JOHN CLEESE is Albert, The Magic Pudding -- “Shut up and eat me!” - who is always running away but never runs out. He is the pudding everyone wants to get their hands on! With a naturally cantankerous temperament, Albert can at times be quite unpleasant to be around - though he does have a real desire to feed and nourish people. He just cannot help himself.., he is a cut-an'-come- again, constantly changing, fame-seeking, loud mouthed, attention grabbing, impossibly generous pudding! Cleese is best known for his character Basil Fawlty of the now classic TV comedy series Fawlty Towers, and as the leading member of the notorious comedy group Monty Python, with their television series and feature films MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975), LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) and MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983). He has become one of Britain's most popular comic actors with films including CLOCKWISE (1986), A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988), THE JUNGLE BOOK (1994), FRANKENSTEIN (1994), FIERCE CREATURES (1997) and THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS (1999). He appeared as Q's sidekick R in the latest James Bond instalment THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999), and is set to take over Q's role in the following Bond films. Most recently, Cleese starred opposite Bette Midler in Andrew Bergman's ISN'T SHE GREAT (2000), and will be seen in the world's first official Internet movie QUANTUM PROJECT (2000). No stranger to animation, Cleese has previously given voice to the characters Cat R. Waul in the animated feature AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST (1991), and Ape in GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE (1997). "The best thing with animation", says Cleese; "is you don't have to be looking your best. In film, you have to get up early, shave, wash your hair, have your makeup done ... animation has none of that! Instead, you can concentrate with enormous intensity on expressing exactly the right degree of violence..." Originally hugely offended to play a mere pudding, Cleese admits that he found great joy in being part of the team to bring Lindsay's work to the screen: "My father was a fan of Norman Lindsay, and I would always hear his name around the house when I was a kid. So I was delighted to be part of this film, which seems to connect me back to my father, sixty years ago" he says. Cleese finds similarities between himself and Albert: "Particularly our interest in the early philosophy of Sir Thomas Aquinas. Albert also reminds me of my 1981 Hamlet at the Old Vic - a very controversial performance." His part in THE MAGIC PUDDING also carries a very personal victory for Cleese: “I’ve always wanted to sing. I was in a Broadway musical called Half a Sixpence in 1966, and the musical director forbade me to sing. I had to mime in the large chorus numbers, and it has been a humiliating stain on my career ever since." Perhaps Albert will prove the right vehicle for Cleese - if he doesn't run away with the accolades himself... GEOFFREY RUSH is Bunyip Bluegum – “Even total idiots aren’t completely stupid!” - a splendid and sharp young koala. Meticulous in his attire, Bunyip is a very well bred fellow, polite in his manner, graceful in his attitudes and able to converse on a great variety of subjects. Believing he was an orphan, Bunyip was raised by his crabby old Uncle Wattleberry, who told Bunyip he was an orphan. It is only when he discovers the truth and sets out to find his parents, that Bunyip's courage and intelligence are put to the test. He proves a loyal friend who can think clearly in a crisis. After years of working within the Australian film and theatre scene, Geoffrey Rush's outstanding performance as the extraordinary Australian pianist David Helfgott in the award- winning film SHINE (1996) won him the Australian Film Institute, the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1997. Two years later, he was back at the Oscars, with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his comic role in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998). The same year he appeared opposite fellow Australian Cate Blanchett in ELIZABETH, and has since starred in films including LES MISERABLES (1998), MYSTERY MEN (1999) and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999). He is soon to appear opposite Kate Winslet as the Marquis de Sade in Philip Kaufman's forthcoming QUILLS (2000), and in John Boorman's THE TAILOR OF PANAMA (2000). Geoffrey Rush has always been a fan of animation, and jumped at the chance to play a koala - he even resorted to holding a spoon over his nose... "You can achieve such great physicality in cartoons, that you can't do live. Also, you can't really play a koala unless it's drawn for you. It was appealing to create a character who could fall off cliffs, get squashed