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Nickelodeon UK partners with The Luna Cinema for immersive kids’ event

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Nickelodeon UK has partnered with the market’s leading producer of open-air cinema events, The Luna Cinema, for the launch of The Nickelodeon Experience. The brand-new fully immersive experience, which builds upon a successful five-year collaboration with Comedy Central for its award-winning FriendsFest, will launch in spring 2022, before subsequently touring the UK and Ireland.

With two distinct areas, the Nick Jr. Experience and the Nickelodeon Studio Tour, The Nickelodeon Experience will include multi-sensory interactive zones where guests can step into the world of their favourite Nickelodeon TV shows, taking immersive kids’ events to a whole new level.

The Nick Jr. Experience will cater to the under-sevens, transporting young PAW Patrol fans to Adventure Bay, where they will meet Chase and Marshall, before going on their own mission to discover a PAW Patrol soft play zone. The Nick Jr. Experience will also include an arts and crafts station, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underground lair, complete with a tunnel maze as well as a water zone inspired by the world of Nick Jr.’s latest animation success Santiago of the Seas,where fans will be able to climb aboard a pirate ship and participate in water play including magnetic fishing and boat races.

For children aged seven and over, The Nickelodeon Studio Tour will be a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. The tour will begin at The Thundermans’ ‘School for Superheroes’, where Nickelodeon star Kira Kosarin will provide lessons on how to acquire superpowers, before entering Henry Danger’s ‘Cave’ in which visitors will have to navigate through a maze full of hidden secrets. Afterwards, children will then have to work together as a team to crack the code and find the key to get out of the Hunter Street ‘Escape Room’. Finally, guests will experience for themselves the showbiz life of a Nickelodeon star by walking up the famous orange carpets before joining the after-party and enjoying Nickelodeon’s iconic ‘slime time’.

Alongside the Nick Jr. Experience and the Nickelodeon Studio Tour, children and their parents will be able to lounge at SpongeBob SquarePants’ ‘Bikini Bottom Beach’ while enjoying food and drinks from themed stalls and visiting the Nickelodeon store. Bespoke activation areas and sponsorship opportunities will be made available to brand partners, both directly and via VCNI’s UK Saleshouse Sky Media.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Luna Cinema to bring our hugely popular Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows to life through this uniquely immersive experience,” says Virginia Monaghan, VP, Events and Experiences, ViacomCBS UK. “This is a chance for children to make new memories with friends, in a safe and fun setting, and with their favourite characters.”

George Wood, Managing Director, The Luna Cinema adds: “For a number of years, we’ve wanted to develop a truly interactive experience that allowed kids to immerse themselves in the worlds of their favourite TV shows, just as we do with Friends’fans at FriendsFest and film lovers with our Luna Cinema screenings. To have such an iconic catalogue of shows, including global brands like PAW Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants, under the Nickelodeon umbrella is a treasure trove of content to explore and bring to life.”

Tickets for The Nickelodeon Experience will go on sale in November and fans can sign up to the presale here to secure their preferred time slot.

 

 

Nickelodeon UK partners with The Luna Cinema for immersive kids’ event

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Nickelodeon UK has partnered with the market’s leading producer of open-air cinema events, The Luna Cinema, for the launch of The Nickelodeon Experience. The brand-new fully immersive experience, which builds upon a successful five-year collaboration with Comedy Central for its award-winning FriendsFest, will launch in spring 2022, before subsequently touring the UK and Ireland.

With two distinct areas, the Nick Jr. Experience and the Nickelodeon Studio Tour, The Nickelodeon Experience will include multi-sensory interactive zones where guests can step into the world of their favourite Nickelodeon TV shows, taking immersive kids’ events to a whole new level.

The Nick Jr. Experience will cater to the under-sevens, transporting young PAW Patrol fans to Adventure Bay, where they will meet Chase and Marshall, before going on their own mission to discover a PAW Patrol soft play zone. The Nick Jr. Experience will also include an arts and crafts station, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underground lair, complete with a tunnel maze as well as a water zone inspired by the world of Nick Jr.’s latest animation success Santiago of the Seas,where fans will be able to climb aboard a pirate ship and participate in water play including magnetic fishing and boat races.

For children aged seven and over, The Nickelodeon Studio Tour will be a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. The tour will begin at The Thundermans’ ‘School for Superheroes’, where Nickelodeon star Kira Kosarin will provide lessons on how to acquire superpowers, before entering Henry Danger’s ‘Cave’ in which visitors will have to navigate through a maze full of hidden secrets. Afterwards, children will then have to work together as a team to crack the code and find the key to get out of the Hunter Street ‘Escape Room’. Finally, guests will experience for themselves the showbiz life of a Nickelodeon star by walking up the famous orange carpets before joining the after-party and enjoying Nickelodeon’s iconic ‘slime time’.

