Paramount Home Entertainment, Nickelodeon and Shout! Factory today announced a sub-licensing agreement that will give Shout! Factory rights to distribute DVD and Blu-ray releases of some of Nick’s classic animated programs, including The Wild Thornberrys, Hey Arnold, Danny Phantom, Aaaah! Real Monsters, and Rocko’s Modern Life in the United States and Canada.

The first title to be released will be The Wild Thornberrys: Season One, which will arrive in stores on May 17, 2011.  Produced by Klasky-Csupo for Nickelodeon, The Wild Thornberrys premiered in September 1998 and aired until 2004 with reruns airing on Nicktoons and CBS from 2002-2007. The Wild Thornberrys DVD release has long been anticipated by fans but has not been available in stores until now.

The hit series follows the Thornberry family as they travel the world in their Communications Vehicle (or CommVee) looking for rare animals to film. After an encounter with an African shaman, their youngest child Eliza was given the power to speak to animals! Every episode in this adventure-packed DVD set follows Eliza as she comes face-to-face with an assortment of animals, continents and danger. Encounter wildlife in all its natural glory and eavesdrop on Eliza’s conversations with silverback gorillas, pythons, crested grebes, tapirs, capybaras, antelopes and opossums while the CommVee travels on!

Vibrant animation, exotic locations, charming storytelling plus an all-star voice cast, including Lacey Chabert (Party Of Five), Tim Curry (The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) and Flea (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) make season one of The Wild Thornberrys an epic family adventure.  Featuring all 20 action-packed episodes, the collectible 4-DVD box set is priced to own at a suggested retail price of $29.93 and will no doubt attract a new audience of kids as well as young adults who grew up watching the television series.

The release of these DVDs is part of Nickelodeon’s commitment to bring back classic shows.  Nickelodeon will also launch a new nighttime programming block this fall on TeenNick called “The ‘90s Are All That!,” featuring a rotating selection of iconic live-action and animated shows from Nickelodeon’s 1990s.

Chris Arrant

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