through logs - and then match all that activity with the appropriate voice." Rush agrees with the unique "Australian-ness" of the characters: "The story has a great boisterous sense of what it's like to be Australian - how we knock up against each other, but ultimately get on." Unfortunately, Rush didn't get to meet many of his native actor friends, being involved in projects around the world: "I put down voice tracks via satellite from LA, Australia and London - but that's the nature of this kind of medium. It is almost the purest form of filmmaking ... you are simply a drawing that flickers through the camera at 12 frames or drawings a second, and all you can do is provide some kind of life and breath and imagination for that character." "Animation has become so popular over the last 10 years - and it's become a very sophisticated form," Rush continues. "In the last few years, such an array of thought provoking and funny work has come out. I think it is a very powerful medium." SAM NEILL is Sam Sawnoff – “When they deserve to cop it … with my flip I’ll flop it!” - Bill's first mate and constant companion. Sam is a penguin. And, like all penguins, he is irresistible to women, being a first rate singer, dancer, and all round performer. In fact, to Sam, life is one long song-and-dance number. His maddening habit of singing first thing in the morning drives Bill to despair, but Sam is always ready to back up his mate in a fight, and his flippers have floored more than one Puddin' Thief. The lighter and less vocal half of The Noble Society of Pudding Owners, Sam is sharper than he looks. Sam Neill's has starred in over 60 films including MY BRILLIANT CAREER (1979), A CRY IN THE DARK (1988) - which won him an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor, DEAD CALM (1989), THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1991), UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD (1991), DEATH IN BRUNSWICK (1991), JURASSIC PARK (1993), THE PIANO (1993) and SIRENS (1994), in which he played The Magic Pudding's author Norman Lindsay. He also appeared in RESTORATION (1995), THE HORSE WHISPERER (1998) and BICENTENNIAL MAN (1999). Neill can be seen in MY MOTHER FRANK (2000), and in the highly anticipated THE DISH (2000). His part in the high profile television production MERLIN (1998) earned him both Golden Globe and Emmy Best Actor nominations. On the recent occasion of the Centenary of Film, he directed the documentary CINEMA OF UNEASE: A PERSONAL JOURNEY BY SAM NEILL (I 995), which charts the history of cinema in New Zealand. Neill has previously considered his cameo voice appearance on THE SIMPSONS as one of his most favoured roles. "I'm playing a cat burglar. I've made it. This is the high point of my career. I'm really chuffed," Neill exclaimed in 1993. That was before THE MAGIC PUDDING - his first full length animated feature. "I didn't grow up with The Magic Pudding, as it is very much an Australian kids' classic. But when I played Norman Lindsay in the movie SIRENS, I found his illustrations and paintings very charming, and became a bit of a Lindsay fan" says Neill. "And this was also a great opportunity to work with friends like Geoffrey (Rush), Jack (Thompson) and Hugo (Weaving)," he continues. "Although most of the time, you're standing alone in a dark booth. The most fun I had was working with Hugo, specifically doing the songs. I'd never been asked to sing in a film before, and we had a great time with it!" As a father, Neill claims "Ultimately, I'm here for selfish reasons ... I want my kids to enjoy this film, and for their little friends to enjoy it - and for us all to be able to go and see it together.” HUGO WEAVING is Bill Barnacle – “… Hmm. He’s six inches too short for a puddin’ thief” - a small man with a large hat, a beard half as large as his hat, and feet half as large as his head. Once an intrepid sailor, Bill is now landlocked with his partner Sam, after the tragic scuttling of their boat, The Saucy Soup Tureen. However, Bill has lost none of his sailor's bluff, bravado, and vocabulary. Always ready to fight for his mates, he is a loud, opinionated and simple soul who only wants to wander the land singing and eating. In a crisis, he's a strong arm, not a tactician. Hugo Weaving rose to international fame with the hugely successful THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA - QUEEN OF THE DESERT (1994), before being cast as Keanu Reeves' arch nemesis Agent Smith in THE MATRIX (1999). Prior to this, Weaving starred in several high profile Australian films including PROOF (1991) and the more recent THE INTERVIEW (1998), both of which won him Australian Film Institute awards for Best Actor. He also lent his voice to the sheepdog Rex, in both BABE (1 994) and BABE - PIG IN THE CITY (1998). He is soon to be seen opposite Richard Dreyfuss in THE OLD MAN WHO READ LOVE STORIES and Peter Jackson's highly anticipated Tolkien epic LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, both scheduled for release in 2001. "Of course, as with most people, I had The Magic Pudding read to me when I was a kid", says Hugo Weaving; "and when I was offered someone like Bill Barnacle I just couldn't turn it down. I was very excited about it." Although Bill might not have been a typical childhood hero, Hugo developed a very strong idea of who Bill Barnacle was: "He is so strongly drawn - boots and all. But there aren't many similarities between Bill and me ... I'm much more demure, and he's pretty loud and blokey ... and small", winks Weaving, stroking his chin in the same manner Bill Barnacle strokes his beard. Like the others, Weaving found that most of the time he was working alone in a studio except for director Karl Zwicky, and composer Chris Harriott giving singing instructions. But his most enjoyable time was working in studio with Sam Neill, doing the songs Sam and Bill sing together. "It was fantastic. I haven't done much singing as a cartoon character before, and working with Sam was great fun." JACK THOMPSON is Buncle – “Bring me that puddin!” - formerly a fat and greedy wombat chef on Bill Barnacle's decrepit ship The Saucy Soup Tureen. Buncle has transformed himself into the most feared marsupial under the Australian desert. Grown huge by feasting on tender subterranean roots, he now commands a small city of minions whose sole job is to satisfy his appetite. His ambition is to obtain The Magic Pudding - a never- ending supply of food. He is a ruthless, grubby and dangerous villain! One of Australia's most loved and respected actors, Jack Thompson has appeared in numerous Australian and American films including the classic SUNDAY TOO FAR AWAY (1975), THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH (1978), BREAKER MORANT (1980) - which won him an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and an award for Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes International Film Festival, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER (1982), MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE (1983), THE SUM OF US (1994) and MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL (1997). In 1994, Jack Thompson was awarded the Raymond Longford award by the Australian Film Institute for his outstanding contribution to Australian cinema. "I was attracted to this role," he laughs, "because Buncle is the first truly vegetarian villain in film! No, really ... it came from being attracted to The Magic Pudding as a child, and realising that bringing the tale to screen was going to be a fabulous experience. To play the villain in this icon of Australian children's literature is just fantastic." Thompson claims that to play the nasty, greedy wombat, he had to "slobber and slaver and munch a lot", but that behind all the slobbering and slavering lay a much harder task: "The most interesting thing with voice acting, like in radio, is to project everything simply through your voice. Like when you shiver: you can't just sit there and shake, you have to make your whole voice shake. It is much harder work!" "I believe The Magic Pudding's enduring qualities come from the pudding itself, being such an argumentative character - he's no straight forward nice guy! He is self-concerned ... has his own life ... I think he is a wonderful character, and uniquely Australian," Thompson smiles. MARY COUSTAS is Ginger – “Plump juicy parrot can be very tasty. Even better than a rat … they say” - a cagey bush-mouse. Ginger is an attractive young rodent of vaulting ambition, she spends her time toadying to Buncle's gluttonous whims and bossing the slaves about. Coquettish and demure to her master, she is two-faced, foul-mouthed and louder- than-a-lion to everyone else. Famous for the hit TV comedies and stage productions of Acropolis Now, Wogs Out of Work, Wog-A-Rama and her one- woman shows Waiting for Effie and Effie X-posed, Mary Coustas won the Logie award and the Variety Heart Club award for Best Comedy Performer in 1993. She has also starred in the features NIRVANA STREET MURDER (1988) and MULL (1987), for which she received an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Most recently, she starred in the multi- award winning TV drama Wildside as tough lawyer Louise Arden. Ginger is one of the characters created specifically for the feature film. However, Coustas never thought Ginger's size should come in the way of her personality: "She is the smallest character in the film, which led me to believe that she should come across as the biggest," she says. "Together with Karl (Zwicky) and the animators, we really worked to try to flesh out the most animated, alive, colourful, cheeky, aggravating, demanding character we could come up with." A newcomer to animation, Coustas loved how it drew on her own sense of self: "There's an element of mystique - someone sits in a studio, drawing away, bringing in all