On June 25th, we posted this
news item, which was billed as a "MASSIVE Rhino Update!" Tim Finn, Rhino's
Transformers and
G.I. Joe consultant, had made a long post at a website called AllSpark.com, giving away Rhino's plans for various items.
When we checked with Rhino about the info, we found out that some of it was on-the-mark, but other parts of it were not. The on-target items include shows like
G.I. Joe, Beast Wars, Jem!, and the next two individual-disc releases of
Transformers Armada. In fact, we have more information about all of those, and more, and we'll be posting separate news items about these.
The goal of the news you are reading is to ease off expectations about things that Finn said which were off-base, so fans can get their disappointment out of the way now. Please remember that Rhino never announced the titles that Finn talked about, and he was not authorized to make any statements of behalf of the distributor. In fact, we were told that he should have taken better notes; some of what he said was out-and-out wrong.
Items that are NOT coming from Rhino
We'll start with a couple of easy ones: Visionaries (a non-Transofrmers title) and HeadMasters (the Japanese version of what would have been a continuation of the 4th season of the original Transformers series if the show had proceeded).
Rhino says "No". Those two are not going to happen, at least at this time. Not ever? Well, never say "never". But it is highly improbable that Rhino will release either of these.
About other Japanese Transformers series that Finn brought up: Master Force, Victory, Zone, Scramble City. Well, Finn himself said "Would only happen if Headmasters happened." While Rhino didn't comment on those in particular, I think we can figure out that these aren't likely, either, since HeadMasters won't be happening.
More Transformers Season Sets?
Season sets of Transformers Armada and Beast Machines were not ready to be discussed yet. Info passed on by Finn was not firm: Rhino was just going over their ideas about it with him, and speculative dates and offerings. If they happen as described, then the timeframes he posted should not be taken to heart just yet. In the meantime, there IS a Canadian release of Beast Machines Transformers - Episodes 1-5 that's coming out on August 10th. The Canadian branch of Amazon has it up for pre-order
(click here) for $11.98 CAN (approximately $8.94 US), but it's now shown to be coming from a distributor called "Hgv Video Production", not Fox as previously shown. I'm not familar with "Hgv" myself.
The whole Energon thing
Finally, there is Finn's mention of Transformers: Energon, saying that Rhino might consider it based on Armada sales. This was our comment at the time:
The mention of "Transformers: Energon" DVDs is fascinating. Paramount Home Entertainment has already announced that they have made a deal with Hasbro to bring out new direct-to-video DVD features based on Hasbro toy properties such as "Tonka" and "Transformers: Energon". According to this report at
Video Business (free registration required), the animated release for "Energon" will hit stores this October. Obviously, Rhino's release would be based on the
Cartoon Network Engergon series which has been airing since January 31st, and is planning to ramp up episode broadcasts in the coming weeks. The confusion caused by the identical names on DVDs will be an interesting marketplace challenge, though.
Rhino's response? "Paramount owns this". Apparently, they own the series as well as any direct-to-video rights. Let's take a closer look at the Video Business item:
JUNE 8 | Paramount Home Entertainment is teaming up with Hasbro to release a series of animated DVD premiere movies based on Hasbro toys such as G.I. Joe, Transformers and Tonka.
Earlier this year, Paramount announced a deal to distribute the upcoming animated movie G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom.
The new agreement under worldwide home entertainment president Tom Lesinski creates long-term worldwide distribution rights for movies based on numerous Hasbro brands.
Announced Tuesday at Licensing 2004 International in New York, the deal calls for Hasbro to develop and produce the movies. The G.I. Joe movie and a Tonka movie, Tough Truck Adventures: The Biggest Show on Wheels, are set for release in September, followed in October by Transformers Energon and a Secret Central movie called Have You Heard?
Next spring, additional movies will be released including titles based on Hasbro-owned properties Candyland, Weebles and Duel Masters.
"This new relationship with Paramount is an exciting way for us to . develop rich fantasies for new and classic brands," said Jane Ritson-Parsons, president of the Hasbro Properties Group.
"This new product line will add significantly to our children's programming," said Lesinski.
TVShowsOnDVD.com decided not to pass this news on to our readers back in early June, because the text made it clear that this concerned new direct-to-video movies, and didn't seem to indicate anything about the existing Cartoon Network series.
However, Paramount made it crystal-clear this past Friday that they are not relying on direct-to-video movies for their Energon offerings. They have made available the following two pieces of DVD cover art available, clearly showing their intention to release
Transformers: Energon - The Battle For Energon and
Transformers: Energon - The Return of Megatron
When will these be available? We expect that the
"October" timeframe mentioned in
Video Business actually applied to these two titles. But Paramount hasn't announced their October slate in full yet, so we'll have to follow up. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know about that.
Special thanxs to David Lambert and
TVShowsOnDVD.com for the use of the story and the update!
