Category Archives: Highlight

Zavvi debuts exclusive DUST! Batman Begins utility watch

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Online retailer Zavvi is launching a limited-edition and officially licensed DUST! Batman Begins Utility watch, inspired by the first instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The timepiece has been created by DUST!, which specialises in creating prop replicas, collectibles and merchandise from cult movies right up to the latest releases in streaming.

Custom-made in stainless-steel, the watch is based on the Caped Crusader’s signature utility belt buckle and features a sleek and modern design in a choice of three colours: ‘Stealth’ black, ‘Classic’ gold and steel silver. There will be just 400 units made in the black edition, and only 100 each in silver and gold.

Each timepiece is engraved with a unique edition number on the back and comes in a foam-lined waterproof protective display case.

The DUST! Batman Begins Utility watch (£95) will be available to pre-order worldwide from noon today, exclusive to Zavvi.com

Stephen Curry and Under Armour drop ‘Street Pack’ collection with Sesame Street

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Curry Brand, powered by Under Armour, is launching a seven-part footwear collection that brings the spirit of Sesame Street’s iconic Muppets to the basketball court.

Basketball icon Stephen Curry, father to three kids under the age of nine, felt that partnering with Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit educational organisation behind Sesame Street – would be a natural extension of his recent efforts to celebrate Harlem and inspire young athletes.

“Curry Brand and Sesame Street, we preach the same message,” says Curry, a three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP. “It’s about supporting all kids, especially those in underserved communities who are looking for an opportunity to be their best selves.”

Curry Brand’s Street Pack includes seven colourways based on Sesame Street’s iconic characters, who are celebrated with unique markings on the shoe’s tongue tab and a hint-of-character flag near the heel. The classic Sesame Street sign is also featured on the sock liner.

The ‘Count It’ colourway, for example, brings to life Count von Count, with the shiny tongue tab reflecting the satin exterior of The Count’s cape and the shoe’s interior matching the cape’s colourful lining. ‘Talking Trash’, based on Oscar the Grouch, has a metallic tongue tab as a nod to the trash can, while the tongue tab on Cookie Monster’s ‘Taking Cookies’ and other shoe tabs has a fuzzy, fur-like feel.

“This collection is an opportunity for people to use their imaginations a little bit,” Curry says. “You can really show your personality through the way that you play. I love to be creative on the court, try new things, and show different sides of myself. The Sesame Street characters prove that everybody belongs in the world of play.”

The Curry Flow 9 shoe design builds on the success of the Curry Flow 8. This updated design features a fine-tuned UA Flow traction pattern and the introduction of UA Warp, Under Armour’s new-to-basketball upper technology that improves foot stability. UA Warp works in tandem with UA Flow, featuring supportive tapes that lock the foot onto the UA Flow midsole while allowing for natural movement.

Given the intricate structure of the shoe and the array of stylisations, Under Armour designers took great care to celebrate Sesame Street’s characters.

“The hardest part was making sure we achieved a sense of depth and sophistication in our designs,” says Spencer Hawkins, a senior footwear designer at Under Armour. “We didn’t just say, ‘Elmo is red, so the whole shoe is red.’ We played with a lot of different tonalities of red, and we brought in hints of orange to represent the nose.  Every single colourway is a unique story celebrating not only the unique physical attributes of the characters but also what each character can teach us about building a better, more inclusive neighborhood.”

The first two releases in Curry Brand’s Sesame Street collection will be the ‘Count It’ and ‘Play Big’ colourways – in celebration of Count von Count and Big Bird – dropping in North America on 19 November ($160 US).

Additional Street Pack footwear colourways and apparel will be released in the ensuing months.

Animal Planet roars into Burger King with King Jr Meal toys

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Animal Planet, a member of the Discovery Inc family of brands, today announced its collaboration with Burger King on a collection of paper-based King Jr meal toys and activities in an effort to inspire young animal lovers around the world as well as reduce the kids’ meal plastic footprint. Animal Planet fans can find the limited-edition paper premiums in all kids’ meals at approximately 14,000 restaurant locations worldwide, beginning on October 18 in international markets and in the US and Canada on December 6 while supplies last.