these other elements that you aren't aware off. You're just going off what you did... It is an exciting "acting by numbers" sort of process: it is not about what you can do facially to support what you're saying, so you really have to be at your most… you!" Mary never got to be in the studio at the same time as Jack Thompson, who recorded their song before Mary added her verses: "It was one of the best vocal performances I had heard for a long time," she enthuses. "It just had such character and unnerving vibe about it. I heard it and thought 'oh my god, this guy can actually sing'..." Coustas pauses. Thinks. And adds: "I've made a career out of not being able to sing!.." "THE MAGIC PUDDING is a story that incorporates so many different elements, that there is something in there for everyone," Coustas continues. "1 think it is a film that both kids and parents will get an equal thrill out of." TONI COLLETTE is Meg Bluegum - Bunyip's beloved mother, not seen by her son since he was an infant. When Bunyip sets out to find her, he doesn't realise that he is also about to save her... Making her debut opposite Anthony Hopkins in SPOTSWOOD (1991), Toni Collette won an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination for the international hit MURIEI.'S WEDDING (1994). She has since won two AFl awards for Best Supporting Female Actor for her roles in LILIAN'S STORY (1995) and THE BOYS (1997). Toni has appeared in a number of international productions including EMMA (1996), VELVET GOLDMINE (1998) and Peter Greenaway's 8 1/2 WOMEN (1999). In 2000 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role starring opposite Bruce Willis in THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), and she is currently playing opposite Samuel L Jackson in the US blockbuster SHAFT (2000). Collette recently starred in the New York Broadway play The Wild Party, a role which gave her a Tony Nomination for Best Actress in 2000. In THE MAGIC PUDDING she sings the ballad My Heart Beats. ROY BILLING is Tom Bluegum - whose courage and bravery are put to the test when he stands up to the threats of Buncle and his minions. Oh, and he is also Bunyip's Dad. Billing has worked extensively in Australian and New Zealand film, television and theatre, with television credits including Wildside, Murder Call and Water Rats, and film credits including DOING TIME FOR PATSY CLINE (1997), THANK GOD HE MET LIZZIE (1997) and SIAM SUNSET (1999) for which he received an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Billing won the New Zealand Best Actor award for the lead in TV drama series Inside Straight in 1985 and Best Supporting Actor at the New Zealand Film awards for OLD SCORES in 1992. He will soon be seen in the highly anticipated THE DISH (2000), alongside fellow Magic Pudding voice actor Sam Neill. GREG CARROLL is Wombat - the brains behind the Puddin' Thieves - although "brains" may be overstating it! Wombat is the forceful half of the dastardly duo. He is the one who comes up with the schemes and disguises to steal The Magic Pudding. Bound to his colleague Possum in a dysfunctional but co-dependant relationship, Wombat is a chunky fellow who avoids hard labour when he can. Ostensibly trying to steal the puddin' for Buncle, Wombat can't resist having a few bites himself. Carroll has appeared in films including GROUND ZERO (1987), BREAKAWAY (1990) and SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (1993), and television programs The Far Country (1986), The Magistrate (1989) and was recently seen as Mad Joe Pringle in Neighbours. DAVE GIBSON is Possum - the dimmer half of the Puddin' Thieves (and that's about as dim as you can get), Possum is the one who always ends up getting hurt in Wombat's schemes. He tags along behind his colleague, desperate for a little affection and understanding, and rarely getting it - the "Costello" to Wombat's "Abbot." Dave Gibson has been one of Australia's leading character voice actors since 1982, with extensive credits in television, radio and as a stand-up comic with Sydney Comedy Store. Gibson also lends his voice to... ... Uncle Wattleberry - Bunyip's belligerent and hypochondriac Uncle who's convinced Bunyip he's an orphan. Wattleberry has pretended to be bedridden for years, keeping Bunyip a virtual prisoner tending to his imaginary ailments. Proud of his magnificent whiskers, Wattleberry is a vain old koala, who probably does have a heart, but only a nephew could love. KARL ZWICKY director Zwicky has directed numerous drama and comedy television series including both the telemovie and the drama series Heartbreak High (1994 - 1997), and Sweat (1996), Ship To Shore (1994), The New Adventures of Black Beauty (1994), Police Rescue (1990), Elly & Jools (1989), as well as two series of the comedy action science fiction series The Miraculous Mellops (1991 - 1993), which he also co-created. In 1998, he directed and script edited Ace Ventura - an interactive