I had some happy news in my inbox this morning in the form of a press release from Shout! Factory and Rainmaker Entertainment (formerly Mainframe Entertainment). It appears that the first fully CGI animated series, Reboot, will finally be released as a complete series set. Currently only seasons 3 and 4 are available on DVD and go for ridiculous sums of money on e-bay. It looks like we’ll see the complete series box set sometime in 2011, followed by some sort of ‘digital distribution’. That sounds to me like they may put individual episodes up for sale on iTunes/Amazon/Netflix, but thats pure speculation.

You may recall that we covered Reboot in our weekly Powet Alphabet feature here:
R is for Reboot

Press release after the jump

Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, British Columbia – Shout! Factory and Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc. (TSX:RNK) announced today a new alliance to bring the groundbreaking, internationally renowned CGI animation TV series ReBoot to the home entertainment marketplace. Under its multi-year agreement with Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc., Shout! Factory will be the exclusive home entertainment distributor with digital rights to the entire action-packed series ReBoot in North America. This announcement was made by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; and Terry Kalagian, Vice President of Business Development for Rainmaker Entertainment, Inc.

“We are thrilled with this opportunity to work with Rainmaker Entertainment, a globally recognized studio for its stunning animation in film and TV,” state Shout! Factory founding partners. “ReBoot is a celebrated TV property, boasting a large worldwide fan following. This program lines up perfectly with the Shout! Factory brand. We hope this is just the start of a mutually beneficial relationship with Rainmaker.”

“ReBoot fans have been urging us to release the series on DVD,” said Terry Kalagian, VP of Business Development for Rainmaker. “We are overjoyed to have finally found the perfect partners at Shout! Factory to help give fans what they want.”

Hailed by critics and fans alike, ReBoot made history for being the first fully computer-generated animated TV series. Its unique setting inside a computer allows ReBoot to mine the references to computers and video games for all they’re worth, giving the show its humorous edge. ReBoot was originally seen on North American television in 1994 on YTV in Canada and on ABC Television in the U.S. The series ran four successful seasons, and was eventually seen in over 70 countries around the world. The innovative animation, insider humor and high octane action combine to give fans a lot of binary bang for their buck.

Dot Matrix and her brother Enzo, plus thousands of friendly binomes, live in Mainframe, which is plagued by viruses Megabyte and sister strain Hexadecimal. Guardian Bob is sent from the Net to protect them, and soon makes it his home. Together, they must prevent Megabyte from taking control of all the systems. As an added complication, games being played by the mystical User invade the system regularly, and must be defeated, or else portions of the city are laid waste… this gives us a chance to see every genre of video-game ever conceived, from the point of view of the characters! When Megabyte finally manages to banish Bob, Enzo takes over as the city’s Guardian, but things will never be quite the same.

Shout! Factory plans an aggressive rollout of the ReBoot home entertainment product-line, beginning with the collectible Complete Series DVD box set release and digital distribution in 2011.

Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., a multifaceted animation studio, is one of Canada’s largest producers of CG animation. With an innovative history that spans over 15 years, Rainmaker today continues to tell engaging stories and create compelling characters for all media. The studio’s 200 creatively-inspired artists and storytellers are currently in development on the company’s first slate of proprietary projects. Originally established as Mainframe Entertainment, the company broke ground by producing the first ever CGI animation series ReBoot. In addition to developing its own properties, Rainmaker also produces feature length DVD’s for many top international brands including Barbie, Max Steele, Tony Hawk, and more. Rainmaker’s clients include Mattel, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and MTV. For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/l/1ab53ywxQGjFGymBatFgXUEOF9g;www.rainmaker.com.

About Shout! Factory:
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit http://www.facebook.com/l/1ab53KSROyFZugZExRUlthCw3fw;shoutfactory.com.

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