The Jim Henson Company Celebrates the Official Launch of Its Online Retail Store at www.Henson.com With Exclusives and Limited Edition Products

The New E-Commerce Website, Powered by MashON, Offers Merchandise from The Company’s Renowned Catalog of Brands Including SID THE SCIENCE KID(TM), DINOSAUR TRAIN(TM), FRAGGLE ROCK(TM), FARSCAPE(TM) and More.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ — Fans of The Jim Henson Company’s well-known brands like Fraggle Rock and Farscape, as well as fans of the Company’s new hit pre-school properties, including Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train, now have an online retail destination to shop for all of their favorite merchandise at the Company’s official e-commerce website at www.henson.com.

The Jim Henson Company’s official online store, powered by e-commerce solution leader MashON, is the only e-commerce website solely dedicated to all the products from The Jim Henson Company’s extensive library of new and classic kids, family, fantasy and sci-fi brands. The online store offers distinct storefronts for the Company’s hit properties including Fraggle Rock, Dinosaur Train, Sid the Science Kid, The Dark Crystal™, Farscape, Labyrinth™, Skatelab, Jim Henson Designs and Stuffed and Unstrung™. Each storefront offers brand specific merchandise, such as t-shirts, iPhone skins, greeting cards, notebooks, and posters with additional merchandise categories including toys, DVDs, and books. Pajanimals™ and The String Doll Gang® storefronts will go live July 1. The site also will be updated regularly with licensed product as it becomes available.

In addition to purchasing product on-line consumers will have the ability to create their own products using licensed art for each brand, as well as search and browse for products by their favorite character or product type by using key words and phrases. Consumer designed products manufactured “on-demand,” include apparel, device skins, posters, invitations, and greeting cards with many more to be delivered over the next few months.

To mark the launch of the store, fans will find limited edition and special edition product for some of the Company’s most popular brands. Special product offered for the launch of the site includes:

• FRAGGLE ROCK: Limited edition “11×17″ ultra hip and groovy Dr.Romanelli/Fraggle Rock art print poster created by the infamous Los Angeles designer Dr.Romanelli. Available for 10 days only. $25.00
• FARSCAPE: “11X17″ super cool poster like magnets featuring vivid imagery of Moya and Crichton’s memorable line “This is Your Playground.” Available for 10 days only. $11.99
• STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG: Show poster “11×14″ from the off-Broadway stage show hand-signed by Brian Henson. Limited quantity. $35.00
• DINOSAUR TRAIN: The first 50 Buddy InterAction Figures available in the U.S., featuring Smart Talk Technology. InterAction Buddy says over 40 sounds and phrases. Pre-order now with product shipping out on June 10th. $14.99

“We and our colleagues on the digital side at Henson have been working together for some time toward a cutting edge e-commerce solution, and now through our partnership with MashON, we can offer Henson fans the quality and creativity they expect on a wide range of product through a user-friendly purchasing platform,” said Melissa Segal, SVP of Global Consumer Products for The Jim Henson Company.

“Henson’s new and nostalgic titles have wonderful appeal to kids, parents and fans of all ages,” said Philippe Benoliel, CEO of MashON, “We’re very excited to be working with Henson to deliver a world-class shopping experience and top quality products which showcase the beautiful artistry of these various brands.”

ABOUT THE BRANDS
Travel back in time to the faraway planet of Thra where the peace-loving Mystics are fighting to overthrow the evil Skeksis and take back control of their planet. Jen, a member of the Mystics, sets out to find the missing shard of THE DARK CRYSTAL that will restore balance to the planet. From the brilliant imagination of Jim Henson, this fantasy masterpiece recounts the timeless tale of good vs. evil and has become a cult favorite of children and grown-ups alike.

DINOSAUR TRAIN stars Buddy, a T-Rex who goes for adventures on the Dinosaur Train to meet all kinds of dinosaurs and learn fascinating new facts about these incredible creatures. DINOSAUR TRAIN airs on PBS KIDS® and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains. Each episode includes two animated segments and live-action sequences featuring paleontologist Dr. Scott, who brings to life the show’s natural science and natural history curriculum.

