Tag Archives: Children’s TV

Gigantosaurus stomps into the European dress up sector in Smiffys partnership

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Smiffys is bringing the cast of the popular children’s CGI animated series Gigantosaurus to the dress up and costumes space thanks to a new partnersip with Cyber Group Studios and the licensing agency Brand-Ward.

Characters Rocky, Bill, Tiny, and Mazu will each find themselves receiving the dress up treatment in a new range that will launch in time for World Book Day next year. The range will be distributed across Europe.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Smiffys to build on our award-winning children’s licensed costume portfolio with these adventurous characters,” said Dominique Peckett, director at Smiffys.

Bruno Danzel D’Aumont, international licensing and marketing vice president at Cyber Group Studios, said: “Smiffys is a talented company and well recognized in its market. I am proud that Gigantosaurus will be part of the range and I am looking forward to seeing children wearing the costumes of their favorite dinosaurs characters around Europe.”

The partnership was forged by the licensing agency, Brand-Ward Services who has been tapped to help grow the property’s presence across the European consumer products space.

Trudi Hayward, co-founder of Brand-Ward, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Smiffys across Europe in the dress up category, as they are an extremely dynamic company that has established distribution across Europe and we are all very excited to be working with them on Gigantosaurus costumes which will launch in time for World Book Day 2022.”

Hasbro and eOne’s new animated comedy series Ninja Express to launch on CBBC next month

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Hasbro’s global entertainment studio, eOne, has launched a new kids’ animated series to the global stage, an ‘absurd 2D and 3D mix of animated comedy’ for six to 11 year old kids, titled Ninja Express.

The series – c0-produced with Creative Conspiracy and Frogbox – follows the antics of a special delivery service run by super-powered Ninjas and is scheduled to roll out globally, premiering on CBBC in the UK, from July 1st this year.

“We are so proud to share Ninja Express with kids around the world,” said Olivier Dumont, president of eOne’s Family Brands division. “The show balances the ultimate mix of over-the-top humor with real heart and we are confident that people will fall in love with our three colorful ninjas – Aka, Kiro and Konpeki. The teams at Creative Conspiracy and Frogbox truly created something special with this show.”

A description of the new series, issued by Hasbro, asks audiences to ‘imagine a delivery service that delivers anything, anywhere, and anytime. One that not restricted by limitations of time and space, and to top things off, imagine it being run by three little Ninjas.’

Ninja Express follows Kiro – a Yellow Ninja with the ability to look through space and time, Konpeki, the Blue Ninja with the power to travel through space and time, and Aka, the Red Ninja who can temporarily reduce the size of any object by inhaling its mass.

“We’re really excited to bring Ninja Express to audiences everywhere,” said Peter Decraene, partner at Creative Conspiracy. “The show was really fun to create and produce. We are thankful for having such amazing broadcasters on board and are very happy that kids all over the world will now get to know our little ninjas and join them on adventures as they travel through space and time.”

Ninja Express is set to premiere on WarnerMedia’s Boomerang (EMEA, APAC, LATAM) and Ketnet (Belgium) from July 1st onwards. It will air on CBBC in the UK from July 3rd this year, as well as on Gulli in France, and Huace in China later in the year.

Moonbug and Jazwares launch Squishmallows-inspired animated YouTube series Squishville

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Jazwares and its Kellytoy subsidiary are expanding the world of Squishmallows with the launch of a new animated YouTube series Squishville, developed in partnership with Moonbug Entertainment.

The original content, produced by the award-winning global entertainment company behind CoComelon, will kick off with the launch of its first episode on June 26th, with new episodes released every Saturday through to October this year.

This new development for the franchise follows hot on the heels of the retail debut of Squishville, a line of Squishmallows-inspired collectable plush and soft fabric play-sets and accessories. The range arrived in stores earlier this year.

Since launching in 2017, more than 86 million Squishmallows have been sold with the brand expecting to reach its 100 million milestone in the next couple of months. The debut of Squishville comes at a time when the popularity of Squishmallows is at an all-time high, having exploded into a TikTok toy sensation with more than 2.8 billion organic video views.

Squishville will follow the adventures of characters Fifi, Lola, Cam, and Winston as they take on Squishville with a few of their friends like Jeanna, Sharie, Leonard, and Hans.

“The launch of Squishville speaks volumes to the growth in popularity Squishmallows has had  over the last year,” said Laura Zebersky, president of Jazwares. “With original animated content, fans can now engage with the Squishmallows Squad and experience their adorable, colorful personalities like never before.”

Global toy craze Cats vs. Pickles lands first longer form animated series in Cepia LLC partnership

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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.”