Alongside the Nick Jr. Experience and the Nickelodeon Studio Tour, children and their parents will be able to lounge at SpongeBob SquarePants’ ‘Bikini Bottom Beach’ while enjoying food and drinks from themed stalls and visiting the Nickelodeon store. Bespoke activation areas and sponsorship opportunities will be made available to brand partners, both directly and via VCNI’s UK Saleshouse Sky Media.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Luna Cinema to bring our hugely popular Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows to life through this uniquely immersive experience,” says Virginia Monaghan, VP, Events and Experiences, ViacomCBS UK. “This is a chance for children to make new memories with friends, in a safe and fun setting, and with their favourite characters.”

George Wood, Managing Director, The Luna Cinema adds: “For a number of years, we’ve wanted to develop a truly interactive experience that allowed kids to immerse themselves in the worlds of their favourite TV shows, just as we do with Friends’fans at FriendsFest and film lovers with our Luna Cinema screenings. To have such an iconic catalogue of shows, including global brands like PAW Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants, under the Nickelodeon umbrella is a treasure trove of content to explore and bring to life.”

Tickets for The Nickelodeon Experience will go on sale in November and fans can sign up to the presale here to secure their preferred time slot.

 

 

The Clangers announce magical musical plans

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International rights owner Coolabi Group and its BAFTA award winning kids show, Clangers, are celebrating a host of musical activations for the much-loved brand including partnerships with Nordoff Robbins, Amazon (for the brand-new Clangers Talk Kids+ Edition), a licensing deal with tonies and an official Clangers album release with Grammy Award winning composer, John du Prez.

Coolabi Group has announced that Clangers will be partnering once again with music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins for a brand new interactive three part series of ‘On Stage at Home Live’.

Launching on Monday 11 October at 10am with its first session followed by two more morning sessions on 18 October and 25 October, the fun and free musical Zoom sessions for preschool children will be hosted by CBeebies presenter and performer Cat Sandion and Nordoff Robbins music therapist Emily Grimes. They will feature dancing from the Clangers and a specially created kindness song for viewers to sing, dance and learn important life skills on how to be kind.

In addition, a new version of Clangers Talk Kids+ Edition, a voice-activated Alexa Skill for Amazon, is now available. Clangers Talk originally launched in 2019 and quickly became one of Alexa’s most popular kids’ skills on the device. It allows children to communicate with Clangers, who respond with whistles and songs, and now includes popular nursery rhymes and Clangers audio stories.

The brand new Clangers figurine from audio box company tonies is now available, with six magical stories voiced by Clangers narrator, Sir Michael Palin. The Clangers tonie is available from selected toy retailers, bookshops and the tonies website.

‘The Clangers Album’ by award winning composer John Du Prez, featuring the magical sounds of the Little Blue Planet, has been released on the Ocean Music label, and is available to buy in all high street and online music shops. John Du Prez has produced 18 magical tracks on the 12” LP version, available in a choice of pink and blue vinyl, and an extra four bonus tracks for the CD and digital download.

Jeremy Banks, CEO of Coolabi Group said: “We are absolutely over the moon to be announcing these brand new Clangers partnerships and product releases which celebrate all the fantastic music and sounds that make Clangers so magical and unique.“

Pocket.watch teams up with YouTube superstars Toys and Colors for global franchise ‘Kaleidoscope City’

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Family entertainment company pocket.watch, which specializes in extending kids and family YouTube stars and characters into global franchises like the mega-hit Ryan’s World, has slated spring 2022 for the launch of its latest project.

Kaleidoscope City will be based off Toys and Colors, the popular YouTube channel which amasses 1.5 billion views per month. The ensemble Asian-American cast features young friends Wendy, Alex, Emma, Jannie and Andrew, in addition to a host of Aunties and Uncles familiar to the channel’s massive audience.

Kaleidoscope City will come to life in an original live action/animated series, consumer products, gaming, podcasts, live events, and much more. The City is a magical world of colour where kids learn to see things from a new perspective and learn about diversity, varied points of view, conflict management and empathy.

