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Alpine Pictures, Inc. Signs Martin Short as the Jester and Jim Belushi as The Lion in Their Upcoming Animated Feature Film 'Dorothy of Oz'

"Dorothy of Oz" is the first in a slated series of animated feature films by Alpine Pictures, in association with Box Office Productions III, based on the writings of acclaimed children's author Roger S. Baum. Mr. Baum's work continues the legacy which was begun by his great-grandfather, L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz".

Martin Short is an Emmy and Tony Award winning actor, comedian and writer. He is also a former member of "SCTV" ("Second City Television") and "Saturday Night Live", where he became famous for such memorable characters as the Wheel of Fortune fan Ed Grimley, Hollywood Agent and gadabout Jiminy Glick, as well as his notable impressions of Jerry Lewis and Katherine Hepburn. Mr. Short's success on TV led to starring roles in such memorable films as: "Three Amigos!", "Innerspace", "Captain Ron" and "Father of the Bride I & II", portraying the memorably hilarious Franck Eggelhoffer. He has also performed on stage in the musical version of Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl", the lead role in the musical "Little Me", which garnered him the prestigious Tony Award and in the satirical one-man show "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me on Broadway", which he continues to tour.

Mr. Short has lent his talents to numerous animated features such as: "Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil", "The Spiderwick Chronicles", "101 Dalmatians II", "Patch's London Adventure", "Treasure Planet", "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius", "The Prince ofEgypt", "The Pebble and the Penguin", and "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story".

"We are delighted and excited to work with Mr. Short. He is perfect for the role of the Jester, which requires his nimble abilities at comedy, impressions, music and spontaneity," shared Executive Producer, Neil Kaufman.

Mr. Belushi, who currently stars in ABC's "According to Jim", has lent his talented voice to such memorable movies and TV shows such as "Hoodwinked", "The Wild", "Rugrats", "Snow Buddies", and "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius", and live-action films including "Curly Sue", "Mr. Destiny", "Red Heat", "About Last Night", and "The Principal", as well as two season's on "Saturday Night Live". Ryan J. Carroll, CEO of Alpine shared, "I've been a huge fan of Jim's for many years and am pleased and excited to be working with a fellow Chicagoan on this project."

"Dorothy of Oz" is being produced by Bonne Radford ("Curious George", "The Road toEl Dorado" and "Balto"), directed by Daniel St. Pierre ("Everyone's Hero", "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey" and "Sheepish") and cast by Matthew Jon Beck of CSA ("The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc.").

SOURCE Alpine Pictures, Inc.