CD-ROM based on the blockbuster movie, and children around Australia are currently bopping along to his direction of the top rating children's musical series Hi-5 (2000). Zwicky co-wrote the feature VICIOUS (1988) with P. J. Hogan, and directed and co-wrote the feature PAWS (1997), about a computer literate dog with the voice of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly. PAWS was the highest grossing Australian film in the UK in 1998. Zwicky also did the story adaptation of THE MAGIC PUDDING, with Morris Gleitzman. Upon the film's completion, Zwicky travelled to South Australia as lead director on the new children's series Chuck Finn. He has also directed the high rating American adventure series Beastmaster, and is currently in pre-production on a feature comedy. ROBBERT SMIT animation director Hailed as Australia's most experienced Animation Director, Robbert Smit has worked extensively within the industry, for leading animation companies including the Hanna-Barbera and Yoram Gross Studios. In 1979 he set up his own company Robbert Smit Animation. Throughout his career, he has developed character designs, stories and led the production of hundreds of commercial cartoons, as well as working on animated series including Scooby Doo, The Hollywood Bowl, Dark Wing Duck, Two Stupid Dogs and The Smurfs. Smit has also directed the animated feature films FOOTROOT FLATS (1985), DOT GOES TO SPACE (1988) and BUNKY BILL (1990). He developed the concept for the Children's Television Workshop series Samuel and Nina, and directed the animated television series L'il Elvis Jones and The Truckstoppers. MORRIS GLEITZMAN story adaptation Morris Gleitzman's initial adaptation of Norman Lindsay's The Magic Pudding was continued by Harry Cripps, Greg Haddrick and Simon Hopkinson - who then wrote the final screenplay. Morris has previously written a number of films and television screenplays, including The Norman Gunston Show, SECOND CHILDHOOD and THE OTHER FACTS OF LIFE, which won the 1985 Australian Writers Guild's award (AWGIE) for Best Original Children's Film Script. Most famous for his children's literature, Morris has written an array of award winning and best selling books including Puppy Fat, Water Wings, Worry Warts, Belly Flop, Bumface - voted second Most Popular Children's' Book of All Time in the 1999 Angus & Robertson National Readers' Survey, and Two Weeks With the Queen - a massive international hit, adapted to a play staged in Australia, England, South Africa, Canada, Japan and the USA. His books Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak and Misery Guts have also been adapted to television series, and Morris recently co-wrote the highly successful six-part novel Wicked!, which has been developed into an animated television series by Energee Entertainment. In 1999, Morris was voted Favourite Australian Author by the Australian Dymocks Booksellers Children's Choice Awards. HARRY CRIPPS screenwriter Harry Cripps' stage plays credits include Tanya and Kit, White Paris, Tales of a Faerie Called Angel and The Borgia Apartment. His feature film PAWS (1997) was the highest grossing Australian film in the UK in 1998. Cripps also wrote the feature WILLFULL, directed by Rebel Penfold-Russell, set to be released in 2001. Currently Head Writer for Television at the Fox Studios in Sydney, he recently completed the sitcom Flat Chat for Network Nine and Fox, on which he was Head Writer. GREG HADDRICK screenwriter Greg Haddrick wrote the screenplay for the animated feature film CARNIVALE (1999), directed by ex-Tim Burton art director Deane Taylor and starring the voices of Helena Bonham Carter and Hugh Laurie. He was one of the writers on the popular mini series Mirror, Mirror (1995), and has written for several award winning Australian television programs including Blue Heelers, GP, Flying Doctors and Home and Away. Most recently, he wrote the television movie My Husband My Killer, starring Colin Friels and Mark Sacks, scheduled for screening in late 2000. SIMON HOPKINSON screenwriter Simon Hopkinson has a broad background in Australian theatre, where he has held titles including Artistic Director, Resident Dramatist, and Director for the Melbourne and Darwin Theatre Company, and the Australian Theatre for Young People. In 1991, he was part of the developing team for the immensely popular children's series Bananas in Pyjamas, and has since written over 70 episodes, numerous books, a stage show, two best-selling and award winning CD-ROMs and co-written nearly all the songs on the Bananas' last three albums. CHRIS HARRIOTT composer Chris Harriott has had an extensive career as Composer and Musical Director, having worked on numerous high profile television scores for productions catering for Australians of all ages. In 2000, he will complete up to 300 more new songs and scores for the second season of the enormously successful children's music show Hi5, which won him a 2000 