Professor Balthazar Returns to North America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Professor Balthazar Returns to North America

NEW YORK, N.Y. January 5, 2015 – Oznoz announced today the launch of the classic cartoon series Professor Balthazar. This unprecedented partnership between DVDLab and Oznoz marks the first time the series has been available to audiences in North America since the 1980s. This digitally restored version of Professor Balthazar will be available on Oznoz for streaming and download in English, French, German, Korean and Persian. Oznoz is also first to introduce a new, non-dialogue version of the show.

Shabnam Rezaei, president of Oznoz said, “ I am so excited to get this show on Oznoz. I grew up watching it in Persian and it’s one of the most popular and favorite animated shows of all time.” Professor Balthazar is one of the few cartoon characters without enemies. He resolves problems with imagination and wisdom, without using violence. Professor Balthazar is an inventor whose ease at solving problems in Balthazar Town draws the attention of millions of viewers across the world.

Professor Balthazar first appeared as a character in the animated film "The Inventor" in 1967. The show was created by Zlatko Grgic at the Zagreb Film Studio. After the exceptional success of the first film, a series of 59 episodes with Professor Balthazar as a main character were produced. Tomica Simovic composed the legendary music of the show which starts “Bal, Balthazar”. The show aired in the US on Nickelodeon’s Pinwheel in the 1980’s.

The first episode of each show is free on Oznoz.com. Shows can be streamed online at www.oznoz.com or downloaded for offline viewing via the Oznoz Video App for iOS and Android.

About Oznoz

Oznoz.com provides “stuff for bilingual kids,” including cartoons and books in eleven languages. Current offerings are in Arabic, English, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, French, German, Korean, Spanish and Hindi. Popular titles include Elmo’s World, Bob the Builder®, Angelina Ballerina®, Babar, Super Why, 1001 Nights and Thomas & Friends®. Oznoz features a multitude of bilingual books with famous titles like “Dear Zoo”, “Wheels on the Bus” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” The channel covers ages 0-14 and includes animation, live-action, stop motion and much more. The Oznoz iPad app and the Oznoz Android app allow kids to watch videos on the go. Oznoz was founded by Aly Jetha and Shabnam Rezaei, a husband and wife team who also started Big Bad Boo, an animation studio that produces high quality kids content such as Lili & Lola, Mixed Nutz and 1001 Nights.

About DVDlab

DVDlab is a creative studio that works in the discipline of design and interactive moving images, creating and achieving the highest quality content in DVD and blu-ray platforms. Founded in 2004, the company has become successful through diligent work and by using up-to-date technology.

It was DVDlab’s idea to restore and bring back Professor Balthazar series to the new generations. After two years work (2008), the company of a family business, originally from Zagreb, fully digitally restored the series from original negative 35 mm materials. DVDlab has the worldwide exclusive distribution agreement with Zagreb film for television and for home video production and distribution.

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For more information, please contact:
Nina Gabriadze / Oznoz
212.960.8980 / [email protected]