The Animal Planet collaboration, which will run for approximately five weeks, includes a variety of paper activity books that showcase animal themes including Safari, Ocean, Pets, Endangered Animals, Wilderness, and Cute and Cuddly. Kids around the world can enjoy their King Jr meal while learning about wildlife with the six different activity books, which each feature colouring sheets, infographics, a poster, build-your-own mask sets, pop-out cards and stickers. Each activity book will also come with a scannable QR code to unlock more play opportunities. Users can use their device to walk through an augmented reality portal to experience the environment and animals of the themed activity book, such as a 3D walk-through safari spotting native animals through an interactive game.

“Animal Planet is dedicated to providing quality wildlife content to a global audience through compelling storytelling across Discovery’s platforms, a mission we deepen through our consumer products offerings and our partnership with Burger King,” says Carolann Dunn, Vice President, Consumer Products Licensing, Discovery Inc. “Burger King shares Animal Planet’s enthusiasm for inspiring curious young fans, and we look forward to delivering on this shared goal through this line of kids’ meal premiums.”

“We take a great amount of pride in the joy that our youngest guests find in the toys accompanying our beloved King Jr meals,” says Paloma Azulay, Global Chief Brand Officer, Burger King. “We are proud to introduce fun opportunities for digital play in our premium programs through this incredible partnership with Animal planet, while also reducing our reliance on plastic premiums.”

The Burger King partnership comes on the heels of recent collaborations and merchandise programs for the Animal Planet brand, including a successful toy line at Target and brand-new educational kids’ magazine, Animal Planet with DC Thomson Media Partner.

 

 

One Animation adds new global deals for ‘Oddbods’ and ‘Insectibles’

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Award-winning content creation, distribution and licensing studio One Animation has secured new deals with global VOD platforms and digital partners across the short-form, long-form and seasonal specials of its hit CG-animated series Oddbods, and comedy adventure series Insectibles (52 x 11’).

In the US, Peacock has recently debuted 20 half-hour compilations of the short-form version of Oddbods and season one of Insectibles on its platform. Ketchup TV has acquired VOD rights to season one of Oddbods’ long-form series and themed compilations for the US, UK and Australia. Also for the UK, Discovery has picked up season two of Oddbods’ short-form series and renewed its deal for short-form season one for Discovery’s VOD services.

For Latin America, WarnerMedia has taken SVOD rights for HBOMax for season three of Oddbods’ long-form series and seasonal special ‘The Festive Menace’ (1 x 22’), with both titles also available on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. The long-form version of Oddbods seasons one and two, as well as themed compilations, are also now available on Amazon Prime in new territories, including France, Japan and Latin America.

In a further deal, the Indonesian digital content distributor Migo has taken Oddbods’ short-form compilations (81 x 5’) for its SVOD content delivery network via Migo Download Stations hosted at local retail locations. Additionally, to create a unique experience in-store, customers who purchase Migo’s entertainment pass will receive Oddbods character face masks to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Michele Schofield, SVP Content Distribution at One Animation, says: “It’s fantastic to welcome on board these latest top-tier partners and to make the series even more accessible to new and long-standing fans. Both Oddbods and Insectibles are all about celebrating friendship and teamwork, as well as promoting the power of positivity, so are ideally placed to cross borders and bring joy to families all over the world.”

Oddbods is a three-time Emmy Award-nominated, non-dialogue comedy featuring seven adorable, highly unique pals. Together, despite their differences, they survive the perils of everyday life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into unexpected, extraordinary, and always humorous events. Quirky but totally charming, Oddbods celebrates individuality in a funny, warm and unexpected way.

Targeting kids aged 6–9 years, Insectibles is a comedy adventure series which follows the adventures of Zak, Gramps and three bio-mechanically enhanced insects as they search for the missing pieces of the ‘Shrinkinator’ – the crazy invention that shrunk Zak and Gramps before it exploded – while evading their enemies.

