Beast Wars (Beasties) DVD Sets Won’t Be Released In Canada
Shout Factory’s upcoming DVD re-release of Beast Wars will not be heading to Canada, so says producer Brian Ward. Responding to a forum user asking about the lack of shipping for these sets to Canada, he responded with:
As for Canada, these rights weren’t Hasbro’s to license, as far as I know. My understanding is that Alliance has these, due to their involvement with the series in the ’90s. That’s only my understanding. I have no idea why they’re the license holder. But Canada was not on the table.
In a rare case of Canada-exclusive licensing, it appears these sets will not be released in Canada due to Alliance Atlantis having the rights for home distribution in Canada. Alliance had previously helped distribute the show, and had released VHS, and DVD versions of the series in Canada. Despite the fact the show was known on broadcast as “Beasties”, their releases all used the “Beast Wars” moniker.
As of this writing Alliance does not plan to release their own version of these sets. It’s a truly disappointing piece of news given these sets would be a really affordable way to get back into the series that many held quite dear.
Beast Wars (known in Canada as “Beasties” due to broadcaster concern) ran 15 years ago on YTV, and became a staple example of quality Canadian animation. Running for 52 episodes the series (and its sequel – Beast Machines) became a fixture on YTV, and is considered by many to be the best Transformer show. Alongside ReBoot the series is considered MainFrame Entertainment’s best.
Shout Factory’s first dose of Beast Wars is scheduled for a US release on June 14. I’d advise those interested to import a copy. I know I will.
I Miss Bionix 
Wow this is disappointing to the extreme ;_;