Category Archives: Entertainment

The Emoji Company details new Streetwear fashion collabs and Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurants

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The Emoji Company has secured a slew of recent partnerships across both the global fashion and food and beverage markets, including a new deal with the premium streetwear brand Wicked Fashions Inc, and the famous Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurants, Rei do Mate.

Wicked Fashions Inc has teamed with Emoji to create a signature streetwear collection under its Southpole, Lockedt29, and WT02 clothing lines. The fashion line aims to combine the Emoji brand’s expressive icons with Southpole’s athleisure styles and will feature hoodies, jeans, shirts, and sweatpants.

The first collection is set to launch Holiday 2020. The partnership was brokered by Retail Monster, LLC., the emoji company’s North American Licensing Agent. 

“We are excited to enter into a groundbreaking collaboration with an established leader of the streetwear industry in the US,” said Marco Hüsges, CEO and founder, the emoji company. 

Meanwhile, over on the Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurant scene, and Emoji has now detailed a new partnership with Rei do Mate in a move that will see the franchise develop a set of collectable cups featuring designs from the Emoji by Britto collaboration.

Thanks to a deal brokered by Lotus Global, customers buying the 18 cheese bread combo can take home one of the exclusive Emoji by Britto collectable cups. The promotion will run across 300 of Rei do Mate’s stores, as well as on its online platforms that offer delivery service.

“We are thrilled about the launch of this promotion that will truly entertain Brazilian people during the Xmas season,” said Hüsges. “This partnership is the perfect symbiosis of our partnership with famous artist Romero Britto and we are proud to be working with Rei do Mate again for the Brazilian territory.”

Spread Group expands its partnership with Warner Bros for new licenses and markets

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Spread Group – the firm formerly known as Spreadshirt – has expanded its partnership with Warner Bros to bring 14 of its brands including Harry Potter, Batman, and Friends, to new target markets in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.

The latest development is an extension of a European partnership that has existed between Spread Group and Warner Bros since 2012. Over the past eight years, Spread Group has developed more than 1,700 designs with popular Warner Bros. heroes and symbols across Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.

The Warner Bros. brands are among some of the best-sellers on these European Spreadshirt marketplaces.

“We are excited about the opportunity to use our know-how to launch into new markets and to strategically develop our partnership with Warner Bros. In doing so, we will cover design, marketing and production, to the web presence on our Spreadshirt marketplace, as well as on Amazon and eBay – according to our 360-degree approach,” said Ann-Katrin Hager, head of licensing Europe of Spread Group.

The licensing deal will make Warner Bros. will one of Spread Group’s largest partners. It will offer over 1,000 Warner designs on the Spreadshirt marketplaces in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia as well as 1,500 item positions on Amazon.com.

CoComelon passes 100 million YouTube subscribers, 100 billion views and sees ‘sell-out success’ of Jazwares toy line

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Moonbug Entertainment has hit several record-breaking milestones for its wildly popular CoComelon brand having surpassed 100 million subscribers on YouTube and clocked nearly 100 billion views on the social media platform.

According to Forbes, CoComelon has also just broken records on Netflix where it pre-school series debuted on June 1 this year and, as of December 5th, made 100 consecutive appearances on the Top 10 in the US, outpacing all content categories for both kids’ and adult programming.

The new records have been set all within what has been earmarked by Moonbug Entertainment ‘as an unprecedented year of growth for the brand.’

“The brand ethos of CoComelon is simple: make kids happy and smart through fun and relatable content. That’s been our brand’s mission since creation, which is why CoComelon has not only remained a family favorite but has seen such exponential growth,” said Patrick Reese, general manager at Moonbug, CoComelon.

“Our content speaks to children through relatability and the age-appropriate nature of the show keeps them entertained and parents relieved.”

In addition to on-screen popularity, the CoComelon toy line with consumer products leader Jazwares has reportedly ‘been flying off the shelves.’

Moonbug and Jazwares have been working with retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart to replenish stock so parents can access the products. The line features characters and items inspired by the show and includes a wide array of categories, such as plush, vehicles, figurines and role play.

“JJ, his friends and family have been a bright light for children since the brand’s inception,” added René Rechtman, co-founder and CEO, Moonbug. “As kids across the globe look to CoComelon for relatable content, we’re continuing to grow the show. This is just the beginning of the brand’s global growth as we work to expand the franchise both on and off the screen.”

CoComelon teaches children how to take on everyday activities and role models positive behavior with a sense of enthusiasm. Kids can easily relate to the universal themes and everyday narratives such as eating your vegetables, learning to tie your shoes and getting ready for bed.

With its bright and bold colors and cheerful nursery rhymes and phrases, CoComelon attracts children aged one to four to sing and dance along with Baby JJ and his siblings as they learn letters, numbers, animal sounds, colors and more.

