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Thursday April 22nd, 2009 @ The Brewery, London
The countdown to the MCV Awards 2010 has begun – with date, venue and categories announced.
Popular pre-school TV shows to move to CGI animation in 2009 broadcast season.
Hit Entertainment has revealed that pre-school smashes Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder will now be produced in CGI animation.
CGI will bring a bright, fresh and modern look to the two evergreen brands, and also allows for more enhanced, fluid movement of the characters while remaining true to the show’s core values and strengths. In addition, refreshed style guides, offering an array of new opportunities for licensing partners, will accompany the new series.
Thomas & Friends – which will be celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2010 – has already begun pre-production on the first CGI series in partnership with Nitrogen Studios, a Canadian-based production company which worked on the latest series introducing CGI elements to its existing live action format.
The new series will debut in late 2009 on Five’s Milkshake block in the UK and on PBS Kids in the US, as well as other selected territories (excluding Japan). For the first time, the faces of Thomas and his engine friends, as well as Sir Topham Hatt, will move as a result of the CGI – opening up opportunities for new Talking Thomas and Talking Engine products.
Bob the Builder, meanwhile, will move from stop frame animation to CGI. Hit and LA-based SD Entertainment are now in pre-production for the new CGI series, which is scheduled for delivery in late 2009 on Cbeebies in the UK and PBS Kids in the US.
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Hot Animation, Hit’s wholly owned animation studio in the UK, will continue to produce Bob the Builder: On Site, a new direct-to-DVD series of live action and stop frame animated specials.
Christopher Skala, executive producer and SVP production and programming at Hit, said: “Bob the Builder and Thomas & Friends have been delighting children all over the world for many years, so it was important to us that any change to the programming format retained the intrinsic charm of the characters and remained true to the core values of the brand. With our world-renowned production partners Nitrogen, SD Entertainment and CGCG, we felt it was the right time to refresh and update these loveable characters in CGI and take Bob and Thomas into a new era.”
Peter Byrne, EVP of consumer products worldwide at Hit, added: “We are really excited about Bob and Thomas moving to CGI as it heralds a new generation of consumer product for our licensing partners, in particular a new range of Talking Thomas products. With new style guides in 2009, we look forward to bringing new lines of consumer product to market throughout the year.”
Okay, so when the eighth season of Thomas came out there were complaints about the stories and the interactive segments right? Well, comparing Season 8 to this, Season 8 is gold! Right when I thought Thomas couldn't get any worse, it has. HIT has really let a lot of Thomas fans down this time, let's just hope though that the bad ratings of the new CGI don't put an end to Thomas for good...
Actually it looks kinddah good to me, i figured it would look like this. To add to that, it looks like the original series, the milkshake factory is back and is looks the exact same when it as first introduced in season 8. Besides, we hav'nt seen the show yet so lets not begin with all this until we see it. i like it though.
I know, I went abit OTT obove but to be honest I needed to, haven't shown how I feel about it before properly. If the could make it like Beowulf it WOULD be better than models, but it's to much trouble for them, heck, they could even revamp the locomotive shapes and get accurate and consistent trackplans. It's too bad, I might change my mind once they are released, but I doubt it, I didn't with season 8+. :(
Hmmm, I think that some of you out there might need to get out of the house a bit more often and maybe meet some ladies.
Well, I'm saddened by the fact that the models are being retired, after growing up with them on my screen all my life.
However, I'm pretty impressed by this look at the CGI. It looks like the actual Thomas model. I'll look forward to this, but at the same time, I'll miss the models.
Well it looks like it won't be that bad after all. I am real glad this has happened.
Alot of us are grown ups with lives, I'm 23, been in the Army, been Iraq twice, definetly not a boy. We just like Thomas (or at least what it was/should be)
Whoever deleted my rant post obove is a sad git, what's wrong, don't like the truth, is that it?
Well in my opinion the CGI is going to change Thomas and possibly change the ratings on the show. Don't get me wrong though, I could be wrong about the ratings changing and making it worse. But what I am concerned about is maybe the kids who watch and enjoy Thomas are going to be really upset because they liked the models as much as we did. That is my concern about the show. I hope you guys don't think I am acting like the people on youtube because believe me I am not like them. You don't see me saying "LETS CALL HIT AND BRITT ALLCROFT SO WE CAN SAVE THOMAS AND GET THE MODELS BACK!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D". There is no way I would do that. :P Unlike them, I can take the change. I might not watch the new CGI, I might watch it, but I will always watch the old stuff too. I wish Thomas the best of luck and like I said, who knows maybe the show might get higher ratings this way! ;)
Better if the ratings drom IMO, then they might think "oops"
If this is what they will do with Thomas, they could do the smae thing with bringing back TUGS.
I hope you guys are right.
Well, I, for one, am outraged and disgusted by this update. A lot of my friends and I are diehard Thomas fans, and don't want to see Thomas & Friends in CGI. HiT Entertainment should never have fiddled with our most favorite show in the first place. Why, if Rev. W. Awdry knew about HiT breaking the tradition of what started as his books, he'd be spinning in his grave!
A pox on HiT Entertainment!
Gimme a break. It's a show for preschoolers. You think a 3-year-old who adores Thomas is going to flip out because Thomas' mouth is suddenly moving? Hell no. The kids going to be thrilled! This is probably the smartest move Hit has made concerning the show. Remember, they're not marketing the show to adults. It's all about the kids.
that is all fake there was a rumor going around youtube but It was proven to be fake don't believe it
I'm afraid this is 100% true. HiT themselves have confirmed this, and there have been several press releases as well as news articles. The new episodes are airing on Five in the milkshake! slot as of 1st September 2008, so many of us should be able to see for ourselves what this new CGI series is like.
Well Hit I think you've made a massive mistake here. My three year old absolutely hates the new look and cgi faces (they scare him). The trains were the story to him and moving to cgi next year will end his viewing and I suspect his love of the countless merchandises. He's not alone too...
Bye bye viewing figures.
HIT, YOU KILLED THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE! SEASON 8 WAS ALREADY A MESS, BUT THIS? IT'S WORSE! I AM SO UPSET THAT YOU THREW AWAY THE MODELS I LOVED, AND THAT YOU DISCONTINUED ERTL TOYS, BUT YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME! WE'LL STOP THIS MADNESS, AND THAT YOU PUT THINGS RIGHT LIKE IT WAS IN SEASON ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like the show because my kids love it when they were 3 up to around 6 years old. I do not watch it and never would have. But the great thing about it is it's simplicity. Real trains (models though) and tracks that actually move, people that don't move, nice settings, were few face changes of engines and people. And a voice narrating a story of 4 or 5 min. What more does a 3-6 year old child really need.
Action man, Barbie and now will it Thomas on the corporate re brand road to doom.
Truth is they don't need any more new episodes, they just need to mange assets the currently have. Any carry on delivery great family entertainment. If stretch it to far it snap, or at least derail.
