Hasbro’s global content studio, Entertainment One, has outlined a new content plan for Peppa Pig, confirming that 104 new episodes have been given the go ahead for production.
The plans will ensure that a pipeline of fresh content of the popular pre-school IP will be in place through to 2027. The new epsidoe roll-out will bring the total number of Peppa Pig episodes to 485.
Animation studio Astley Baker Davies (ABD), the original creators of Peppa Pig, will work closely with eOne to transition creative production duties to the award-winning British animation studio Karrot, with Andrea Tran at the helm as director. The animation style, music and voice talent will remain unchanged.
“As demand for Peppa Pig remains as strong now as it’s ever been, we couldn’t be more excited to announce that additional new episodes are underway. In creating the global evergreen preschool series, Astley Baker Davies has achieved a rare, once in a generation success story,” said Rebecca Harvey, EVP global brand and marketing at eOne Family and Brands.
“The show’s enduring popularity is a tribute to their skill as storytellers and their dedication to the characters and their craft. We wish them every success as they embark on their next adventure.”
“We remain committed to producing fresh Peppa Pig content that will continue to resonate with each new generation and that will underpin the long-term future of the property. We are, therefore, delighted to welcome award-winning British animation studio, Karrot, who will honour all the elements of the show that make it beloved of families around the world.”
Neville Astley, Mark Baker, and Phil Davies of Astley Baker Davies, said: “Peppa Pig has been a huge part of our lives. It’s a source of great pride that it’s given joy to so many children for so many years.”
“Peppa will always be close to our hearts and we couldn’t be more pleased to be passing the torch to the extraordinarily talented team of artists at Karrot who will continue to deliver our adored Peppa to the world for many years to come.”
Key talent from ABD have been tapped to join Karrot, maintaining continuity and bringing valuable knowledge and experience of making the show over many years. This includes Phill Hall who joins as head writer, having co-written numerous episodes of Peppa Pig since 2007.
Founded in 2008, Karrot is a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning studio that has built an industry reputation and is best known for creating charming British animated series’ including Sarah & Duck.
Jamie Badminton, series producer at Karrot, said: “Peppa Pig has a charm and simplicity that is timeless and universal. It’s a giant honour to be continuing the legacy that Astley Baker Davies has created. We will remain faithful to their vision and look forward to being part of Peppa Pig’s future, enduring success.”
eOne continues to drive growth for Peppa Pig with an investment in new content, fresh CP lines and wide-reaching brand marketing plans. Series nine kicks off this Spring with the new four-part US special which sees Peppa and family take a road trip around America followed by a further 22 new episodes that will roll out globally throughout 2021.
Inspired by these new episodes, the theme of ‘Peppa Adventures’ will extend into the exciting retail debut of the first global toy line from Hasbro.
The brand’s digital footprint also continues to expand this year with the release of a second music album in July, new content on the official YouTube channel where Peppa Pig was ranked the number one most streamed kids show of any age in 2020 and new Audio Stories for families to enjoy on-the-go.
In the UK, a partnership between Peppa Pig and Team GB will leverage excitement around the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. More recently, plans for a brand new Peppa Pig theme park in Florida’s Legoland have just been announced to squeals of delight and the attraction is set to open its doors in 2022.
The baby and mother specialist, Etta Loves has teamed with the Keith Haring Foundation to create a new range of sensory baby products that makes use of the artist’s much-loved designs and embodying Haring’s own sentiments that ‘art is for everyone.’
The new range brings the art of Haring to a new generation, combining the iconic prints with the science that is at the heart of the Etta Loves product range. A popular artists and activist, Haring was part of the New York art scene during the 1980s. Since then, his classic colourful figures have become an iconic symbol in popular culture.
The new Etta Loves x Keith Haring collection of baby essentials combines his art with the expertise that Etta Loves’ resident NHS orthoptist – an expert in children’s vision who consults with the design team – to bring a range that supports babies’ visual and cognitive development.
The science of Etta Loves aims to ensure that babies are stimulated and mesmerised, giving parents moments of calm throughout the day.
The collection comprises two designs: Baby and Brazil. Baby features Haring’s iconic crawling babies in high contrast black and white. Etta Loves has scaled the design to support babies’ visual and cognitive developments from birth to around four months. Meanwhile, Brazil is a brightly coloured version of Haring’s 1989 artwork of the same name, recoloured and scaled to support babies from five months to around one year old.
The collection includes Etta Loves favourites including its reversible playmat, the best-selling sensory strip, extra large muslins, comforters, a teether, and two new products.
The Haring Foundation, said: “The Haring Studio is excited to partner with innovative brand Etta Loves, bringing Haring’s core message of Art is for everybody to a new generation. Haring’s Iconic and bold artwork, with minimal use of lines make the perfect patterns for these sensory designs.”
Jen Fuller, founder of Etta Loves, added: “Keith Haring famously said that “Art is for everyone” so to be able to introduce the radiant joy of his work to a new generation is an honour.
“This unique range truly does collide art with science in the most magical of ways, to support babies with their development whilst giving parents some well needed and very stylish calm in the everyday.”