CoComelon is available on all major platforms including Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, Roku and Netflix.

Spin Master establishes three creative centres and names Max Rangel its incoming global president and CEO

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Major shifts at the global children’s entertainment company, Spin Master, have seen the appointment of Max Rangel to the role of global president effective January 2021 and CEO, a role he will take on from April 2021.

The company has also revealed the establishment of three creative centres comprising Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games.

Rangel’s appointment has been made as Spin Master’s co-founders and current co-CEOs, Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie prepare to transition out of their positions to take up their leadership roles on the Board. Harary will continue to guide the growth of the digital games and creative centre, while Rabie will continue to provide input on Spin Master’s global culture.

Both Harary and Rabie will remain involved in business development and all mergers and acquisition activity at the company.

Rangel is a seasoned executive who brings extensive experience in leading consumer-focused and high performing teams, developing innovative marketing and brand management programs and managing complex operations. Most recently, he held progressive positions with SC Johnson & Sons serving as SVP, president of lifestyle brands in international markets and SVP, president, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Russia regions.

Prior to this, Rangel spent 22 years at Procter and Gamble and over three years at The Hershey Company.

Spin Master also detailed its plan for executive leadership development. The company has established three creative centres comprising Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games.

Chris Beardall, a toy-industry veteran with over 20 years at Spin Master, who is currently executive vice president of global sales, will be appointed president, Spin Master Toys, overseeing the toy creative centre. Beardall will champion profitable growth across the entire toy portfolio.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Dodge, an entertainment-industry veteran, who has been with Spin Master for 12 years and who is currently executive vice president, Entertainment, will be appointed president, Spin Master Entertainment. Dodge will oversee all aspects of the company’s entertainment creative centre from franchise growth through to content development, production and distribution globally.

Fredrik Loving, a digital games industry expert who previously held leadership positions at Electronic Arts and other leading digital games companies and who recently joined Spin Master as executive vice president, Digital Studios, will be appointed president, Spin Master Digital Games. In this new role based in Sweden, Loving will oversee Spin Master’s digital games creative centre from managing game development at Toca Boca’s and Sago Mini’s Stockholm and Toronto studios, through to sales and platform growth.

“Since founding Spin Master together more than 26 years ago, we’ve grown from a single, item-driven business to a leading global children’s entertainment company with three thriving creative centres in toys, entertainment and digital games,” said Harary.

“With a well-defined long-term vision and a strong executive management team in place, we believe the time is right to transition Spin Master beyond its founders on a day to day operating level. This natural transition will allow Anton and I to emphasize our strategic roles where we can focus our efforts on shepherding Spin Master’s course for the future.”

Spin Master’s third co-founder Ben Varadi will continue in his role as chief creative officer supporting all three creative centres and will remain on Spin Master’s Board.

“As we take the next step in the evolution of Spin Master, we’ve assembled an exceptional global team poised to deliver on our long-term vision,” said Rabie.

“Max is an extraordinary business leader with a tremendous track record of leading global teams and harnessing the full potential of individuals to achieve outstanding results. Collectively, we will continue to nurture a culture where innovation drives growth and where we continue to deliver the most imaginative experiences for kids and families around the world.”

Acamar Films ‘fortifies direct to consumer relationships’ with first Bing ecommerce store launch

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Acamar Films has launched its first e-commerce store its multi award-winning pre-school series, Bing, in a keen move to fortify the company’s direct to consumer relationships.

Developed in partnership with Event Merchandising, a specialist in managing and building licensed e-commerce stores, the new online retail hub is a one-stop-shop for all things Bing and is initially launching in the UK.

The Bing Store range includes new and exclusive personalised product across apparel, gifts and homeware categories, alongside a selection of toys, books, dress up, clothing and party accessories from existing licensing partners. Seasonal lines will be added to the store to delight returning visitors.

Acamar Films has recognised both the importance and value of effective e-commerce, particularly following this year’s unprecedented events, and has focused on digital development to meet the significant appetite for Bing.

Louise Simmonds, head of UK licensing and merchandising at Acamar Films, said: “It is hugely exciting to see The Bing Store launch in the UK where grown-ups and Bingsters can find Bing product all in one place. The development and launch of our new e-commerce site demonstrates our deep commitment to digital growth and the importance of having a direct dialogue with our audience.”

Acamar Films strategically launched The Bing Store ahead of Christmas to leverage the peak trading period. According to the firm, early results have been impressive with thousands of fans visiting the store in the opening week, demonstrating that this timely release is the perfect way for Bingsters to celebrate this festive season with Team Bing.

Rachel Lowe launches The Elf on the Shelf Board Game through Rocket Licensing deal

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Award-winning board game designer Rachel Lowe has partnered with The Lumistella Company to bring its flagship property, The Elf on the Shelf to the traditional board gaming space in time for Christmas. The move acts to cement Elf on the Shelf as part of the festive tradition for families across the UK.

