HP, Cartoon Network launch all-new Toon Creator Awards

MANILA, Philippines – HP and Cartoon Network have once again joined forces to unleash the inner animator in kids across the Asia-Pacific with an all-new Toon Creator Awards for 2010 (www.ToonCreatorAwards.com).

Back by popular demand, this year’s Toon Creator Awards kicked off last July 1, inviting kids aged six to 14 from Australia, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Pakistan to showcase their creativity through cutting-edge technology.

“We are delighted to offer children in Asia a new and improved Toon Creator Awards for 2010 in collaboration with Cartoon Network,” said Dennis Mark, vice president and general manager for marketing of the Personal Systems Group for HP Asia-Pacific and Japan.

“This competition is close to our hearts as it encourages and inspires creativity and innovation at a young age. We are looking forward to judging the entries and seeing children across the region reap the benefits,” Mark added.

Benjamin Grubbs, regional director of Turner Entertainment Interactive Media, said, “The response to our inaugural Toon Creator Awards in 2009 was phenomenal as nearly 26,000 kids across the region embraced the opportunity to step into the shoes of a Cartoon Network animator and submit over 227,000 animation entries. This year we have worked closely with HP to develop a completely fresh and innovative Toon Creator experience, which is sure to spark even more creativity among kids.”

New features added to the Toon Creator Awards this year include a character creator function that allows players to build personalized avatars to participate in exciting adventures and even have a leading role in their own animations.

Kids can travel to Australia and help Flapjack clean up the Great Barrier Reef or visit Taiwan to assist the Ben 10 Alien Force gang win the Dragon Boat races.

Players will be able to journey online to various locations in the Asia-Pacific to participate in different tasks, unlocking assorted items to enhance their final animations.

Kids can also flex their creative muscle by designing their very own endings to cliffhanger clips starring a variety of Cartoon Network’s favorite characters such as Ben Tennyson, Chowder and The Powerpuff Girls. Once completed, the animations can be posted onto the Cartoon Network website for everyone to see.

The Toon Creator Awards are available in two categories: schools and individual entries. Amazing prizes are up for grabs and winners in each category will be determined by a combination of online votes and a professional judging panel from HP and Cartoon Network.

Individual country winners will each receive an HP TouchSmart PC; a fantastic Cartoon Network prize pack; and the chance to win an HP digital home makeover by qualifying for the regional competition. 

The ultimate regional Toon Creator Award winner will win an HP digital home makeover; a Ben 10 Quad Bike; and the unique opportunity to see their winning entry broadcast to thousands of people on Cartoon Network.

The school with the most registered entries will win three HP desktop PCs for their computer lab.

For more information and complete contest details on Toon Creator Awards, log on to www.ToonCreatorAwards.com.

The Cartoon Network is also be developing four exclusive “apps” for the HP TouchSmart series of PCs that is available this month.

The first will be designed to support swipe, tap and multi-touch gestures and the second will be a playful RSS reader which encourages exploring and reading the news in a fun and innovative fashion. Two additional apps will be released later in the year.