“We are thrilled to partner with the incredible ensemble of Toys and Colors and we are so excited to introduce Kaleidoscope City as our next global kids and family franchise. This partnership reinforces our mission to bring kids more of what they love and to ensure that kids around the world see themselves in pocket.watch,” says Kerry Tucker, Chief Marketing and Franchise Officer of pocket.watch. “Our success in bringing franchise economics to the world’s most popular YouTube creators and produce, license and distribute original IP to every consumer touchpoint gives us the distinct opportunity to reach diverse audiences across the globe. Toys and Colors is a perfect addition to the pocket.watch family.”

Production is underway on an original hybrid live action/animation series created by pocket.watch Chief Content Officer, Albie Hecht, entitled “Toys and Colors in Kaleidoscope City”, featuring the Toys and Colors ensemble as live action characters against virtual photorealistic backgrounds combined with MOCAP CG animated characters – all produced in real time in the Unreal Game Engine. The franchise also introduces a cast of new animated characters who run various world bazaar shops and help the Toys and Colors crew navigate Kaleidoscope City. Baby Rainbow, Matcha, Dax and Chi Chi all have unique perspectives and personas and will serve as the inspiration for gaming, consumer products, podcasts, live events and more.

“We are so excited to join pocket.watch as their partners in becoming the next big global franchise for kids and families,” says Tim Nguyen of Toys and Colors. “After seeing what pocket.watch has done with brands like Ryan’s World and Love, Diana, and hearing about their incredible plans for Kaleidoscope City, we can’t wait to bring this new franchise to our fans all over the world.”

 

 

Touchland teams up with Disney for pop art inspired collaboration

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Cult favourite hand sanitiser brand Touchland has partnered with Disney for a Mickey Mouse-themed four-piece limited edition collection.

The whimsical new range features four of Touchland’s Power Mist Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer scents – Aloe You, Pure Lavender, Citrus Grove and Unscented – with each Power Mist featuring a custom-designed Mickey Mouse wallpaper sticker that appears through the bottle. The quad comes in a customised gift box that features a multi-coloured pop art carton with centre sliding panels,

“We’ve married pop art with pop culture for a truly magical collection,” says Andrea Lisbona, founder and CEO of Touchland. “Our team thoughtfully designed each bottle and outer package, making it the perfect gift or collectible for Disney lovers. Our goal was to create a colourful, museum-worthy work of art!”

The limited-edition collection features Touchland’s award-winning Power Mist Moisturizing Hand Sanitizers, which are created with a pulveriser spray system that ensures the fast-evaporating formula is evenly distributed across your hands without leaving sticky residue. The fan favourite sanitiser also contains nourishing ingredients such as aloe vera and essential oils to keep hands soft, smooth and moisturised.

 “We are beyond thrilled that Touchland’s first collab is with Mickey Mouse, a globally recognized icon, and we are so grateful to the team at Disney for helping to bring this masterpiece to life,” says Lisbona.

Touchland has been making waves throughout the beauty industry since 2018, quickly rising in popularity through their social media following and celebrity fan base, and the brand and its products regularly go viral on Instagram and TikTok. All Touchland products are vegan and cruelty free, as well as free of triclosan, parabens and other harmful ingredients.

The Disney Power Mist collection is available now at Touchland.com, and online and in-store at Neiman Marcus, priced at $45 USD.

Just 4 days left to enter the Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition at BLE

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There are just four days left for designers, illustrators, animators and inventors to enter this year’s Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition at Brand Licensing Europe. It’s an incredible opportunity to get a foot in the door of the $292 billion global licensing industry.

There are three award categories available to enter this year:

  • Character & Animation
  • Brand & Design
  • Product Design using Aardman Animations’ Morph as inspiration

The competition is totally free to enter, and the three winners will receive promotional space at Brand Licensing Europe 2022, valuable advice from industry experts, and annual membership of trade association Licensing International and sustainability education hub Products of Change.

Entries close on 11 October.

Axel Arigato debuts limited-edition capsule collection celebrating Pokémon’s 25th anniversary

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To mark its quarter-century, Pokémon has joined forces with Swedish label Axel Arigato for a nostalgic, streetwear-inspired capsule collection with a contemporary twist.

Pokémon has become one of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world since it first took the world by storm in 1996, and now Axel Arigato is venturing into the ​​Pokémon universe by releasing a limited-edition capsule collection online today and in select standalone stores. The collection features some of the franchise’s most iconic Pokémon – Gengar, Charizard, Meowth and Pikachu – across both ready-to-wear and sneakers.

