Nelvana Home Entertainment and Criterion Pictures have inked a five-year agreement for the non-theatrical distribution of titles from Nelvana's library of animated programming.

Under the terms of the deal, Criterion Pictures picks up distribution rights to Anatole (episodes 1 to 26); Babar (episodes 1 to 78), The Berenstain Bears (episodes 1 to 40), Corduroy (episodes 1 to 13), Franklin (episodes 1 to 78), Little Bear (episodes 1 to 52) and Elliot Moose (episodes 1 to 13), with other titles under consideration.

Available in both English and French, the shows will be offered to all major non-theatrical channels including schools/school boards, daycare centres, libraries and museums.

"This deal is consistent with Nelvana Home Entertainment's long-term plan to operate in all distribution channels, working with the experts in those areas. Nelvana endeavours to strike a balance between educational curriculum and entertaining programming, which has made our library long sought-after in educational markets. We have finally entered this burgeoning market with a partner that continues to set the benchmark for content distribution and emerging technologies," said Nelvana vice president home entertainment and retail distribution Peter Maule.

"Criterion Pictures, and Visual Education Centre, an associated company, is the principal provider of audiovisual learning resources to Canadian schools, representing many of the most respected producers from around the world. We are proud to have this opportunity to make Nelvana's children's programs available to schools and libraries throughout the country. We are confident that this collection will make an invaluable contribution to the educational community because of their sensitivity to Canadian cultural and learning themes, and their world-class production values," said Criterion Pictures president and CEO John Fisher.