New York, NY, July 16, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Toys in the Attic," a meticulously crafted stop-motion animated feature, will be the first digital-only theatrical release for independent studio Hannover House (Pinksheets: HHSE) when it launches to theatres nationwide on Sept. 7. The award winning production, directed by legendary Czech animator Jiri Barta and adapted by Vivian Schilling, is expected to be the highest grossing theatrical release in the company's history. Hannover House was founded in 1993 and began handling theatrical releases in 2005, concentrating primarily on limited release openings with films such as "Twelve", "Cook County" and "All's Faire In Love."
"'Toys in the Attic' is the perfect film to lead our move towards digital only theatrical releases," said Eric Parkinson, C.E.O of Hannover House. "Jiri Barta and his team of artists and animators worked for more than three years on the visuals of this amazing film. The dimension and scope of their achievement is stunning, and their attention to detail is unsurpassed. None of us liked the idea of down-converting their imagery through laboratory intermediate steps, simply to make 35mm film prints. Most theatre circuits have embraced the technological improvements available through digital cinema options, and are discontinuing the century-old process of 35mm film projection formats."
Parkinson noted that Digital Cinema Prints, consisting of a digitally-encoded, password-protected copy of the feature on a hard-drive, are also smaller, lighter and thus easier to ship than bulky 35mm film prints.
"The format offers improved picture and sound, as well as lowered costs for manufacturing and freight," said Fred Shefte, President of Hannover House. "In many ways, the DCP revolution delivers an improved theatrical experience for the audience, and improved bottom lines for the studio distributors."
"Toys in the Attic" will open September 7th in key markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The film's release will expand throughout September and October, with Hannover House ultimately hoping to reach most of the top markets in the USA and Canada. The September 7th launch date positions the film between two other stop-motion features, specifically "Paranorman" from Focus Features on August 17 and "Frankenweenie" from Buena Vista on October 5. Hannover House reports that several major theatre circuits will be placing the trailer for "Toys in the Attic" at the head of "Paranorman," in order to target movie goers.
The English-Language adaptation of "Toys in the Attic" was written, produced and directed by Vivian Schilling, working in consultation with Jiri Barta. The film features the voice talent of Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker as "Teddy," along with Joan Cusack as "Madam Curie", Cary Elwes as "Sir Handsome" and Schilling as "Buttercup," the lovely little doll who is kidnapped by the land of evil. The trailer for the film will be posted soon onto the official website, www.ToysFilm.com, following a national television broadcast premiere. Hannover House will host a red-carpet premiere of the film on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 in Los Angeles, following a special event screening in New York City for the New York International Children's Film Festival in August.