APRA award for Most Performed Children's Work for the song 'Ready or Not'. The first Hi-5 Album - Jump 8, Jive with Hi-5 (1999), which he both composed and produced, reached platinum sales, and the sec- ond - It's A Party - was released in July 2000. He is also responsible for five seasons of Bananas in Pyjamas, including their best-selling albums and live stage musicals, and the Australian songs and stories for Sesame Street. Harriott has worked on Spirit 2000 - the Olympic documentary series which since 1995 has been produced yearly as a lead-up to the Olympic games in Sydney 2000. He also composed the music for the ABC documentary Somebody Now (1997), which won the Logie award for Best Documentary. Harriott has scored a number of documentaries including People of the Sea (1990), The Time Of Our Lives (1991), 3 Seconds From Glory (1999) and the four hour ABC documentary Nobody's Children (1989), for which he received a Penguin Award nomination for Best Music Score. Harriott has also composed several radio and TV themes, including the score for Michael Carson's mini series Jackaroo (1990), and the ABC Special The Money or the Gun, as well as the compilation album from that series: Stairways to Heaven - The Album, which received the ARIA award for Best Comedy Album in 1992. He has also received APRA Music Award nominations for 'Best TV Theme' for Healthy Wealthy & Wise in 1993, and for Andrew Denton's Live & Sweaty series in 1991. Harriott was involved as Composer in the commission and premiere production of The Emerald Room for the State Theatre of South Australia, and several productions with Belvoir St Theatre, Theatre Melbourne and Sydney Theatre Company as well as the 1992 Musical Beach Blanket Tempest at the Muskoka Theatre Festival in Ontario, Canada. GERRY TRAVERS producer Managing Director of Energee Entertainment, Gerry Travers has overseen the development and production of hundreds of hours of animation as well as managing the company's key production partnerships with international companies. Gerry's Executive Producer credits include Scrooge Koala's Christmas (1997), Crocadoo (1996 and 1998) and The Digswell Dog Show (1998). He is currently executive producing three new animated series Fix 8, Foxi and Friends, Gloria's House and Wicked!, all in production, as well as a television series for The Magic Pudding. EDWARD TROST associate producer With over fourteen years in the animation and entertainment industry, Ed's experience and knowledge of technological advances allows him to create animated television programs of the highest quality. His previous credits include Crocacloo (1996 and 1998) and The Digswell Dog Show (1998). Trost has also headed Energee's commercial division Redrock, and assisted in the company's image development and branding. ENERGEE ENTERTAINMENT company profile Formed in 1989, Energee Entertainment has grown to become one of Australia's leading independent animation production companies, having provided over 100 hours of high quality ani- mation to viewers worldwide, including the top rating Crocadoo, The Digswell Dog Show and Scrooge Koala's Christmas. THE MAGIC PUDDING is their first animated feature film. Energee Entertainment specialises in the production, distribution and merchandising of animation and children's programming for television, video, CD-ROM, cinema and the Internet. With production and distribution offices in Sydney, London and Munich, Energee has a development slate of over fifteen projects, and collaborates with several co-production partners including the BBC, Harvey Entertainment, Icon Entertainment International, RTV Family Entertainment and the Nine Network Australia. The distribution division, Energee Distribution, operates an established international sales network representing both in-house programming and complementary children's properties from international producers such as RTV Family Entertainment. Its catalogue contains over 50 animated titles including specials, shorts, series and live action programming. Energee Licensing, the merchandising and licensing division, exploits the ancillary rights to the properties Energee has developed and acquired, including publishing, merchandising, on-line and music rights. Energee Entertainment is currently producing the animated TV series Wicked!, Gloria's House and Fix & Foxi and Friends. Also in production is EKIDZ - a unique website and TV series for children. The EKIDZ web site is a free, safe online environment created especially for kids, where they can explore an animated world through interactive games and stories, complemented with the educational magazine style EKIDZ television show. In production since 1996, THE MAGIC PUDDING - the story of Albert, the Magic Pudding, who is always running away but who never runs out - was completed in July 2000. The film is being distributed internationally by Icon Entertainment International, and in Australia by 20th Century Fox.