Donny Osmond Company Will Make Cartoons

Donny Osmond is gearing up to battle the GoBots.

Not to mention the Wuzzles, the Gummi Bears, and even Rainbow Brite. The pop signer’s Newport Beach production company, Donny Osmond Entertainment Corp., has signed a contract with Marvel Productions Ltd. of Van Nuys to co-develop and co-produce a Saturday morning cartoon show, tentatively called “S.T.R.I.K.E.,” according to William L. Waite III, president and chief executive of Osmond’s publicly traded company.

The animated show, about a super-powered rock group, will probably be released for the 1987 television season, Waite said. The deal with Marvel was signed in late March, although Osmond’s company did not confirm the contract until late Wednesday afternoon. Contract details were not disclosed.

Although Osmond did perform on a demonstration tape, the cartoon show will not feature the Irvine resident as a character or singer. But the 27-year-old performer did help devise the concept and is writing much of the music, Waite said.

Osmond, who is on a two-week national tour with his sister, Marie, was unavailable for comment.

Marvel Productions ranks as one of the largest animation companies in the country and produces three of the top animated cartoon shows, including Spiderman.

Osmond’s company is also trying to syndicate 81 “Donny & Marie” variety shows, which Waite calls “our biggest and best product.”

The company, which lost $327,000 is fiscal 1985, is also expected to post a yet-undisclosed loss for the fiscal year ended June 30, Waite said.

“We’re hoping for a profitable year in 1987,” he said.

Osmond is best-known for the 1973 solo recording “Puppy Love” and the hit “One Bad Apple,” which he recorded with his brothers in 1971.