By April MacIntyre Sep 11, 2009, 1:25 GMT
VIZ Media, the publishing, animation and licensing company, has announced that its animated series NARUTO Shippuden has been acquired by Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group for debut on Disney XD (www.DisneyXD.com) television channel beginning in October.
NARUTO Shippuden begins two and a half years later, when Naruto returns to find that everyone has been promoted up the ninja ranks—except him. Sakura is a medic ninja, Gaara has advanced to Kazekage, and Kakashi… well, he remains the same.
Disney XD will showcase a mix of live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14, especially boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor.
Created by Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and it became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens - selling over 92 million copies to-date.
New dubbed episodes of NARUTO Shippuden will premiere on the network.
The Premise:
In the NARUTO manga and animated series, Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja in training, wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done well so far, but Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his village for intense exercises that will push him to his limits.
But pride isn’t necessarily becoming of a ninja, and Naruto quickly regains his focus when he learns that Sasuke never returned from his search for Orochimaru and that the mysterious Akatsuki organization is still an ever-present danger. The more Naruto finds out about Akatsuki’s sinister plot, the more he realizes that nothing in his world is as it seems. Naruto is finding that he’s older, but will he also prove wiser and stronger?
“Disney XD is a growing destination for our key demographic, boys 6-14, and we're looking forward to bringing the adventures of NARUTO Shippuden to our lineup," says Tracy McAndrew, Director, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group.
“We’re very pleased to partner with Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group to bring NARUTO Shippuden to U.S. television audiences this fall,” says Bill Germain, Director of Programming Sales, VIZ Media. “With Disney XD as its new broadcast home base, NARUTO Shippuden is poised to take viewers, both new and old, to unprecedented levels of ninja-excitement!”
More information on NARUTO is available at www.Naruto.com.
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