Studios have traditionally used Valentine’s Day as a vehicle to promote films in the romance genre, but some are putting it to another use. A handful of smaller studios plan to use the holiday to promote children’s titles with themes that focus on love and values.

Lion’s Gate Family Home Entertainment has several titles due out in early 2006 that capture those themes. The independent studio will release two new “Clifford the Big Red Dog” titles on DVD Feb. 7 that tie in to Valentine’s Day.

“Clifford, being a big red dog, makes Valentine’s Day a perfect event for new ‘Clifford’ titles,” said Michael Rathauser, vp of marketing for Lion’s Gate Family Home Entertainment. “And we position them with a love theme for moms who buy them for their kids.” With that in mind, Lion’s Gate plans to promote the titles with a major print advertising campaign for Valentine’s Day that targets mothers.

Lion’s Gate will also release the first Valentine’s Day title for the “Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends”tiffany. “Happy Heartwood Day” is due out Jan. 10 and features eight lovetheme episodes from the kid’s TV series and will include a special “direct play” feature designed for young children. “The title is for kids ages 2 to 5 so it has a direct play mechanism that will start the DVD even if they don’t use the remote,” said Rathauser.

HIT Entertainment will join Lion’s Gate in the kid’s arena for Valentine’s Day with the DVD debut of “Be My Valentine Love, Barney,” which will hit stores Dec. 27. A HIT executive said the title would get prominent placement in the seasonal aisles of a “major retailer” that they declined to identify.

“It’s going to be clip-stripped in their Valentine’s Day section, which will be put in right in front of moms,” said Debbie Ries, senior vp of home entertainment for HIT. “And it’s the perfect title for Valentine’s Day because Barney is all about love.”

The major studios are planning Valentine’s Day promotions but will target an older audience with classic romantic films. Paramount Home Entertainment has a 45th anniversary edition of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” due out Feb. 8. Paramount is also expected to bring out the current theatrical release “Elizabethtown” in time for valentines gifts.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has more than a half dozen titles due out Jan. 8 headed by the 15th anniversary edition of “Pretty Woman,” the 1991 film that made Julia Roberts a star. Other films in the Valentine’s Day collection include “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and also “Kate & Leopold.”

Warner Home Video will release the DVD debut of the David Lean film called “Ryan’s Daughter,” as well as “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” with Daniel Day-Lewis. Both films will street Feb. 7.