehensive collection of extras ever produced for a classic animation DVD series. Consulting with BCI on the project and providing extra content is Val Staples, the owner of www.he-man.org , the internet’s largest portal for the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe fan community, the owner of MVCreations graphic design company, and the publisher of the recent Masters of the Universe comic. Producing the special features documentaries and most of the extra content is entertainment writer Andy Mangels, a best-selling novelist, and author of Animation on DVD—The Ultimate Guide.

"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" is a landmark in children’s television history, being the first nationally syndicated television program based on a successful toy line. Originally produced from 1983-1985 by world renowned Filmation Studios and syndicated until 1990, the show has experienced consistent popularity over the years, demonstrated by its two subsequent animated series which from 1990-1991 and from 2002-2004. The series has also experienced an exceptional multi-year run as a successful toy and merchandising line for Mattel.

BCI Eclipse is a leading independent entertainment video and audio supplier. Since 1988, BCI has continually redefined the standards and concepts of this industry, often introducing national success categories through its intuitive mass marketing skills.

Its vast collection of titles represents both exclusively licensed titles from around the world, as well as in-house produced CDs and DVDs. BCI offers a wide variety of the best value-priced CDs and DVDs being sold. For over 15 years, BCI Eclipse has brought the finest music and movies to homes at a value price.