Popular Disney Characters Bring Mobile Phones to Life; Walt Disney Internet Group Offers Character Voice Ringtones from Mickey and Friends

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2005

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Listen closely the next time you hear a mobile phone ring and it may be a familiar voice asking, "Hello? Is anybody there?" Disney Mobile, part of the Walt Disney Internet Group, is now offering consumers an extensive array of character voice ringtones featuring the voices of their most popular Disney and Disney/Pixar characters. The ringtones are currently available to customers of major carriers nationwide for a fee of $2.50 per ringtone.

Ringtone voices from classic and popular characters including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Pooh and Tigger, as well as newer characters such as Stitch, Woody, Buzz Lightyear and even Mr. Incredible from the Disney presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, The Incredibles, are available for download. A combination of ringtones featuring more than one character are offered for incoming calls, voicemail alerts and alarm reminders. Several ringtones and messages are available from each character. One of Mickey's rings will tell customers to "Answer your phone," and another Mickey message will tell customers "You got a message." One Goofy ringtone will say "Hello? Is anybody there?" and a message alert will tell customers, "Oh boy, you got some mail!" Mr. Incredible offers up, "Hello? Yeah, I'm Mr. Incredible." In addition to character ringtones, there are also musical ringtones available from Disney and Disney/Pixar films such as Aladdin and Finding Nemo, among others. For those who prefer images, mobile screensavers are also available.

"Ringtones and screensavers are new entertainment experiences that allow mobile customers with advanced cell phones to express their personalities in a variety of ways," said Larry Shapiro, executive vice president, business development and operations for The Walt Disney Internet Group. "These new voice ringtones are fun and unique -- they bring the magic of our characters to life."

About Walt Disney Internet Group

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) provides strategic leadership and operational management for The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) Internet properties including category leaders Disney.com, ESPN.com and ABCNEWS.com. A market leader in developing and distributing entertainment and informational content to new platforms, WDIG is committed to creating and delivering products for broadband distribution including: ABC News On Demand, a subscription video news service that offers the Internet's first 24-hour, live Internet-only news channel and top ABC News programs for on demand viewing; Disney Connection; and WDIG Motion, a proprietary video technology for broadband users. Through relationships with some of the world's largest wireless carriers, WDIG distributes content and services to wireless users under the Disney, ESPN and ABC brands. Additionally, WDIG has led the way in developing interactive content for televised programming through its Enhanced TV service. Steve Wadsworth is president of WDIG, which is headquartered in North Hollywood and has operations in Seattle, New York, Orlando, Tokyo and London.