Universal Studio acquires distribution rights of 'Mostly Ghostly'

Thiruvananthapuram, May 28 (IANS) Technopark-based Toonz Animation announced Wednesday that the distribution rights of its feature film 'Mostly Ghostly' have been acquired by Universal Studio, a division of Universal Pictures.

Based on the first in the popular eight-book Mostly Ghostly series by the best selling children's author R.L.Stine, the film chronicles the eerie adventures of an 11-year-old outcast Max as he protects Nicky and Tara - the sibling ghosts who live in his house -from the fume-spewing demon Phears.

Mostly Ghostly is directed by Hannah Montana co-creator Rich Correll and produced by Yvonne Bernard, Arthur Cohen and Steve Stabler.

Toonz has pumped in US$3.60 million for the hour-long feature film and also provides the computer graphics effect for it.

The film is slated for release in October this year.

In a press release here, Toonz said they are ecstatic at this deal which would complement their efforts to deliver innovative entertainment experience to audiences across the globe.

' We are hopeful that Mostly Ghostly will be well received by children and adults alike,' said P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Animation India Pvt Ltd.

The film features a red-hot cast including Madison Pettis (The Game Plan, Horton Hears a Who! Cory in the House), Luke Benward (How to Eat Fried Worms, Because of Winn-Dixie), Maiara Walsh (Cory in the House), Ali Lohan (Living Lohan), Brian Stepanek (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Transformers) Kim Rhodes (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) and introduces Noah Cyrus (younger sister of Hannah Montana's Miley Cyrus).

Toonz, a major provider of animation to the top US and European producers, is South Asia's most admired animation studio and part of the international business conglomerate, Comcraft Group, based in Geneva.

Founded in 1999, Toonz has a client list that includes the biggest names in media and entertainment like Marvel, Hallmark, Paramount, Disney, BBC and Cartoon Network. Toonz Animation offers its world-wide clientele end-to-end animation services including 3D animation, 2D animation (digital and traditional), Flash, Stop Motion and VFX on a full spectrum of media platforms.