Release
Upon release, Journey to Joke-a-lot was the fourth film to feature the Care Bears, and their first one in over 15 years. It was also the first computer-animated installment in the franchise, and its first feature to go direct-to-video. Backed by an advertising campaign worth more than US$2 million, the film was released in North America by Artisan's successor, Lions Gate, on October 5, 2004; overseas rights were handled by Universal Studios soon after. In the U.S., the film's release coincided with the second annual National Care Week; it debuted at eighth place on Billboard's VHS sales chart in late October 2004, and sold more than 500,000 copies by April 2005. In January 2005, Journey to Joke-a-lot was a nominee in the "Animated DVD Premiere Movie" category at the fifth annual DVD Exclusive Awards. The film aired on cable television's Disney Channel in December 2004 and May 2005. In the midst of Joke-a-lot's success, Lions Gate Home Entertainment released another computer-animated film with the Care Bears, Big Wish Movie, on October 18, 2005.
The DVD contains seven deleted scenes: "Laugh If You Want To!", "Caring Is Serious Business", "Which Way to Funshine?", "I Wonder", "Packs-A-Magic!", "Unpacks-A-Magic!" and "The Great Escape!". In his introduction to those scenes, director Mike Fallows says to the audience, "Congratulations on finding your way this far." All of the scenes have partially completed animation except the last one, "The Great Escape!", which has finished animation.
Read more about this topic: Care Bears: Journey To Joke-a-lot
Famous quotes containing the word release:
“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.”
—Elizabeth Drew (1887–1965)
“If I were to be taken hostage, I would not plead for release nor would I want my government to be blackmailed. I think certain government officials, industrialists and celebrated persons should make it clear they are prepared to be sacrificed if taken hostage. If that were done, what gain would there be for terrorists in taking hostages?”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“The steel decks rock with the lightning shock, and shake with the
great recoil,
And the sea grows red with the blood of the dead and reaches for his spoil—
But not till the foe has gone below or turns his prow and runs,
Shall the voice of peace bring sweet release to the men behind the
guns!”
—John Jerome Rooney (1866–1934)