The park is pretty empty when Barry Hughes, managing director of Golden Bear, logs on to catch up with Australian colleague at 7am. An early start to marry-up the time zones means that they have the place to themselves, before the next slew of visitors start populating their allocated slots.
With just a few clicks, Hughes can navigate the park’s greenery, cross the river, and showcase an entire portfolio of Hey Duggee toys in a room buried in a bristling bush. It all sounds a bit Mary Poppins, doesn’t it? It’s not; it’s simply what Toy Fair season looks like in the midst of the 2021 pandemic.
This is Golden Bear’s virtual toy fair platform, a digitally constructed journey through a colourful park area, populated with break-out rooms featuring the firm’s latest toy products. It’s from here the company can showcase its wares to a global network of customers, any time of the day, every day of the year. This isn’t just toy fair season, this is Golden Bear’s latest phase of international expansion.
By 8pm that same day, Hughes is guiding customers from California around the same platform. While the pandemic has wrapped its fingers around the usual annual travel to Spielwarenmesse, New York, and London’s Olympia this year, Golden Bear’s ability to network with its international customer base is by no means diminished.
But then, ask Hughes how Golden Bear has managed to find such success over the course of 2020 and he’ll tell you that this is a company that has managed to stay ahead of the curve for some time now. The team was among the first to spot the en masse shift to online retail and click and collect before the pandemic rendered it a necessity, and as such was a team well positioned to adapt to the changes that have swept the landscape in the past year.
Meanwhile, it’s not enough that Golden Bear already held the toy rights for some of the country’s best-loved pre-school IP, including Bing and Hey Duggee, but combine this with a diversification of product that has successfully taken the company into the outdoor sector, as well as the Escape Room trend of the gaming space, and the winning formula that Golden Bear possesses begins to shift into view.
Barry Hughes, Golden Bear managing director
“Obviously the bedrock of what we do is pre-school licenses, and our pre-school licenses on the whole did well,” Hughes tells ToyNews. “They benefited from kids being locked down at home; programmes like Hey Duggee were suddenly being watched by parents who might not have seen it otherwise, so that IP did particularly well.
“But where I like to think we have been ahead of the game compared to a lot of competitors is with regards to our online insights and supporting our retailers with their online sales assets. In the shift to online, we were ahead of the curve.”
Over the past year, Golden Bear has strengthened its team in the online operations space, built its own in-house photo studio in order to create image and video assets quickly, and has by and large, been ‘geared up for the digital switch’ long in advance, a presiding factor that has in recent years, won the company its expanding trophy cabinet of industry awards.
Not only that, but it is Golden Bear’s portfolio – a carefully curated clustering of high calibre properties and products – that has played directly into the strengths of the toy industry this past 12 months. This is a company that found its niche in both the outdoor market and gaming market right at the right time; just before the pandemic’s social restrictions thrust the sectors directly into the consumer’s consciousness.
“The Smart Ball Football and the Speed Ball Football came about through insights. Our USP is that we put a lot of stock into our insights,” says Hughes. “We are investing more into that area now, and with being a smaller company we can be more agile, which is a good combination for the toy industry.
“We had identified a gap in football gifts. My son, who was eight at the time and mad on football, got a load of football Guess Who? Games for his birthday. We quickly realised that the footballers were out of date, retired, or at the wrong clubs.
“But at the same time, we’d spotted a surge in searches for football gifts across various age profiles. We felt the need to fill the gap in the market, and now we have a host of new things coming in development for that range, too.”
Golden Bear’s new digital touring platform doesn’t just go the lengths to showcase what this product looks like this year, while doing its best to ‘put the product in the hands of customers,’ without them being in the same country, let alone room, but also to showcase who Golden Bear is; a digital home of the company’s recent re-invention.
The firm kicked off the year with the unveiling of a new logo, coupled with a new messaging that would go on to amplify Golden Bear’s image as a firm at the cutting edge of today’s trends in toys. With the launch of the company re-branding, the message was clear – this wasn’t only a company built on reliability and quality in the pre-school space, but pioneers of innovation across its key sectors – and seriously, take a look at its upcoming Hey Duggee and Bing portfolio if you want to see innovation in the pre-school sector this year – powered by its insight led business.
“The majority of our sales are in non-plush items, which tends to surprise people,” says Hughes. “We wanted to make the best of the past and combine it with the best of our future, and give it all a more modern feel.”
This even extends to the consumer message that Golden Bear promotes, and the changing sensibilities of the modern day shopper. And that includes in its approach to being a sustainably responsible toy company.
“We are a company that quietly goes about doing things and doesn’t shout about it much,” explains Hughes. “Sustainability is a good example of that. For instance, the stuffing in our plush has been made out of recycled bottles for years. We have actually now been moving our product lines to make the skins from recycled polyester, too.”
That move will be kicking off with Golden Bear’s Hey Duggee range this year. As well as that, this is a company that now confidently boasts its zero to landfill policy (one that has been in place for a number of years), as well as the installation of solar panels this year, and the switch of all company cars to hybrid and electric.