Singapore-based One Animation is an award-winning animation studio, content producer, digital influencer and distribution company with content that is broadcast in over 180 countries worldwide.  Broadcast partners include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Cartoon Network and Disney. Oddbods has a staggering 25 billion views across digital platforms, and 26 million subscribers on YouTube. In the last five years, the company has been nominated for more than 20 international awards, including three Emmy nominations for Best Kids’ Animation. The company also has an extensive footprint across retail, gaming and theme parks that include strategic partnerships with Amazon, Walmart, Google, SEGA and China Media Capital.

 

One Animation adds new global deals for ‘Oddbods’ and ‘Insectibles’

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Award-winning content creation, distribution and licensing studio One Animation has secured new deals with global VOD platforms and digital partners across the short-form, long-form and seasonal specials of its hit CG-animated series Oddbods, and comedy adventure series Insectibles (52 x 11’).

In the US, Peacock has recently debuted 20 half-hour compilations of the short-form version of Oddbods and season one of Insectibles on its platform. Ketchup TV has acquired VOD rights to season one of Oddbods’ long-form series and themed compilations for the US, UK and Australia. Also for the UK, Discovery has picked up season two of Oddbods’ short-form series and renewed its deal for short-form season one for Discovery’s VOD services.

For Latin America, WarnerMedia has taken SVOD rights for HBOMax for season three of Oddbods’ long-form series and seasonal special ‘The Festive Menace’ (1 x 22’), with both titles also available on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. The long-form version of Oddbods seasons one and two, as well as themed compilations, are also now available on Amazon Prime in new territories, including France, Japan and Latin America.

In a further deal, the Indonesian digital content distributor Migo has taken Oddbods’ short-form compilations (81 x 5’) for its SVOD content delivery network via Migo Download Stations hosted at local retail locations. Additionally, to create a unique experience in-store, customers who purchase Migo’s entertainment pass will receive Oddbods character face masks to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Michele Schofield, SVP Content Distribution at One Animation, says: “It’s fantastic to welcome on board these latest top-tier partners and to make the series even more accessible to new and long-standing fans. Both Oddbods and Insectibles are all about celebrating friendship and teamwork, as well as promoting the power of positivity, so are ideally placed to cross borders and bring joy to families all over the world.”

Oddbods is a three-time Emmy Award-nominated, non-dialogue comedy featuring seven adorable, highly unique pals. Together, despite their differences, they survive the perils of everyday life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into unexpected, extraordinary, and always humorous events. Quirky but totally charming, Oddbods celebrates individuality in a funny, warm and unexpected way.

Targeting kids aged 6–9 years, Insectibles is a comedy adventure series which follows the adventures of Zak, Gramps and three bio-mechanically enhanced insects as they search for the missing pieces of the ‘Shrinkinator’ – the crazy invention that shrunk Zak and Gramps before it exploded – while evading their enemies.

Singapore-based One Animation is an award-winning animation studio, content producer, digital influencer and distribution company with content that is broadcast in over 180 countries worldwide.  Broadcast partners include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Cartoon Network and Disney. Oddbods has a staggering 25 billion views across digital platforms, and 26 million subscribers on YouTube. In the last five years, the company has been nominated for more than 20 international awards, including three Emmy nominations for Best Kids’ Animation. The company also has an extensive footprint across retail, gaming and theme parks that include strategic partnerships with Amazon, Walmart, Google, SEGA and China Media Capital.

 

‘The Adventures of Paddington’ scores a host of Italian licensing deals

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The Adventures of Paddington has secured its first Italian deals since launching on kids’ TV channel Rai YoYo earlier this year, helping Paddington firmly establish his presence in the Italian market. The deals were secured through The Copyrights Group’s agent in Italy, Rai Com, the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of Rai.

Edizioni Play Press will be publishing a range of magazines across a variety of formats, to be available in kiosk channels early next year.

