[Press Release]

Beat-Bumping Musical Score by Three-Time GRAMMY(R) Award-Winning Band Ozomatli Gets Families into the Penguin Groove

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces the launch of Happy Feet Two(TM) — The Videogame, a 3D musical adventure game for the entire family inspired by the whimsical Antarctic world of the upcoming animated film Happy Feet Two from Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Village Roadshow Productions. The game is available for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, Wii(TM), and Nintendo 3DS(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM) hand-held systems.

“Happy Feet Two — The Videogame brings the Antarctic world of the film to life with fun penguin dance showdowns, belly sliding races and cooperative puzzles,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Extending the film experience, kids and families can tap to the beat of the music to progress through their adventures using the game’s controller-based dance system.”

In the game, new dangers are threatening the penguin nation, and it’s going to take everyone’s favorite penguins, Mumble and Ramon, working — and dancing — together to save it from extinction. Players use each character’s dance moves to recruit penguins with unique abilities that help advance the adventure, stun opponents and enemies, as well as manipulate the environment around them to solve cooperative puzzles.

For the ultimate experience, players can dance their Antarctic adventure in 3D. The game is available in full 3D for the Nintendo 3DS. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation versions, the game is made specifically for stereoscopic 3D TV sets with the ability to disable 3D functionality at any time. The Wii and Nintendo DS versions feature traditional 2D.

Plus, Happy Feet Two: Erik’s Adventure, a totally new, interactive gaming storybook experience is now available on the App Store for iPad(R), iPhone(R) and iPod(R) touch. The app is comprised of eight levels that follow the storyline of the movie and features a variety of fun mini-games that are sure to keep kids playing along.

All of the music in the games and the app is composed and performed by Ozomatli, the popular Los Angeles-based band whose music is a combination of hip-hop, salsa, dancehall, cumbia, samba, funk, merengue, Jamaican ragga, and Indian raga influences. They were joined by Robert Carranza, a Grammy-nominated mixer/engineer. The upbeat score, including a song with Benjamin “Lil’ P-Nut” Flores, an eight year-old rapper also featured in the movie, will appeal to kids and parents alike. Happy Feet Two – The Videogame – Original Soundtrack with twelve original songs is available today from WaterTower Music at all digital retailers and the CD is available at Amazon.com.

Happy Feet Two — The Videogame was developed for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii by KMM Games and for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS by WayForward Technologies. Happy Feet Two: Erik’s Adventure was developed by Budge Studios in conjunction with WB Games Montreal.

Initial shipments of North America product as well as DS and Wii skus in Canada will include a Hollywood Movie Money certificate for $8.50 towards admission to see the film Happy Feet Two at participating theaters.

See the original press release here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/warner-bros-interactive-entertainment-launches-happy-feet-two-the-videogame-2011-11-08

[Digital Cinema Report]

Last month AMC Theatres in partnership with Sony hosted an Uncharted 3: Play it First in 3D event, that showcased the as of then yet-to-be-released multiplayer PlayStation videogame Uncharted 3 at five participating theatres across the United States. Participating theatres offered an inside look from the development team at Naughty Dog, a multiplayer tournament shown on the big screen in 3D, and raffles, prizes, and giveaways. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to attend the event that was held at the AMC Theatre in New York City’s Lincoln Center district. What I saw that night was a firsthand look at what was a proof of concept for another kind of alternative content event and although this does represent uncharted territory it is an event that could easily be duplicated in select theatres around the world.  …

What even those Insiders could not get at home that they got at the theatre that night, however, was the chance to be in the same room and compete against other teams of players in a game that took place on a forty-foot 3D screen in 4K Sony projection and Real D 3D. Executives from Naughty Dog introduced the game, showed a variety of trailers from the game, some behind-the-scens making of the game movies and then organized the audience into 24 teams of five players each. Sony PlayStation units were set up at the front of the auditorium and the results of the contest were projected on the big screen. Asked for a show of hands it was clear that the majority of the audience had already played the beat version of the game and it was just as clear that they all loved it.

AMC, citing company policy would not comment on how many people attended or confirm other reports that all five theatres sold out, but Ryan Noonan, AMC’s director of public relations did say, “We’re very pleased with the results.” Noonan could not say whether AMC would do a similar event again. “This was the first time we’ve done something like this,” he said, adding, “It was such a novel concept.”  Noonan said Hollywood movies remain the centerpiece of AMC offerings but he said the exhibitor always responds to positive feedback from its guests. Based on what I experienced at the Uncharted 3 event, the audience will ask for more.

Read the full story here: http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/node/2833