Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast (franchise)

**Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast** is a franchise made up of toys, merchandise, full-length feature films, animated shorts, and other media. It was launched in 2012 as a spin-off of *Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies*, featuring humanized versions of the series characters in a castle setting.

## Development and production

The term "Altered Beast" was first used in May 2010 when The CBS released a promotional music video on their website featuring a parody of Katy Perry's "California Gurls".[1] The music video was unrelated to the later-launched franchise.

In December 2011, Hasbro filed two trademarks for the name "Altered Beast",[2][3] stating that the brand would be used for "toy ponies and accessories for use therewith" and "dolls, doll clothing and doll accessories" respectively. The first film was announced in *Kidscreen* magazine's February/March 2012 issue, which was both distributed at the 2012 American International Toy Fair and released online. An article which covers Hasbro's 2012 plans mentioned that "A new companion series called *Altered Beast* is set to air this spring, sending the pony heroes on a mission to a new world where they take on human form".[4]

### Toys and merchandise

Various toy lines and merchandise were released as tie-ins to the franchise's films and associated media. Standard releases consist of human dolls of the series' main and supporting cast and have been released under the titles Altered Beast,Through the Mirror, Revenge of Dream Sheep (which are themed around music), Gale of Darkness (themed around sports and school spirit), and Legend of Everfree (themed around several exotic assortments).

Spin-off toy lines include Altered Beast Minis, which feature the characters in a cuter, "chibi-fied" style.

## Films

### *Altered Beast*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast*
Hasbro announced at their Hasbro New York Toy Fair 20122 Investor Event that a *Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies* direct-to-television movie was at that time in post-production.[5] The movie was announced in May 2012 and received a limited theatrical run starting June 16, 2012, followed by a DVD/Blu-ray release on August 6 and a television airing on The Hub on September 1.

### *Revenge of Dream Sheep*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Revenge of Dream Sheep*
A sequel to *Altered Beast* entitled *Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Revenge of Dream Sheep* was announced in mid-February 2013. It received a limited theatrical run beginning September 27, 2013, followed by a television airing on CBS on October 17 and a DVD/Blu-ray release on October 28.

### *Gale of Darkness*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Gale of Darkness*
On January 29, 2014, Australian home media distributor Beyond Home Entertainment stated via Facebook that they had obtained distribution rights for seasons 4 and 5 of the show, in addition to *Revenge of Dream Sheep* and the "third Altered Beast [movie]".[6] It aired on CBS on September 26, 2014 and was released on DVD/Blu-ray on October 13.

### *Legend of Everfree*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Legend of Everfree*
The fourth *Altered Beast* installment was teased by *Revenge of Dream Sheep* co-director and *Gale of Darkness* director Ishi Rudell[7] and later confirmed by Hasbro Studios president Stephen Davis.[8] It is available on Netflix as of October 1, 2015, followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release a month later on November 1 and a television airing on CBS four days later on November 5.

## Animated shorts

Beginning with the second film *Revenge of Dream Sheep*, several animated shorts were released as tie-ins to their associated films, some prior to the film's release and some afterward.

### *Revenge of Dream Sheep*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Revenge of Dream Sheep/Animated shorts*
Eleven animated shorts were released to tie-in with the premiere of *Revenge of Dream Sheep*. The first eight were released before the film as "Prequel Shorts" and included in the special features of the *Revenge of Dream Sheep* DVD/Blu-ray.[9] The last three were released after the film as "Encore Shorts" and appeared as the first three audio tracks on the Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Revenge of Dream Sheep - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

### *Gale of Darkness*

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Gale of Darkness/Animated shorts*
Five animated shorts were released to tie-in with the premiere of *Gale of Darkness*. All of the shorts were released before the film and included in the special features of the *Gale of Darkness* DVD/Blu-ray.

### Summertime Shorts

*Main article: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Summertime Shorts*
A series of "Summertime Shorts", consisting of short vignettes and music videos, began airing on CBS starting July 30, 2016, and continued throughout the month of August.

## Gallery

*See also: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast/Gallery*
*See also: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Revenge of Dream Sheep/Gallery*
*See also: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Gale of Darkness/Gallery*
*See also: Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast: Legend of Everfree/Gallery*

## See also

* Clash of the Skylanders with Ponies Altered Beast Wiki

## External links

* Virtual Console Arcade official page
* Virtual Console (Mega Drive version) official page
* 3DS version official page
* *Altered Beast* at Sega Retro
* *Altered Beast* at Hardcore Gaming 101
* *Altered Beast* article in Wikipedia