Think Tank Enterprises launches UBADAS - Imaginary Friends for Kids! at www.ubada.com. The T-shirt line hits Wal-Mart and discussions start with Warner Bros.!

Think Tank Enterprises of Bentonville, Arkansas launches Ubada - Imaginary Friends for Kids line at Wal-Mart!

BENTONVILLE ARKANSAS - Welcome to the island of Zosh. Meet the natives -called Ubadas - named Riff, Marty, Milford and Toby. They live along the Gola River, ride purple cows and carry gilgubs (fish) in their pockets. Don't wander to the other side of the island, though, called Shoz, because that's the "dark side" of Zosh, where the nasty Blix and his band of Adabu's sulk. No, you've not entered Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." Instead, it's the imaginary world of Think Tank Enterprises of Bentonville. The fledgling company, headed by CEO Chad Smith President Joe Hardin, has been in business since March. But it has already sold 12,000 Ubada T-shirts to Wal-Mart and is in negotiations with Warner Bros. about developing worldwide distribution for Think Tank products. Right now, those products include a 12 minute DVD cartoon, plush toys and T-shirts. All of the products are available online at www.ubada.com and the company can be reached by E-mail at ubada@thinktankent.com.

They are the brainchild of Smith, who says an Ubada is a "child's imaginary friend who acts as a guardian and a guide." "We've done a lot of research, and this is a very good developmental tool for children ages 3 to 6," Smith said. He came up with the idea while visiting family in Wyoming and watching his nieces and nephews play with their own imaginary friends. "I thought, 'This is really cool. This is a global concept," Smith said. Smith pitched his idea to Hardin, a lifelong friend who attended Rogers High School with him, and they formed Think Tank Enterprises. At the time, Hardin ran the fuel division at Wal-Mart. "I loved the idea," Hardin said about Smith's brainchild.

Smith graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Cinema and later worked for the William Morris talent agency in Los Angeles. Smith is the creative partner at Think Tank, coming up with ideas and writing scripts, while Hardin takes care of the business end. The company's animator is James Farr of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Smith and Hardin said they have had discussions with Brad Ball, vice president of corporate affairs and marketing at Warner Bros. in Burbank, Calif., about Warner becoming the distributor for Ubada products. Reached by telephone, Ball confirmed that he had held talks with Think Tank but nothing has been worked out yet.

Smith said he believes the time is right for Ubadas because sales in the toy industry have been down in recent years, and toy-makers are looking for the next hot item. "They're really struggling to find something new,"Smith said. "We kind of consider ourselves to be a cross between 'Touched by an Angel' for kids meets Cabbage Patch kids." The word Ubada dosen't really stand for anything, Smith said. In the Think Tank world, Ubadas can turn in to "Adabus" (Ubada spelled backward) when children misbehave or forget how to use their imagination. Smith is talking to Wal-Mart about doing a video or DVD just for the company to sell at it's stores. The Ubada T-shirts are already at 500 Wal-Mart stores across the country, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa Berryhill. "It's really too early to tell how they are selling, but it's an item we were excited about offering," she said. Meanwhile, Smith is working on another character to add to the island of Zosh. His name may be Tokyo Joe, and he will be sort of an "Asian James Bond," Smith said.

By Anita French - The Morning News