Puzzles and games will be launching in Italy with Clementoni, in a deal that spans multiple territories across Europe from Q1 2022.

Rai Com has also renewed the agreement with Hopplà for character costume events in the Italian market. Paddington and Hopplà have had several years of successful partnership, with Paddington hosting English language workshops alongside meet and greet events and rides on Paddington’s train.

These partnerships follow the successful launch of the series on Rai YoYo, where The Adventures of Paddington airs three times daily, with audience peaks exceeding 200,000.

UNICEF will also be launching Paddington’s Postcards in Italy this October. Paddington’s Postcards offers children and families the chance to learn about other children around the world with Paddington, whilst also contributing to raising life-saving funds for UNICEF. Paddington’s Postcards is already available in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and Italy will be the first non-English-speaking country in which UNICEF will pilot the successful initiative.

The Copyrights Group is a full-service international IP development agency offering strategic worldwide brand development, licensing and retail expertise. Vivendi is The Copyrights Group’s parent organisation, which operates in Italy and around the world.

Bandai Namco Europe signs new deals with EMP and Rhinoshield for Pac-Man merch and more

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Video game publisher Bandai Namco Europe has closed a direct licensing agreement with EMP for the German-based company to provide exclusive merchandise for Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls, Tekken and Little Nightmares franchises. Categories include apparel, accessories, gifts and more.

In addition, Bandai Namco Europe is continuing to grow its Pac-Man licensing programme, partnering with Rhinoshield to launch a fun phone accessories collection.

Bandai Namco Europe is a leading global publisher and developer of entertainment content for platforms including, but not limited to, all major video game consoles and PC. Its franchises include Little Nightmares, Park Beyond, and the upcoming Unknown 9 Awakening,  developed by the recently acquired Reflector Entertainment, based in Montreal. Bandai Namco Europe serves as the HQ of Bandai Namco Holdings for mainland Europe and ANZ, which is known for producing many of the toy and entertainment industries’ top franchises, including Pac-Man, Tamagotchi and Gundam.

Startup CircuitMess launches STEM-based Batmobile in partnership with Warner Bros Consumer Products

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Croatian startup CircuitMess has announced a licensing deal with Warner Brothers and its Kickstarter campaign for the CircuitMess Batmobile, designed to teach children aged seven and up about engineering and autonomous driving.

“The CircuitMess Batmobile is a smart robot car that drives around autonomously using AI and machine learning,” says the startup’s CEO and founder Alber Gajšak. “We’ve created this gadget in cooperation with Warner Bros, and we’re the only country in the region that has landed a global contract for a product this complex.

“I see this as a first step towards turning CircuitMess into a Croatian LEGO for STEM toys and revolutionising STEM education. My goal is to create products that will show the average consumer that learning about electronics and coding doesn’t have to be boring or complicated.”

“CircuitMess is truly inspiring,” says Francois Simonetta, Vice President at Warner Bros Consumer Products EMEA Agents. “Turning toys into elaborate STEM kits that teach both electronics and coding is a great way to encourage kids to learn STEM by doing what is most natural to them: playing. We are excited that the CircuitMess Batmobile is their next and greatest STEM kit so far.”

CircuitMess has developed numerous educational products that encourage kids and adults to create rather than just consume. This includes MAKERbuino, a DIY game console,  MAKERphone, a DIY mobile phone, and STEM Box, a STEM projects subscription. The company has delivered more than 50.000 devices to customers all around the globe since its launch in 2017.

“We love the kits that we’ve been able to create for the crowdfunding community and want to continue to offer products to them first,” says Alber. “With three successful Kickstarters that have raised more than $850k in total, we have been able to get proven interest and traction for our special kits and deliver exciting projects to people all over the world.”

The Batmobile kit is designed for anyone 7 and older and comes with complete instructions. The tasks include: learning how autonomous vehicles work, how to code a microcomputer, how computers track objects, and developing your own computer vision algorithm.

The CircuitMess Batmobile Kickstarter is available for pre-order now and will have a starting price of US $99. For more details, visit the Kickstarter page or the CircuitMess website.