In a deal brokered by the UK licensing agency, Rocket Licensing, Rachel Lowe’s official The Elf on the Shelf Board Game plays out the story of Scout Elves who fly back to the North Pole each night to report to Santa who has been naughty and who has been nice. Nice players are rewarded with Candy Canes, while naughty ones lose their candy cane collection.

Designed as a family-friendly title, the games sees player take turns on the spinner to determine their naughty of nice fate, as well as face challenges along the way, including Snowball Fights to collect an extra candy cane. The player with the most candy canes wins the game.

The game is released alongside The Elf on the Shelf Snap Card Game depicting Scout Elves.

Rachel Lowe said: “I love Christmas and I am absolutely delighted to be working with The Elf on the Shelf to create a range of products that any child will love to have this Christmas.

“Every year parents come up with elaborate and funny activities for their elves which they share on social media. I’m really excited to be able to contribute to this Christmas tradition which is such a big part of families’ festive holidays.”

The Elf on the Shelf launched in the UK in 2015 and quickly became a family favourite. Rocket Licensing, which manages the licensing rights for The Elf on the Shelf brand in the UK and Eire, has already predicted that 2020 will be the biggest Christmas ever for the property, which started life as a book and Scout Elf in 2005.

In a recent survey, over half of mums had top of mind awareness of the loveable elf, which also ranked as the third most popular Christmas tradition for children (2019 MMR survey).

The Elf on the Shelf Board Game is available alongside Rachel’s current range, including Call the Midwife and WWE: Road to WrestleMania.

The WWE: Road to WrestleMania board game, released in 2019, is available with a 500-piece puzzle and playing cards, allowing WWE fans across the UK to become part of the electrifying global pop-cultural event. The products featured WWE Superstars including John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch and have been popular with WWE’s passionate fanbase.

The Call the Midwife products (board game, puzzle and playing cards) have continued to be popular in their third year of release.

Rachel said: “Call the Midwife is a show with a dedicated following and the new series next year, along with the Christmas special, will be very popular. I will be looking to update the game and puzzle to keep it in line with the new characters and story lines coming in future series.”

Diary of a Wimpy Kid joins kids’ audio platform Yoto Player

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Yoto, the team behind the award-winning audio platform for children, Yoto Player, has struck up a partnership with the internationally best-selling children’s book series Diary of A Wimpy Kid to bring three popular stories to the system.

Diary of a Wimpy Kids, Diary of a wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw will now be available on the Yoto Player in the form of Yoto Cards. The stories will each help children learn about important themes such a friendship, fitting in, and standing up for yourself.

The new stories will also encourage kids to enhance their imagination through screen-free audiotime.

The Yoto Player is controlled using physical cards that are inserted into the Player which plays audio content. Additionally, Yoto’s audio cards have the ability to play content through the app by simply tapping the card to the back of a compatible smartphone. The free-to-download Yoto smartphone app also contains a selection of free content available to all, and allows families to play their library of audio through other Bluetooth speakers.

“Providing kids with unique ways to interact with leading children’s stories like Diary of a Wimpy Kid is important to us,” said Ben Drury, CEO and co-founder of Yoto. “Yoto is built to help children take learning and creative play into their own hands, and partnering with The Diary of a Wimpy Kid helps us equip kids with the tools they need to learn and let their imagination wander.”

Vanessa Jedrej, global brand manager, Wimpy Kid Inc, added: “We’re really glad to partner with Yoto to extend our Wimpy Kid audio experience to young readers. Bringing entertainment and fun to kids in an accessible way is at the nerve-center of both our organisations and we hope our partnership will bring hours of laugh-out-loud listening to new audiences of kids.”

The The Diary of a Wimpy Kid cards are available now from £8.99 from www.yotoplay.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Egmont Magazines rounds-off Thomas and Friends 75th anniversary year with special collector’s edition

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Egmont Magazines is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Thomas & Friends brand with the release of a limited edition gift pack of its popular, officially licensed magazine.

In issue number 791 of Thomas & Friends, the titular hero takes a special trip to the capital, while the issue itself will come accompanied by a seven-piece play-set that includes Thomas, Percy and a carriage. Readers can explore London alongside Thomas with the London Eye, bus, phone box and Fat Controller figurines also included in the play-set.

Meanwhile. there are over 40 stickers, a reward chart, posters, puzzles and more, all designed to help develop early years skills.

Egmont has released three special editions of Thomas & Friends magazine this year. Thomas fans delighted in receiving an official mini train and story book in issue #781, and this year’s summer special was a treat for young Thomas fans and collectors alike, with a special anniversary train set accompanying the magazine.

