The acquisition of DIC Entertainment by the Cookie Jar Group has hit a roadblock in the form of a temporary restraining order obtained by American Greetings, the rights holder for Strawberry Shortcake, one of the key elements in the DIC library.  American Greetings’ 2001 agreement with DIC reportedly includes a clause prohibiting the sale of the Strawberry Shortcake cartoons to a competitor without American Greetings’ consent.

Cookie Jar announced the acquisition of DIC on Friday, and American Greetings wasted no time in getting an injunction from Judge Dick Ambrose of the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland later on the same day. 

If Cookie Jar can somehow persuade American Greetings to go along, the deal will create a children’s entertainment powerhouse.  The Canadian-based Cookie Jar Entertainment already boasts a big time roster of children’s programming including Caillou, World of Quest, Spider-Riders, Magi-Nation, The Doodlebops, Johnny Test, and Hooray for Huckle.  The deal would add DIC’s library of more than 3,000 half hours of children’s programming including, in addition to Strawberry Shortcake, series such as Inspector Gadget, Horseland, Cake, Madelaine, Sabrina, Liberty’s Kids, Sonic the Hedgehog, Care Bears and Eloise.