Trick-or-Treaters Meet Sesame Street's Walk-Around Cookie Monster At the Cookie Toss to Crunch Hunger Benefiting City Harvest, Inc.

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--October 29, 1999--

"ME WANT COOKIES!" is a familiar refrain to anyone with preschoolers, as well as to those who know and love Sesame Street. Now the spirit of Cookie Monster has been captured with Mattel's Cookie Crunch game, which will be launched in New York's Central Park with a Cookie Toss to Crunch Hunger to benefit City Harvest, Inc. The Cookie Toss to Crunch Hunger fundraising event takes place during Newmark Real Estate's Great Halloween Party in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield (72nd Street and Fifth Avenue) on Saturday, October 30 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Children can test their hand/eye coordination skills as they try to toss cookies into the mouth of a life-size Cookie Monster cut out. For each cookie tossed into Cookie Monster's mouth, $2 will be donated to City Harvest, a non-profit organization committed to fighting hunger in New York City. Trick-or-treating preschoolers, and maybe some fun-loving parents, will line up and try their best to toss three bean bag cookies into a cut-out Cookie Monster's mouth. All participants will be winners since they will be treated to Cookie Monster cookies from SunnyBaked Foods and have pictures taken with a walk-around Cookie Monster. Visitors to the Cookie Crunch to Toss Hunger are also encouraged to bring canned and non-perishable food to be collected for City Harvest.

Just like the television program, all Sesame Street products combine fun and learning. In the Cookie Crunch game, everyone's favorite hungry blue pal, Cookie Monster, comes to life as players feed him cookies. His mouth moves up and down, his arm lifts up and he talks in his own unmistakable voice. Children will hear "Me want cookies" as they put the cookie into Cookie Monster's hand and depress his spring-loaded arm to launch the cookie into his mouth as it opens and closes. When kids get the cookie in his mouth, Cookie Monster "chomps" the cookie and exclaims: "Thanks for cookie." If the child misses, Cookie Monster says "Oops no cookie" and the play moves to the next player. Parents and caregivers select which of two levels is appropriate for their child to play with, so the toy continues to challenge kids as their coordination improves.

The Cookie Crunch game has received FamilyFun magazine's "Toy of the Year Award" in the eighth-annual ranking of toys based on the results of a nationwide kid-test sponsored by the magazine. More than 500 children from across the country, ages three to 12 years, play-tested 470 toys representing 149 manufacturers, to determine which toys are going to be the most popular during this year's holiday retail season. After a total of 14,000 kid-testing hours later the Cookie Crunch game was named "Toy of the Year" in the games category for children three to four-years-old.

"The Cookie Crunch game is the only game that allows kids to learn coordination and counting while feeding cookies to Cookie Monster," says Mark Sullivan, Vice President of Games & Puzzles Marketing for Mattel, Inc.

"Children love the interactive aspect of the game as Cookie Monster encourages them to get the cookies in his mouth and lets them know when they missed the mark and should try again."

The Cookie Crunch game features a full body sculpted Cookie Monster, 16 cookies, a spinner and a voice chip that brings the character to life. The theme and flipping activity provide lots of laughter and fun, while the game helps preschoolers develop fine motor skills.

The Cookie Crunch game is currently available nationwide with an approximate retail price of $23.99. The game is geared towards children three and up, and requires 3 'C' batteries (not included).

Sesame Street is a production of the not-for-profit Children's Television Workshop (CTW). A portion of the revenue from product sales goes to producing the Sesame Street TV show and to CTW's other educational products. CTW uses media to educate and engage children and families worldwide. CTW programming has been enjoyed in more than 140 countries, including 20 indigenous co-productions reflecting local languages, customs, and educational needs. CTW online: www.ctw.org. Check your local listings for Sesame Street broadcast times.

Newmark Real Estate's Great Halloween Party is produced annually by the City of New York Parks & Recreation and includes a pumpkin patch with more than 7500 pumpkins, a haunted house, free inline skating lessons, face painting and much more. The event draws more than 50,000 participants each year.

City Harvest, Inc. is committed to feeding hungry people in New York City using a variety of innovative, practical and cost-effective methods. The primary approach is to rescue food that would otherwise be wasted and deliver it to those who serve the hungry. City Harvest strives to be a model for others to fight hunger in their communities.

Mattel Inc. NYSE: MAT is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of family products. With headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel has offices and facilities in 36 countries and markets its products in more than 150 nations worldwide.

Artwork available upon request.

O 1998 Children's Television Workshop (CTW). Cookie Monster O The Jim Henson Company. Sesame Street and the Sesame Street sign are trademarks and service marks of CTW. All rights reserved.