An impressive 32 years after launch, Thomas & Friends magazine remains a top 20 title in the children’s market and is the oldest single character magazine in the UK.

Kiran Vara, publisher of Thomas & Friends magazine, said: “We’ve loved celebrating with Thomas and Mattel through all three anniversary issues of this evergreen magazine but Thomas’ trip to London is really something special.

“We know that Thomas fans will love exploring the city with Thomas and enjoy all the exciting activities inside the magazine.”

EPOCH making toys: “2021 is a year of huge potential for our Super Mario Games”

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EPOCH making toys has earmarked 2021 as a ‘year of huge potential’ for Super Mario Games, as the international toy firm prepares to bolster a range of official Nintendo licensed products launched to UK retail this autumn/winter.

Its current portfolio, comprising the Super Mario Balancing Game that challenges players to balance Mario characters on a swaying stage, the Super Mario Blow Up Shaky Tower, that sees characters attempt to scale a tower, and the Super Mario Piranha Plant Escape, a plant dodging board game, has been launched to a ‘resounding success.’

The toy firm will now expand the reach of the initial launch portfolio as well as grow the range through autumn/winter 2021 in the lead up to next Christmas.

“We see 2021 as a year of huge potential for Super Mario Games,” Kim Nicholls, brand manager at EPOCH making toys, told Licensing.biz. “We’ll have more product in the market and be able to support the range with a multimedia marketing plan.”

Nicholls’ plans follow what she has dubbed a ‘hugely positive response’ to the launch of the initial line of games this year.

“We don’t see the momentum slowing down in 2021, especially with the ramp up to the feature film in 2022,” she added.

2020 has marked a year of high activity for Nintendo’s Super Mario brand that – sharing its 35th anniversary year with Epoch’s own Sylvanian Families – has found itself the focus of a brand re-invigoration within the toy space, that includes a major new partnership with LEGO and licensed ranges from Hasbro.

“The appetite for the Super Mario license is immense in the UK at the moment and as a company we are proud to launch an exciting range of games for such a beloved brand,” continued Nicholls.

“Epoch Head Office has a long-standing relationship with Nintendo that we are thrilled to be bringing to the UK.

“Our Super Mario Games truly offer something for everyone. The variety of gameplay styles within the range vary from solo to group play, balancing challenges to more traditional board game play. The Link System also allows for the games to be played together, which offers players a new experience each time.

“We think Super Mario fans will be wowed by the attention to detail in our game figures, which have huge collectability.”

As the company prepares to extend the portfolio through the coming year, EPOCH making toys has also teased a new addition to the popular Aquabeads line up.

“Not only is the Super Mario Games range an exciting new endeavour for Epoch Making Toys, but fans of Super Mario should also keep their eyes peeled for an exciting launch with Aquabeads later in 2021,” Nicholls concluded.

Disney invests heavily into streaming as it details new Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar content slate

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UK Disney fans could be forgiven for thinking it was Christmas morning as they woke up to the news that the entertainment studio had detailed a raft of some 35 new television series, including ten from Marvel, ten based in the Star Wars universe, new Pixar animations, as well as 15 new movies to be released on Disney Plus in the next few years.

It was possibly the spoonful of sugar needed to help the digestion of the concurrent update that over in the US, the Disney streaming service was to up its prices, while forecasting that the platform will attract between 230m and 260m subscribers by 2024. The surge will, no doubt, be fuelled by the latest scheduling of releases.

Amid the announcement, Lucasfilm confirmed that multiple new Star Wars shows are coming to Disney Plus, including two spin-offs of its The Mandalorian series with Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic and Star Wars: Ahsoka, with Rosario Dawson – who having just appeared in The Mandalorian in the role of Ahsoka Tano – taking on the lead role.

The biggest news to emerge from the Star Wars universe, however, is that Darth Vader is returning. Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role, alongside Ewan McGregor for the long-awaited Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone series. Production on the series is set to start in March 2021, and will be set after the events of Revenge of The Sith, meaning that Christensen will be playing the role of Darth Vader, rather than that of Anakin Skywalker.

Disney also confirmed a standalone show based on Lando Calrissian, as well as Star wars Visions, a series of short films from Japanese anime creators. Meanwhile, The Acolyte will be a ‘mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era’, while A Droid Story ‘will introduce us to a new hero guided by R2D2 and C3PO’

On top of that, two new Star Wars films will be on the way, with Taika Waititi and Patti Jenkins attached to each.

Yet, despite the barrage of announcements to come from the studio, not forgetting the further 10 series from the Marvel franchise, the slate of Pixar films, and 15 movies to be released on Disney Plus, the firm still warns that the unit would lose money until 2024, underscoring, some have commented on the punishing economics of online entertainment.

The Financial Times reports that Disney plans to double its annual content investment to about $15bn by 2024, at which point its streaming business will turn a profit, the company predicted.