When a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapulted Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield, a cult classic was born with the epic, adventure-filled TV series FARSCAPE. The award-winning fan favorite show was named by TV Guide as one of television’s best cult shows ever and continues to enjoy a devoted following worldwide.

With five international Emmy Awards, the wonderfully inventive FRAGGLE ROCK is a global fan favorite and as popular today as when it premiered more than 25 years ago. The Jim Henson Company has recently spearheaded a resurgence of FRAGGLE ROCK licensing programs including the FRAGGLE ROCK™ FOREVER merchandise collection featuring apparel, plush toys and even designer jewelry.

JIM HENSON DESIGNS is a highly-artistic and innovative merchandise collection inspired by the rarely-seen works of the legendary puppeteer and filmmaker. For the first time ever, fans and newcomers alike have an opportunity to get to know and love Henson’s earlier and most precious art creations that exposes the more intimate and personal side of Henson’s genius.

Recognized as groundbreaking and wildly ahead of its time, the Jim Henson-directed fantasy classic LABYRINTH is the story of Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), who must save her baby stepbrother by traveling into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King (David Bowie). Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, populated with outrageous characters from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. This mesmerizing fantasy classic has maintained a dedicated fan base that has only grown over the years.

Developed to inspire a lifelong curiosity and love for learning in young children, SID THE SCIENCE KID appeals to preschoolers’ instinctive quest to figure out how things work, using humor and music as key teaching tools. Sid, the show’s energetic and inquisitive “star,” starts each episode with a new question and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers, inspiring preschoolers at home to think about how to find answers to their own questions.

SKATELAB is a global lifestyle brand based on the Simi Valley, California skatepark termed by those who skate as the “Holy Grail” of skate parks, and home to the “best skate shop” in the country as coined by Sports Illustrated for Kids and Fox News. It is also the home of the first skate-boarding museum in the country, “The Skateboarding Hall of Fame.” SKATELAB has been extended beyond its Southern California iconic location to be an authentic graphic driven lifestyle skate brand for boys.

STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG is a live uncensored show that lets loose the perilous and provocative elements of comedic improvisation on stage with a bunch of puppets. Featuring The Jim Henson Company’s renowned puppeteers, this one-of-a-kind comedy is currently in performances at the Union Square Theatre in New York City.

About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated “Sid the Science Kid,” “Dinosaur Train,” “Wilson & Ditch: Digging America” and “Pajanimals.” Features include “The Dark Crystal,” “Labyrinth,” “MirrorMask,” and “Unstable Fables.” Television productions include “Fraggle Rock” and the sci-fi cult series “Farscape.”

With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment.

The Company’s Henson Alternative brand recently launched the New York run of “Stuffed and Unstrung,” a live puppet improvisational show at the Union Square Theatre. http://www.henson.com

About MashON:
MashON (www.mashon.com), a dba of Planetwide Games Inc, is a leading provider of web based creative, promotional applications and turnkey e-commerce solutions for premium entertainment properties such as MGM, TIME Inc., EA, NFL, 4Kids TV, Moonscoop and TNA Wrestling. Leveraging its patented web based creative platform, MashON redefined on-line shopping for branded merchandise by combining traditional licensed products with user created merchandise under a single cohesive, branded and entertaining web store, providing a deeply immersive and consolidated shopping experience.

MashON has deployed its comprehensive technology platform, including e-commerce applications, promotional and social widgets, SEO and advertising campaign management and interactive advertising solutions to maximize the exposure and profitability of entertainment brands and content

We’ve taken a seat at the main table to bring you the completely revamped CardPlayer.com Poker Store!  You’ll find one of a kind t-shirts, iPhone/iPod skins and collectible posters featuring legendary poker stars!

Cash in on these specialty items by visiting poker-store.cardplayer.com!

It has come to our attention that there are Americans out there that do not own a koozie of their own. MashON is here to change this cold-handed tragedy! With every purchase of a Hot Tub Time Machine T-Shirt, you will receive a FREE koozie! Check out our latest MashUp with the new hit comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine. We had such a great time working on this movie, designing t-shirts, posters and iPhone skins!

By unanimous vote, there will be a hot tub and illegal energy drinks at the next MashON gathering. We will be traveling back in time to invest in bottled water and Apple. BOOM!  Don’t forget to check out Hot Tub Time Machine, in theaters March 26th!

