Canadian card manufacturer Dart Flipcards has landed the license for Shrek, the computer-generated animated comedy from Dreamworks featuring the vocal talents of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.  The buzz on this irreverent spoof of 'Disney' animated fairy tales has been very strong (see 'Shrek Wows Viewers at Showest'), and Shrek just might turn out to be the animation hit of the summer.  McFarlane Toys is creating an extensive line of action figures and playsets (see 'McFarlane Fields Diverse Line-up, Part I') for the film, which along with the trading cards from Dart should provide ample opportunities for retail exploitation.  Dreamworks is mounting its largest publicity campaign ever to push the film (see 'Shrek to the Max').

 

Shrek opens on May 18th and the cards are slated to ship to stores on May 16th.  Dart is also creating a special collector's binder for its Shrek set (item #Feb015076). The Shrek cards come in 6-card packs, packed 30 to a box.  The suggested retail price is $2.49 per pack.  Dart was unable to get the product into Diamond Previews for March, so it has been solicited in Previews Update #471 (item # Feb015075).  Don't let the fact that these cards did not make it into the comic distributors' monthly catalogs keep you from capitalizing on this opportunity.  Diamond should be able to take advance reorders, and other distributors such as FM International and many card distributors will have the cards as well.

 

In addition to 72 irascible regular cards, the Dart Shrek series includes six animation cel cards, and six stand-up character cards.  The card backs mirror the films irreverent storyline.  Since Canadian-born Mike Meyers' gruff asides and slow burns are the glue that holds the film together, perhaps it is only fitting that the Canadian-based Dart Flipcards, with their no-nonsense, straightforward approach, produces the trading cards.