Drawing inspiration from the passion of Pokémon’s diverse fanbase, the accompanying promotional campaign captures the loyalty of the community, placing the members, and their archival collections, front and centre. Shot in New York, the Axel Arigato x Pokémon capsule is brought to life through the real-life portrayal of Pokémon fans and their collections.

The ready-to-wear collection blends iconic Pokémon with the contemporary Axel Arigato branding. Through a playfulness in logo application as well as a nod to the London Flagship store, the range marries retro iconography with modern silhouettes and tailoring.

The footwear offering consists of The Clean 90 Triple – a minimalist silhouette detailed with contrasting elements – and the Genesis Vintage Runner, a retro-inspired sneaker set on a lightweight modern streamlined sole which has become a bestseller.

Organic cotton hoodies and t-shirts in the brand’s seasonless colour palette of black, Belgian block and beige are available as well as a denim jacket and jean set, inspired by the outfit worn by Pikachu’s best friend, Ash Ketchum. The collection is limited and only available at Axel Arigato stores in London, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg, and online at axelarigato.com.

Axel Arigato debuts limited-edition capsule collection celebrating Pokémon’s 25th anniversary

Posted on by

To mark its quarter-century, Pokémon has joined forces with Swedish label Axel Arigato for a nostalgic, streetwear-inspired capsule collection with a contemporary twist.

Pokémon has become one of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world since it first took the world by storm in 1996, and now Axel Arigato is venturing into the ​​Pokémon universe by releasing a limited-edition capsule collection online today and in select standalone stores. The collection features some of the franchise’s most iconic Pokémon – Gengar, Charizard, Meowth and Pikachu – across both ready-to-wear and sneakers.

Drawing inspiration from the passion of Pokémon’s diverse fanbase, the accompanying promotional campaign captures the loyalty of the community, placing the members, and their archival collections, front and centre. Shot in New York, the Axel Arigato x Pokémon capsule is brought to life through the real-life portrayal of Pokémon fans and their collections.

The ready-to-wear collection blends iconic Pokémon with the contemporary Axel Arigato branding. Through a playfulness in logo application as well as a nod to the London Flagship store, the range marries retro iconography with modern silhouettes and tailoring.

The footwear offering consists of The Clean 90 Triple – a minimalist silhouette detailed with contrasting elements – and the Genesis Vintage Runner, a retro-inspired sneaker set on a lightweight modern streamlined sole which has become a bestseller.

Organic cotton hoodies and t-shirts in the brand’s seasonless colour palette of black, Belgian block and beige are available as well as a denim jacket and jean set, inspired by the outfit worn by Pikachu’s best friend, Ash Ketchum. The collection is limited and only available at Axel Arigato stores in London, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg, and online at axelarigato.com.

Toonz Media Group and GuardianLink launch world’s first fully integrated NFT design lab

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Global animation major Toonz Media Group and GuardianLink are jointly launching the world’s first Integrated NFT design lab specialising in state-of-the-art Non Fungible Tokens for custom-made digital assets.

The award-winning Toonz studio, with a legacy of more than two decades and over 100 original animation IPs to its credit, is venturing into the NFT space with a first-of-its-kind NFT design lab. The Toonz NFTLabs will provide integrated services for artists, creators, collectors, athletes and brands to create curated digital assets and NFTs representing them.

Non Fungible Tokens or NFTs are blockchain-based digital certificates that certify that the digital asset tied to it is unique and not interchangeable. NFTs can represent photos, videos, audio, or any type of digital file. They are now widely used to purchase and validate ownership of digital artwork, collectibles, in-game assets, memes, and so on. Although they have been around since 2012, NFTs shot to popularity in early 2021 with the staggering auction sales of assets such as artist Beeple’s digital artwork ‘Everydays – The First 5000 Days’ (sold for $69m), NBA Top Shot video clip of LeBron James (sold for $208,000) and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet (sold for $2.5m). The NFT technology is also empowering artists and creators by eliminating middlemen, providing direct access to buyers and fans, and more importantly through resale royalties trickling back to the artist.

“The emergence of NFTs is possibly the biggest disruption that has happened in the art world in recent history, completely changing the way we perceive, own, and consume art,” says said P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Media Group. “Toonz NFTLabs will be a game-changer in this space, being the first-ever and the largest NFT service provider for curated digital assets.

“The NFT marketplace provides us with the unique opportunity to generate traction for animation IPs even before they are produced or launched in the market. It provides a whole new world of opportunity for funding projects, a model that even independent creators and brands can adopt. We want to help those creators and brands by producing custom-made NFT assets for them and launching them in the NFT marketplace. We are extremely happy to have the right technology partner for this venture in Guardian Link, who have already launched over 45 NFT marketplaces on their own.”