The Power is in the Code!

MashON has partnered with Chaotic (4Kids Entertainment) to provide a custom print-on-demand e-commerce solution for Chaotic’s trading card / online game and animated series that airs on Cartoon Network and The CW4Kids. Chaotic fans are now able to create and buy their own high-quality, custom t-shirts, comic books, phone skins, mini-posters, greeting cards, postcards and calendars using the MashON platform. The Chaotic creator comes complete with 100+ high resolution graphics and characters.  Chaotic is currently featuring fan submitted projects for sale on their online store home page and continues to run bi-weekly contest for fans to submit custom projects.

Shop the Chaotic online store»

Ready to roar!

MashON is now the exclusive e-commerce platform for MGM!  That’s right, we’ve gone Hollywood.  Head on over to the Official Online Store of MGM Studios and check out the stores featuring Stargate, Pink Panther and Rocky.  There are plenty of t-shirts, iPhone skins, posters, greeting cards and postcards to choose from.  Or maybe you want to make your own?  You can!  Each store has its very own custom Creator with exclusive images and artwork from you favorite MGM properties.  ‘Tis the season for giving so go to the MGM Store and get something to give!

Cryptic Sudios™ licenses MashON’s™ creative social platform for Champion Online™ user Generated Stories which will allow game players to create their very own engaging digital stories ranging from single frame E-Cards to multi-page graphic novels. The suite of applications provides gamers with an exciting and innovative way to immerse themselves in the world of Champions Online™.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 9, 2009 — MashON, developer of the MashON! Platform and creative social media applications, announced today a licensing deal with Cryptic Studios™ to create user-generated stories based on Cryptic’s highly acclaimed massively multiplayer online (MMO) superhero action game, Champions Online™.

MashON will use their Creative Suite, featuring the MashON E-Card and Comic Strip Creator, to allow users to generate comic-style stories that will range from a single frame, four frames, multi frames and multiple pages, providing a progressively richer set of features and experiences in each case. Users will be able to bring their characters and stories to life through user-generated videos, pictures and sounds, blended with in-game art from Champions Online. The resulting unique digital story can be shared via email or posted to MySpace, Facebook and over 22 other social networks.”We’re very excited to be working with the Cryptic Studios team on a project with such a vivid and compelling world,” said Philippe Benoliel, CEO of MashON. “The art assets we’ve seen from the game look amazing and we’re sure fans of the characters will really enjoy telling and sharing their stories with the MashOn Creative Suite.”

“We have always looked for ways to get players more involved with our titles,” said John Needham, CEO of Cryptic Studios. “The MashON Comic Strip Creator will allow players to develop their own fantastic storylines that explore what they would like to see happen in Champions Online.”

Cryptic Studios, headquartered in Los Gatos, has recently released the MMO game, Champions Online and is currently in production for the anticipated MMO, Star Trek Online. Champions Online based on the popular Champions™ pen-and-paper RPG and published by Atari, gives players the power of total customization for their hero experience while they explore a vast comic book universe. For more information, please visit www.champions-online.com.

For more information about the MashON Platform, please visit www.MashON.com.

About MashON
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, MashON is the author and developer of the MashON Platform, a creative, social media platform that delivers its Brand Partners: reach, user engagement, control and multiple revenue streams and its Users: fun, easy to use, immersive web applications and an opportunity to engage with their favorite brands to create and share their own customized digital or physical products. MashON applications reach in excess of 8 million visitors each month across sectors as diverse as entertainment, publishing, music, gaming, comics, sports, fashion and education. www.mashon.com

About Cryptic Studios
Based in Los Gatos, CA, Cryptic Studios is a leading developer of massively multiplayer online games committed to delivering the next level of MMO gameplay. Cryptic develops AAA titles for PC and consoles, including Star Trek Online and Champions Online. For more information about Cryptic Studios, please visit the official website at: www.crypticstudios.com.

About Atari, SA
Atari group is a global creator, producer and publisher of interactive entertainment for interactive game platforms that include PC, online, consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony and advanced smart phones (i.e. iphone). Divisions of Atari, SA include Cryptic Studios, Atari London Studio, Eden Studios, Atari Interactive, Inc. and Atari, Inc.