Entertainment One’s PJ Masks to make season six return with global launch on Disney Junior

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Hasbro’s global entertainment studio, Entertainment One will see its popular preschool series, PJ Masks return for a sixth season as it launches globally on Disney Junior in 2023.

Season six will see the superhero trio Catboy, Owlette, and Gekko make their return for ‘their greatest adventures yet,’ as they encounter all new villains in the city, a new planet in outer space, and the discovery of a new frozen wilderness.

“Our audiences can’t get enough of Catboy, Owlette and Gekko, and we’re excited to introduce them to even more friends in season six,” said Olivier Dumont, president of family brands at eOne. “Disney Junior has long been a key global partner and supporter of the series and we’re so happy to continue our relationship with them and take the brand to new heights.”

 PJ Masks has become a global phenomenon since its launch on Disney Junior in 2015 as a leading storyteller for preschoolers across the globe, broadcast in over 180 territories worldwide across several FTA and VOD platforms. The heroes have a digital footprint including 17 billion lifetime views globally on YouTube and 216 million global music streams as well as 138 million lifetime app downloads.

The brand is also maximized through a multitude of consumer products programmes from apparel and role play, to publishing and location-based entertainment, firmly established in 85 markets worldwide – with the sixth season being brought to life at retail with a new full line of toys from Hasbro from 2023.

PJ MASKS Season Six will launch with 52 x 11-minute episodes, including three super feature-length 44-minute episodes and six half-hour specials that tap into the exciting new themes that preschoolers will love.

Animaccord partners with Havaianas to launch Masha and the Bear flip flops to global markets

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Animaccord, the studio behind the global hit animated series, Masha and the Bear has partnered with Alpargatas, the parent company of the Brazilian fashion brand Havaianas to launch a new, officially licensed collection of flip flops.

The first licensed baby Havaianas hit the market in early Q1 this year, rolling out to the Asia Pacific region, with further distribution to Europe, Latin America, and other territories in the second quarter of the year. The collection will be available both online and in selected stores across the markets.

Maria Fernanda Albuquerque, Havaianas global communication director, said: “Kids licenses are a great opportunity for Havaianas to be connected with a younger target. Now, with Masha and the Bear in our portolio, we expect to go even further in building our strenght amongst this target.”

Manaf Hassan, sales director at Animaccord, EMEA and Americas, added: “We are very excited about this partnership. Being loyal to the brand and owning several pairs of Havaianas flip flops, just like most of us do, makes this partnership special for myself as well. This success story is just another proof that Masha and the Bear is a great match for iconic fashion brands, alike Havaianas.”

Bluey tops the ratings on CBeebies and iPlayer during first month on its UK free to air home

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Bluey has been named the top rating programme on CBeebies in April, the same month that the popular preschool series launched to its free to air home in the UK.

The series also become the number one show in its time slot for 0 to six year old children, and its episodes constitute the top five most requested CBeebies episodes on the BBC iPlayer. So far throughout May, Bluey represents nine of the top ten most requested episodes on CBeebies.

Henrietta Hurford-Jones, executive producer for Bluey and director of children’s content partnerships at BBC  Studios, said: “Working with Ludo and ABC on Bluey is a joy and a privilege, and seeing audiences worldwide respond so positively to the warmth, humour and authenticity of the show is immensely rewarding. The degree to which the CBeebies audience has now embraced Bluey too is equally incredible.”

Bluey has been winning the hearts of kids and parents around the world since it first launched in Australia in October 2018, and the show is fast becoming a global hit. In its home market, Bluey was the number one children’s programme on metro broadcast television in 2020 and is the number one series ever on ABC iview with over 480 million views across series one and two.

In addition to winning over audiences worldwide, Bluey has scooped up multiple awards, such as the  International Emmy Kids Award in the prestigious Preschool category last year. The accolades have continued into 2021, with Bluey winning four Kidscreen Awards in February.

Multi-award winner Bluey follows a six year-old Blue Heeler dog who loves to play and turns everyday family life into extraordinary adventures. Bluey is produced by the multi-Emmy award-winning Ludo Studio for ABC Kids Australia and is co-commissioned by ABC Children’s and BBC Studios.

Coolabi’s Clangers lands on ten VOD channels across China in Fantawild partnership

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Coolabi’s award-winning preschool series, Clangers, is building its international presence having secured a major new broadcast partnership with the Chinese animation leader, Fantawild. Under the deal, the series will now be made available across all of China’s major VOD channels, including iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku.

The series will also be accessible on platforms such as the mobile video service NewTV, and the world’s largest IPTV operator, BEstTV. Other Chinese VOD platforms include GITV, Sino Media, and Prosee.