Singapore-based GuardianLink, which specialises in Guardian Branded MarketPlace product and Legitimacy Protocol for NFTs, has extensive experience in the NFT space and with over 45 marketplaces launched in 30 countries. With offices in India, Japan, and Singapore, the company houses 350 NFT concept creators and blockchain technologists, teamed with product specialists.

“NFT is the new medium of digital assets with economic underpinnings and its acceptance has proved to be a true testament to the decentralized economy at scale,” says Keyur Patel, Chairman and Co-Founder , GuardianLink.io. “This is the first time in history any creator, any athlete, or any known or unknown brand can make a dent and indulge in enormous monetisation of their own rarity, creativity and uniqueness. Gaming, Media, Release and many other segments of the industry are touched by NFT and it is just the beginning of the revolution. With the Guardian platform supporting both Fiat and Crypto payments globally, we feel this will push NFT and acceptance will be much wider among audiences globally.”

Toonz NFTLabs in partnership with GuardianLink will specialise in both the creative and technological aspects of NFT generation, including conceptualisation, development, character design, modelling and asset designs, along with smart contract generation for NFTs. With over 1,000 designers and technologists from Europe and Asia, the NFT lab will offer services such as Creative Storyboarding & Conceptualization, 2D Character Design & Digital Asset Development with Smart Contract Attributes, 3D Design & Modelling, Gamification, Smart Contract Auto Generation, Metaverse Immersion Model, and Incubation Lab for Emerging Artists. The lab will also offer top-tier IP partnerships for television properties, movie properties, games and metaverses.

Developed using some of the most advanced technologies, such as the Isomorphic NFT Framework, these NFTs will be designed and generated randomly using smart contracts on Ethereum, Polygon or Solano blockchains. GuardianLink will also provide a branded marketplace and launch pads for creators, brands, and athletes/celebrities who want to launch their own independent NFT destinations for auctions and trades integrated with third party exchanges.

 

 

Portfolio Entertainment finds a home for ‘Where Oliver Fits’ at Discovery Kids

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Global sales secured across kids and family slate including Hero Elementary, Do You Know? and The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That!

Leading media company Portfolio Entertainment has secured a host of international deals across its slate of acclaimed series including the first sale of its brand-new half hour family Christmas special Where Oliver Fits: A Christmas Eve Tale and series of shorts Where Oliver Fits (9 x 2.5’) to Discovery Kids Latin America.

Portfolio’s action-packed animated series Hero Elementary (40 x 30’) will be heading to SIC for Portugal and CTC for Russia. CTC has also renewed its commitment for seasons one, two and three of hit 2D animated series The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That! (160 x 11’) and live action preschool series Do You Know? (50 x 15’) for season one and two as well as inking a new deal for season four (25 x 15’). Season five of the popular edutainment series Do You Know? (18 x 15’) has been secured for TVB for Hong Kong.

“We can’t wait for kids around the world to meet Oliver,” says Donnie MacIntyre, Portfolio’s VP of Sales & Business Development. “His adventurous spirit and can-do attitude as he searches for his place in the world will provide young audiences with all the excitement and entertainment they are looking for this holiday season.”

In partnership with the CMF/SRF Digital Animated Series Program and Corus Entertainment’s Treehouse TV, Portfolio Entertainment’s Where Oliver Fits: A Christmas Eve Tale, and accompanying series of shorts, is based on the hit Canadian children’s book Where Oliver Fits by Cale Atkinson. The heartfelt animated comedy special and series explore the challenges of not knowing where you fit in with your friends, and how to be yourself.

Hero Elementary is produced by Portfolio and Twin Cities PBS for PBS Kids and is a fun-filled education driven series aimed at kids aged 4–7 following the pupils of the titular institution – a place where youngsters with superpowers learn how to use their unique gifts.

Produced by Portfolio Entertainment and Collingwood O’Hare Productions, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Random House Children’s Entertainment, Treehouse, and PBS Kids, The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That! is based on Random House’s best-selling Beginner Book collection, “The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library.” The award-winning series has been sold to broadcasters and digital platforms in over 170 markets worldwide.

Do You Know? is produced by 7 Wonder and features YouTube sensation and technology vlogger Maddie Moate as she makes the leap from the Internet to TV. The fresh, high-energy series aimed at ages 4–7 answers some of the world’s most pressing questions and explores everyday objects and familiar places in a kid-friendly way, while parents also pick up some intriguing watercooler facts.