Cabbage Patch Kids to Get Animated

5:53 PM PDT 6/13/2011 by Paul Bond

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Galen Walker, who is producing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, has picked up rights to the the toy, which became a phenomenon in 1983.

The Cabbage Patch Kids could be headed to the small screen again in a special that might be produced by Galen Walker, who is producing a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film for Paramount.

Original Appalachian Artworks, which owns the brand, said Monday it has sold TV rights to Walker along with CWA Carlin West Agency, a company created by Carlin West, a former executive with 4Kids Entertainment.

A spokesperson said a script is in the works for an animated TV special featuring the Cabbage Patch Kids, which were created in 1978 but became a phenomenon in 1983 when some shoppers literally rioted over their inability to get their hands on one of the chubby, wrinkled dolls.

So intense was the short-lived fad that Newsweek magazine featured the Cabbage Patch Kids on its cover. In 1985, ABC aired The Cabbage Patch Kids Christmas Special to high ratings.

Through the years, Cabbage Patch dolls have been made by Coleco, Hasbro, Mattel and Toys "R" Us Kids.

"It's a brand filled with many positive messages for kids," Walker said.