A total of 78 episodes from series one and two of the award-winning stop motion animation are being uploaded across 19 days, following the launch on May 15th. New episodes will air daily leading up to Children’s Day on June 1st this year. With an estimated potential audience of 700 million people across China, the show will be promoted across all of the platforms, with a supporting promotional push on social media platforms WeChat, Weibo and TikTok.

Coolabi began its partnership with Fantawild back in 2019, since which Fantawild has also engaged with a number of key licensees to introduce Clangers products to the Chinese market throughout the year.

Coolabi Group CEO, Jeremy Banks said: “We are delighted that Fantawild has been successful in placing Clangers across all of the major VOD channels in China, and look forward to introducing our lovable ‘space mice family’ to children across China following the launch on 15th May.”

Fantawild Animation Inc. is recognised as the most influential animation studio in China, specialising in the whole industrial chain from creation and production to global marketing, it has created China’s most popular cartoon Boonie Bears, and its merchandise sales reach over $467 million.

Daisy Shang, executive president of Fantawild Holdings Inc, said: “After Clangers’ long-running success in the UK and wide distribution in other parts of the world, we are very excited to share this beloved brand with Chinese audiences. Welcome to the Fantawild family and welcome to China.”

Ben Li, Deputy General Manager of Fantawild Animation Inc, said: “We are so grateful to now officially have Clangers as part of our team. The launch day on the 15th May was such an exciting moment for us. We can’t wait to see more and more of our audience grow to love Clangers as much as we do here at Fantawild.”

Coolabi Group is an independent international media group and rights owner specialising in the creation, development and brand management of high quality children’s and family intellectual property rights. The company owns the rights to over 200 book series and 20 TV series. Its shows have aired in more than 140 territories on channels including ABC, Cartoon Network, CBeebies, CBBC, Disney, Netflix, and Nickelodeon.

Mediatoon Licensing taps Studio 100 Media for Benelux and Eastern European licensing programmes

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Studio 100 Media has embarked on a new partnership with Mediatoon Licensing to build out a licensing programme for some of the best-loved IP from the Mediatoon portfolio across German speaking territories, Benelux, Eastern Europe, and Nordics.

The agreement encompasses series already popular on the international scene, including Bobby & Bill, Little Furry, Martin Morning, Ernest & Rebecca, and The Fox and the Badger Family. All of which currently enjoy primetime slots on KiKA, ZDF, and on Benelux TV channels, as well as on Amazon, YouTube, and Kixi.

Those properties enable Studio 100 Media to establish a broad program of content-driven products. But also in other categories, new approaches to develop exciting products are conceived and implemented on the basis of market experience.

In addition, Studio 100 Media’s international licensing team will also drive the licensing of Mediatoon’s popular classics like Lucky Luke and Yakari in Benelux, Poland and the Nordics to extend their international presence.

 “We are really proud to start a new collaboration with Studio 100 Benelux and Studio 100 Media, our new licensing agents in GSA, Northern and Eastern Europe,” said Jérôme Leclercq, general manager of Mediatoon Licensing.  

“Mediatoon Licensing’s portfolio fits perfectly with Studio 100’s catalogue, the professionalism and the licensing strategy of Studio 100 definitely convinced us to choose them as partners to develop our properties in these territories.”

Genius Brands International launches Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten on Kartoon Channel

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Genius Brands International has detailed the official launch of Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, streaming exclusively on Kartoon Channel and premiering with a two-episode double feature later this month.

One of the last creations from the mind of the late Stan Lee, the series stars the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also serves as executive producer on the series. The action-adventure comedy series is geared towards kids and families and focuses on six children who are learning to master their super skills.

“This is a deeply personal project for me and I am so pumped to introduce it to the world,” said Schwarzenegger. “Not only has it allowed me to bring to life the work of the fantastic Stan Lee, but the series also touches on subjects I’ve spent my whole life working on, from health and fitness tips and anti-bullying messages, to inclusivity and diversity.

“It brings me great joy to share that messaging with kids in a way that is vibrant, dynamic, and most important – fun. It’s an honour to have worked with Stan Lee and I know he would be proud of the message we’re delivering.”

 It all began five years ago when Arnold Armstrong faced off in a final fight against his nemesis, the evil Dr. Superior, that left him powerless. Little did anyone know that during the fight, super-energy particles rained down on a group of unsuspecting toddlers. Now, those toddlers are kindergarten students at Greenville Elementary School who, with the help of Arnold Armstrong, must learn to control their powers as they go on super adventures.

Arnold Armstrong’s mission is to train these kids to use their super-powers safely and without wrecking the school or revealing their identities.

The series includes 26 half-hour long episodes that begins with a two-episode double feature and will be rolled out on a weekly basis thereafter.