Skylanders Cartoon Coming 2016!

[1ofWiisdom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Activision Blizzard Launches Activision Blizzard Studios to Create Original Film and TV Content Based on Iconic, Globally-Recognized Franchises

Initial Productions to Include SkylandersTM TV Series and Call of DutyTM Film Series

Disney Veteran Nick van Dyk Named Studio Co-President

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 6, 2015 - Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced the launch of Activision Blizzard Studios, a new film and television studio devoted to creating original content based on the company's extensive library of iconic and globally-recognized intellectual properties. Activision Blizzard's owned content includes some of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world, including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, Diablo®, Hearthstone® and StarCraft®. Former Disney executive Nick van Dyk has been tapped to co-head the division, along with a senior creative executive who will be announced soon.

Activision Blizzard Studios' first production will be "Skylanders™ Academy," an animated TV series based on the award-winning Skylanders® game. Currently in production under the supervision of showrunner Eric Rogers ("Futurama"), "Skylanders™ Academy" will feature the voices of Justin Long ("Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Ask Me Anything") as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale ("Phineas and Ferb," "High School Musical") as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul") as Eruptor and Norm Macdonald ("Saturday Night Live") as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz. The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders® franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011(1).

Another near-term initiative for Activision Blizzard Studios will be the development of a robust cinematic universe based on the Call of Duty franchise. Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare remains the number one-selling title on next-generation consoles(2) and today marks the launch of the highly-anticipated new Call of Duty®: Black Ops III. Activision Blizzard Studios envisions a series of Call of Duty feature films as well as the possibility of television adaptations.

"Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium. With the launch of Activision Blizzard Studios, our engaged fans can now watch the games they love come to life across film and television," said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. "Activision Blizzard Studios is yet another way we're celebrating our players and fans, and we expect that our film and television productions will entertain and delight whole new audiences, as well. I'm excited that Nick and his team will be leading this important new growth opportunity for Activision Blizzard."

Kotick added, "We intend to approach film and television development with the same unwavering commitment to excellence we are known for in game development."

Nick van Dyk, formerly a long-time Walt Disney Company senior executive, will serve as Activision Blizzard Studios' Co-President, alongside a top creative executive who will be announced soon. Van Dyk will have responsibility for distribution, physical production, strategy, finance and operations and will co-manage all aspects of the studio. Before joining Activision Blizzard last year, van Dyk spent nine years at Disney where, as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, he helped drive Disney's focus on franchise intellectual property and played a significant role in the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Prior to that, van Dyk was part of Artisan Entertainment's senior management team.

"Activision Blizzard Studios has the unique advantage of starting with a library of world-class intellectual property that includes some of the largest franchises which have not yet been developed in film and television," said van Dyk. "Our library spans more than 30 years of global entertainment culture and, in the last 12 months alone, fans of Activision Blizzard properties have played and watched our games online for more than 13 billion hours. This gives us a huge, passionate and deeply-engaged audience that is hungry for more great content built from the universes they already know and love-and which are extremely broad in their appeal."

Van Dyk added, "Activision Blizzard Studios is not just an exciting new business for our company, it is a synergistic complement to our core business. Our movies and shows will benefit from the remarkable IP created in our games and will further increase the awareness of, engagement with and passion for our franchises."

Activision Blizzard Studios is another important step in the company's strategy of expanding the platforms through which it offers its compelling intellectual property to existing fans and new audiences around the world.

The founding of Activision Blizzard Studios follows the company's announcement on Oct. 22 of a new esports division headed by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein and Major League Gaming co-founder and president Mike Sepso. The esports division will build on the company's competitive gaming leadership by creating all-new ways to deliver the best-in-class fan experience across games, platforms and geographies, furthering the development of its world-leading esports ecosystem. Activision Blizzard's other divisions are Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment. On Nov. 2, the company announced its plans to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the creators of the Candy Crush®, Farm Heroes®, Pet Rescue® and Bubble Witch® franchises, which will make it a new global leader in mobile gaming.

About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world's most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. It develops and publishes games based on some of the most beloved entertainment franchises, including Call of Duty®, Destiny, Skylanders®, Guitar Hero®, World of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo®, and Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™. The company is one of the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies To Work For®" 2015. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, it has operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. Activision Blizzard makes games for leading interactive platforms. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

[Omenix]

My biggest concern with this is that the story will be bad. Either a rehash of the in game stories, not as good as in game stories or taking precidence over the game story so that the plot won't be as good in games. In any case it's a loss and unless I'm mistaken nothings been said on the story/writers? Also, I've seen Phineas and Ferb and Alvin and the chipmunks but which characters do Spyro and Stealth Elfs voice actors play in their respective cartoons?

[Orion's Islands]

i like the idea but i will cut them no breaks on quality.
i would have hoped they would think big and go for a feature film!

I am never a fan of replacing the original voice actors. Believe it or not, changing Spyro's or any of the Skylander voices isnt that big of a deal because they have spoken so little. (I would miss Terrafin's voice though) Now Flynn, Cali, etc...those are harder! Glumshanks is a character we have heard in every game...changing his voice actor to bigger name is a plain, straight-up mistake. It lowers my expectations a bit.
i am hoping they dont go simplistic, childish with it. I would like them to treat it with more gravitas. I don't mind fun, just dont go nursery school morality plays on me. Hey, it would be cool to see them explore the backstories here, perhaps add to the lore of Skylands and then reflect any additions in the new games. Can you say Marvel Universe anyone?
Anyway, here is to hopin!!!!!

[Omenix]

So here's an idea, the cartoon could be set a little while into the future when the original skylanders (the 8 eons elites) are retired from Skylandering and instead teach/train the next generation at the Academy.(fill the blanks with generic villain names etc) All is going well until Blank threatens Skylands with his/her Blank weapon while the main force is dealing with Kaos. The only people around are the old commanders and the new trainees who must overcome all differences to work together as a team and defeat Blank. It could end one of 2 ways, they defeat the bad guy some, cheesy teamwork moral and the return pretty much unchanged or maybe it's more difficult and god forbid you might actually see some legitimate character development. Maybe they fail the first time and the villain takes over. Maybe the villain isn't the main villain and just a henchman. Whatever the case, I do think it could be interesting to see some character development because if they can't do that then what's the point of the series in the first place?