"What is wonderful about the Strawberry Shortcake line is that it bears a timeless universal play pattern. Strawberry Shortcake is about fantasy play, which is still very appealing to little girls," said Bill Beebe, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Bandai America. "Bandai America plans to stay true to the original theme and play value of the property, while using the updated look of the characters that American Greetings created to reflect a more contemporary style for today's young girl."

"As one of the most successful licenses in history, Strawberry Shortcake has seen more than $1.2 billion in retail sales. As we look to the future of this brand we believe that Bandai America's interpretation of the updated version of Strawberry Shortcake positions the brand to become bigger and better than it's ever been before," said Michael Brown, vice president of licensing, American Greetings. "We believe that the time is right to re-launch the brand in a big way and Bandai America's new Strawberry Shortcake toy line will do just that. Little girls today will certainly be entertained in the new world of Strawberry Shortcake, just as their mothers were nearly 20 years ago."

In addition to the new toy line for Strawberry Shortcake, DIC Entertainment, a major producer and distributor of children's entertainment content, in partnership with American Greetings, plans to re-launch the Strawberry Shortcake brand with four all new animated movies featuring Strawberry Shortcake and friends that will be released direct-to-video. DIC Entertainment will release one video each quarter of 2003.

"There has been a huge outpouring of interest in Strawberry Shortcake as evidenced by the success of the classic version of the property in the specialty retail market," said Melissa Bomes, executive vice president of DIC Consumer Products. "We believe that the new animation of the property will only enhance the Strawberry Shortcake brand."

Additionally, a mass merchandising program targeting children will be launched simultaneously with the release of the videos and toy line. The program will include games, apparel and accessories, books, CDs and an entire line of social expression products from American Greetings.

Strawberry Shortcake originally launched by American Greetings in 1980, made licensing history as the first scented doll to hit the market. Over 25 million dolls and 35 million accessories were sold during the height of its popularity. Products also included books, records, children's clothing and other toys.

American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings drives annual sales of more than $2.5 billion. For more information on the company, visit http://www.americangreetings.com on the World Wide Web.

DIC Entertainment is a leading child's entertainment company focused on developing, producing, distributing, and merchandising children's animated programming worldwide. Since its founding in 1983, DIC has produced over 100 series and 3,000 episodes, averaging over 145 new half-hour episodes per year for the last ten years. DIC's catalog is one of the largest and most valuable libraries of children's animation television programming in the entertainment industry, boasting beloved evergreen brands such as Inspector Gadget, Madeline, Sailor Moon, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, Action Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Super Mario Bros. DIC's newest shows in global distribution include, Mary-Kate & Ashley in Action, Alienators: Evolution Continues, Super Duper Sumos and Liberty's Kids. DIC's programs are watched by approximately 25 million kids in the U.S. each week.

Bandai America Inc. is a subsidiary of Bandai Co. Ltd., the world's third largest toy company, with 53 subsidiaries in 10 countries worldwide. Global interests include toys and children's entertainment, video game software, multimedia, music, full-length feature films, vending machines, trading cards, candies and licensed apparel. Bandai America Inc. is the master toy licensee of some of the most popular properties in children's toys and entertainment, including the Power Rangers, Digimon and Gundam product lines. Bandai America is headquartered in Cypress, California and company information is available at www.bandai.com.