Atari benefits from its global brand and an extensive catalogue of popular games based on classic owned game franchises (Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Lunar Lander), original owned franchises (Test Drive, Backyard Sports, Deer Hunter), MMO games from Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online) and third party franchises (Ghostbusters, Dungeons and Dragons).

For more information please visit www.atari.com and http://corporate.atari.com
© 2009 Atari Europe SASU. All rights reserved.
Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.

MashON and MashON Comic Book Creator are trademarks of MashON.
Champions, Champions Online, and Cryptic Studios are trademarks of Cryptic Studios, Inc.
STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of CBS Studios Inc and used with permission.

Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

MashON and MMORPG.com have pooled our MP, HP and XP to bring you the MMORPG Comic Book Creator!

Make your very own comic books, comic strip e-cards, manga and graphic novels.  Send them to your massively multiplaying online friends.  Want to create a comic about the assassination of Lord British?  Maybe you’d like to feature the continuing adventures of Leeroy Jenkins!  Perhaps it’s about time someone made a graphic novel detailing the Guiding Hand Social Club theft!  You can tell any story you’d like with the MMORPG Creator!

The fine and technologically/culturally/MashONally tuned in folks over at Wired.com recently gave our WebridesTV Wallpaper Creator some props. “WebRidesTV.com has taken the humble publicity photo to a new level… Using software from MashON, the website unveiled a custom automotive wallpaper generator that allows the Photoshop-challenged to choose a background, a car and maybe even a cheescake (sic) shot of an attractive woman… you’ll probably have a lot of fun at the site.”

You can read the entire write-up here. Then, make sure you head on over to WebridesTV.com to create your own wallpaper and probably have a lot of fun!  No, wait.  You WILL have a lot of fun!

The Business Development team hit the geektastic, nerdoriffic, superhero hyped scene at Comic Con ‘09. Philippe Benoliel, Terry Favish, and I worked “the Con” by visiting with our partners, checking out all the new hype for ‘09 and ‘10, and collecting a little shwag here and there – The Chaotic energy drink from 4Kids Entertainments was cool (an energy drink for gamers -pretty good stuff!).

There’s so much to see at Comic-Con. There’s booths for the newest Video Games, TV shows, Toys, Movies, Collectibles, Artwork, and of course Comics! But the real entertainment at Comic-Con is the people and their passion for costumes. Some Comic-Conners show their creativity through make-shift, homemade outfits, while others rock authentic replica suits that cost in the thousands of dollars. It’s a site to see. It’s Halloween on steroids. If you want to see a 2-foot Darth Vader, a 300-pound Darth Vader, or an exact replica – Comic-Con is the place to see it.

While the Business Development Team was there for “business” we did manage to squeeze in some fun and hit the hot spots in San Diego for food, fraternizing, and fun with clients. And maybe…just maybe I struck up conversations with a few “Booth Babes” Amidst the madness, I enjoyed visiting the Hero 108 booth. This was their first Comic-Con and their spankin’ new brand was received with a lot of excitement. Definitely a brand to be on the lookout for. Bakugan, being brand of the year and toy of the year, had a huge booth where kids were actually playing the game under a huge replica of the toy that covered the entire booth.

It was great to see the teams with Chaotic and 4Kids Entertaiment, TokyoPop, Marvel, EA, Arcana, and others that we’re close to working with.

Comic-Con was tons of fun and MashON was right in the middle of the mix! ………….Mash ON!

MashON & Hero: 108 come together to bring you the MashON Hero108 E-Card Creator!

MashON and Hero: 108 have teamed up to bring you Hero: 108 E-Cards.  All your favorite characters are available:  Lin Chung!  Mystique Sonia!  Mighty Ray!  Jumpy Ghostface!  Mr. No Hands!  Of course, so is the evil HighRoller and his mischievous cohorts.  It’s time to battle!  The action can be set in a variety of locations throughout the Hidden Kingdom.  Select your characters, choose the location, bring the characters to life with your words, and share the battle with your friends!

Create a Her0: 108 E-Card in time for Comic Con!

See more @: http://mashon.com/hero108/ecard

Create Your Own Hero108 E-Card!

The MashON Hero108 E-Card

Share the battle for the Hidden Kingdom with your friends!

Go MashON!