 

WildBrain’s Teletubbies get ready to rave with new music album ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’

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WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, is launching brand-new original Teletubbies music content this autumn consisting of 10 digital-first music videos and a full-length album titled Ready, Steady, Go!. Targeted at preschool audiences, the album is the first music release from the Teletubbies in over 20 years and is part of a multi-tiered franchise relaunch from WildBrain leading into the Teletubbies’ 25th anniversary in 2022. The new videos and music tracks were created and produced by WildBrain Spark, the company’s kids’ and family AVOD network and digital studios.

The first four videos – “Ready, Steady, Go!”, “Peek-A-Boo”, “Silly Things” and “Explorer” – premiered in September on the official WildBrain Teletubbies Channel on YouTube. An additional video drops each Saturday until November 20.

With global distribution by Universal Music Canada and Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, the full Ready, Steady, Go! album drops on digital music streaming platforms worldwide on October 15 and will also be available on CD. Created for kids and parents to enjoy together, Ready, Steady, Go! is filled with fun songs influenced by contemporary pop and dance music – all with a playful Teletubbies twist.

To support the music videos and album launch, WildBrain is executing an extensive global marketing, PR and social media campaign that incorporates the playfulness and fun that the Teletubbies are universally known for, as well as some other recognisable faces, including UK celebrity and singer Peter Andre filling the role of the Teletubbies band manager for their return. The Teletubbies have embarked on an international tour to promote the content, with broadcast appearances in the US and UK, and WildBrain will also be partnering with global influencers during the launch period and hosting music-themed events for families in the US and UK into 2022.

As well as recording a new album, the Teletubbies have been busy recently delighting fans with a satirical OK! Magazine break-up exposé, a Pride Month charity fashion collection, a “TubbyCoin” cryptocurrency April Fools prank and a surprise New York Fashion Week take-over by Tinky Winky.

 

 

Redbox enters into multiyear distribution deal with Lionsgate

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Global content leader Lionsgate and Redbox, a leading entertainment company, today announced a multiyear distribution deal under which Lionsgate will handle distribution of Redbox Entertainment titles across home entertainment windows in addition to subscription video on demand (SVOD) licensing for select titles under the Redbox Entertainment brand.

Leveraging nearly 20 years of movie performance data, Redbox Entertainment is well positioned to identify titles and talent that will resonate with consumers.  Recently released Redbox Entertainment films include Capone (Tom Hardy), Shadow in the Cloud (Chloë Grace Moretz and Nick Robinson) and SAS: Red Notice (Sam Heughan and Ruby Rose). Redbox Entertainment expects to release 36 original movies annually including upcoming releases The Last Son (Colson Baker [aka musician Machine Gun Kelly] and Heather Graham), Bandit (Josh Duhamel and Mel Gibson) and Muti (Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser). Redbox Entertainment titles are available across all major entertainment retailers ensuring these films are enjoyed by the broadest audience possible.

“Redbox has a large slate of films coming in 2022 and beyond, and we’re excited to work with Lionsgate to identify those that are a great fit for their distribution model,” says Galen Smith, CEO of Redbox. “Ron Schwartz and his team have been terrific partners over the years, and we are excited to extend our relationship to tap into their world class distribution prowess to create value for both companies.”

The two companies are also partnering on an agreement to license films and television series from Lionsgate’s 17,000-title library to Redbox‘s fast-growing ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) and Free Ad Supported Television (FAST) services. Redbox has aggressively scaled its AVOD streaming service to include thousands of popular films and television series in the past year while also growing to more than 100 FAST Channels available on its streaming app, with plans to add more in the coming months.

“Lionsgate’s longstanding partnership with Redbox has created significant value for both our companies,” says Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate President of Worldwide Distribution, Motion Picture Group. “That collaboration has evolved into a multifaceted distribution relationship across home entertainment, SVOD and AVOD platforms that allows us to continue to diversify our content offering to our consumers.”