Cats vs. Pickles, the global collectable toy craze that has rocketed to success across the world’s toy markets in recent months, has landed its first extended original TV series, a move that is expected to ‘unlock the IP’s potential for international marketing, licensing, and additional consumer products.’
The move is part of a new alliance formed between Curiosity Ink Media and its owner Grom Social Enterprises, and Cepia LLC, who will also be eyeing ancillary publishing extensions for the toy brand this year and beyond.
In the world of Cats vs. Pickles, Cats are afraid of Pickles, but Pickles are misunderstood, they just want to be friends. The Cats vs. Pickles brand has already established vast appeal among a global audience through its range of collectable bean-filled toys, as well as its hit YouTube series of animated shorts and app game.
Details of the brand’s move into longer form, 11-minute animated content, as well as its publishing plans, were revealed this week by Cepia LLC’s founder and CEO, James Russell Hornsby, and Curisity Ink Media’s chief content officer, Russell Hicks.
The partnership represents both companies’ foray into the worlds of content distribution and publishing – offering new revenue streams for both – unlocking the potential for attendant ancillary businesses including international marketing, licensing and additional consumer products.
The alliance will develop Cats vs. Pickles into a recurring series in 11-minute installments, as well as create revenue-generating extensions beginning with published content for consumer purchase. With no dialogue, Cats vs. Pickles will benefit from having no language or cultural barriers to navigate, with ‘potential for immediate global distribution.’
Simultaneously, Curiosity and Cepia will collaborate to produce a collection of picture, board and activity books expected to hit shelves in 2022.
In the tradition of the classic cartoon, Tom & Jerry, Cats vs. Pickles tells its story without the use of dialogue as the misunderstood, dim-witted pickles – Joe Pickle, Hank Pickle, and Fitzgherkin – plot complex but doomed-to-fail schemes to get close to cats while in the pursuit of friendship.
The colorful cast of cats -including Paw-Purr-Oni, Water-meow-lon and Galacticat – are too self- absorbed to realize the pickle pursuit until it’s too late and react to the pickles with frightening alarm.
“Cats vs. Pickles has the elements of a franchise hit including a simple premise: loveable characters, endless storytelling possibilities and brand extension opportunities,” said Hicks. “Curiosity Ink Media is very excited to partner with the brilliant minds from Cepia to elevate this online sensation from cult hit to global powerhouse at a time when the world could definitely use a laugh, a smile and a message about acceptance.”
Hornsby added: “At its core, Cats vs Pickles is a love story that everyone can relate to because, at some point, we’ve all been pickles ourselves. We are thrilled to team up with the exceptional storytellers at Curiosity Ink, whose rich biographies in entertainment include cultivating powerhouse franchises like SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, to expand Cats vs. Pickles into its next nine lives.”
