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  • Viva Piata animated series on FOX, will your kids take the bait?

    by 
    James Ransom-Wiley
    James Ransom-Wiley
    09.08.2006

    As promised, Microsoft, Rare and 4Kids Entertainment announced today that Viva Piñata, the CG animated series, will debute tomorrow morning. The cleverly disguised infomercial will debut on FOX, capturing the fascinations of children across the country and, in turn, gobbling up a chunk of their parents' incomes over the course of the holiday season -- and beyond. At least, that's the hope.With an Xbox 360 game on the horizon, along with the standard flood of licensed merchandise, Viva Piñata the CG animated series is nothing more than a "springboard" for turning a profit*. Forgive our naiveté, but wasn't there a time when cartoons where made to provoke kids' imaginations -- not just sell something? A time when games and merchandise where the afterthought -- not the end goal? Nihilo sanctum estne?!*The official press release reads: "The computer graphics (CG) animated series ... will act as a springboard for the new franchise..."[Via press release]