He has 30 book titles to his name, and has sold an estimated 25 million copies worldwide. He has starred in 52 episodes of an ongoing animated series airing on cbc and Nickelodeon. Now Franklin the turtle has a feature-length film coming to a home theatre near you.

Nelvana, the Toronto-based children’s entertainment company and Franklin’s brand owner, is preparing the October release of Franklin and the Green Knight, a direct-to-home-video film on the vhs and dvd formats. It marks the first dvd production for any of the company’s properties.

Franklin is a young boy turtle who must recognize and overcome common childhood problems, such as being messy or too bossy. The character, whose audience is male and female, aged two to seven, was developed by writer Paulette Bourgeois and illustrator Brenda Clark, both Canadians.

Franklin in the Dark, the first book in the series, was published in Canada by Nelvana’s sister division, Kids Can Press, in 1986. Nelvana acquired the merchandising rights and began production on the animated series 10 years later (prior to its purchase of Kids Can in 1998).

Andrew Witkin, Nelvana’s vp of North American licensing, believes the direct-to-video platform is ideal for generating interest in the company’s preschool brands. ‘It provides a new content type of event to drive excitement around the property as well as merchandise sales,’ he says, adding, ‘and usually it has a bump on television ratings.’

Nelvana has various related products lined up to coincide with the movie’s release, including Franklin and the Green Knight stickers, a game and a puzzle.

The company also recently launched a new division to explore cd-rom and Internet distribution of interactive games based on its character brands.

Although there will not be time to produce a tie-in for the film’s October release, Nelvana New Media will provide digital offshoots of future direct-to-video releases.

‘These new technologies are allowing children to interact more on a higher level with the property, and through a different medium,’ Witkin explains.

‘[The games] take the schematic of your direct-to-video event and core essence of the character and play it out in another way.’

(For more on nnm, see Network, p. 36.)

Nelvana is currently deciding on bonus content for the Franklin and the Green Knight dvd. One definite feature will give the viewer the option of French and Spanish soundtracks. Another idea being tossed around is a documentary on the history of Franklin, including interviews with Bourgeois and Clark. Witkin believes these features will lend the dvd ‘more of a collectability element.’

There are more Nelvana direct-to-video projects in development. That, along with the company’s expansion into the cd-rom and Internet realms is welcome news to those who lost work when Walt Disney Animation Canada announced its closing earlier this year.

Disney has shut down its Vancouver branch, with its Toronto facility to meet the same fate this spring. The direct-to-video studios opened in 1996, and at their peak employed a combined staff of 225.

‘We have had an influx of applications from quality animators and production staff – background designers, painters, etc., from the Disney unit,’ Witkin says. ‘There is a vast, talented pool out there, who, as we grow, are able to come on board our productions and contribute to them.’

In other Nelvana news, the company recently announced it has increased its Royal Bank of Canada credit facility to $150 million. The new facility consists of a demand operating facility of $90 million, a revolving term facility for investments, acquisitions and general operations of $50 million, and other facilities of $10 million.

The new credit facility provides the company with additional operating capital and allows for expanded development and acquisition capabilities.