“We are liaising with licensors and retailers, and we like to think that we are right on the forefront of this movement,” continues Hughes. “We have set out our values and pillars and where we want to be as a company in three years’ time. Everything is underpinned by insights and sustainability, and we are making sure that everything we do has got sustainability and insights as its centre.”
It’s with that messaging now front and centre that Golden Bear will continue to exact its plans for global expansion. A digital platform open to customers 24 hours a day, every day of the year has helped tighten the screws on the firm’s international network, while advanced discussions are ongoing with partners in the US for some of the company’s own IP.
“It was always our plan, pre-pandemic, to grow internationally,” says Hughes. “We are just maximising that opportunity, instead of travelling to overseas fairs, to tap into our contacts via the virtual toy fair platform, and spend more quality time with people, albeit virtually.”
Via the medium, the response from global customers has been consistent; Golden Bear in on to a strong 2021. Tapping into emerging trends in the Escape Room gaming space, pushing the envelope in pre-school innovation, and making a success of the Outdoor sector in a year that will likely be recognised as the summer of the staycation once again, there’s little that Golden Bear offers that doesn’t just seem to fit.
“One of the most pleasing things that I have heard from buyers through this toy fair season is that there is a reason for every product to exist,” states Hughes. “That for me is a real testament to the team; that there has been a thought process and reason behind everything we have done.
“The end of the year was a real time to reflect for everyone. Our warehouses have remained open through the year, and the vast majority of our staff have been working from home. I am so proud of the whole team, given everything that has gone on,” he concludes.
Disney+ UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand have each saddled up for Boat Rocker Studios’ popular animated comedy, Dino Ranch, following the series successful debut on Disney Junior and DisneyNow throughout January.
The series is set to launch on the Disney+ streaming platform from April 2021.
Dino Ranch proved an immediate hit on Disney Junior US, ranking as the number one US cable series among Kids, Boys and Girls aged two to five since launch. Among Disney Junior repeats, Dino Ranch also ranks number with Kids, Boys and Girls two to five.
Also available on DisneyNOW and VOD, Dino Ranch has been the number three Disney Junior long-form series for three consecutive weeks. Two episodes have been posted on Disney Junior’s YouTube channel (“Big Jon, Big Trouble” and “Spookasaurus”) and have amassed over 1.5 million views collectively. In the six weeks since the launch of the official Dino Ranch YouTube channel it has accumulated over 3 million views.
Created by Matt Fernandes of Industrial Brothers and produced by Industrial Brothers and Boat Rocker Studios, Dino Ranch follows the action-packed exploits of the Cassidy family, ranchers with a difference – their charges are dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes who are also their best friends.
The new Disney+ deals follow recent global sales of Dino Ranch to Super RTL/Toggo Plus (Germany), Gulli plus TiJi and Gulli Africa (France), NRK (Norway), YLE (Finland) and DR (Denmark).
Boat Rocker Studios is managing global content distribution and global merchandising rights to the series.
Lisle Licensing has signed a new deal with Planeta Junior to promote and represent the pre-school property, Milo across the UK and Ireland. The deal will see Lisle’s initial focus land on toys, publishing, apparel, and dress up ranges.
A co-production between Planeta Junior and the indie family producer, Fourth Wall Animation, Milo will launch to UK screens this spring via Channel 5’s Milkshake.
Through this new partnership Milo now joins Lisle Licensing’s exclusive portfolio, which includes major kids brands like Gormiti, 44 Cats, Masha and the Bear, and Superzings.
Milo is described as a warm, funny pre-school series made up of 52 11 minute episodes about an adventurous five-year old cat who, together with his best friends Lofty and Lark, uses role-play to explore the world of vocations, introducing little ones to a variety of professions.
Milo’s world celebrates vocations such as Delivery Workers, Explorers; Nurses as well as Astronauts – every vocation is shown in a positive light so kids feel they can grow up to be anything they want to be.
Animaccord has inked a new broadcast deal with the Italian public media company, Rai, for the fifth season of Masha and the Bear, produced in a new 4k UHD format.
The first episodes of the new season will air daily on Rai Yoyo and Rai Play starting from May 3rd this year, and occupying sme of the best slots on the channels.
“We’re excited with the technical innovations that have been implemented by Animaccord to produce and bring its new Season in 4K, making a breakthrough in preschool serial animation field,” said Annalisa Liberi, head of acquisitions at Rai Ragazzi.
“We’re happy to plunge kids to this Masha and the Bear’s fantasy world that is always close to their daily life & feelings as well as to amaze them with the new scripts and the undiminished energy of the character in exceptional premium quality.”
Alongside the launch of the core show’s new season, on February 27, 2021, Rai will also release Animaccord’s new educational musical project named Nursery Rhymes, where the world-wide famous character Masha leads babies and toddlers through a wonderful world of nursery rhymes, helping them to tap into their hidden talents and develop them.
This year Animaccord marks the tenth year since the first media deal signed for Masha and the Bear Season one for Rai to premier the cartoon in Italy – the first country outside the home market where Masha and the Bear became a huge success.
The popular pre-school property, CoComelon is stepping into the baby and children’s wear market thanks to a new partnership between Poetic Brands and Moonbug Entertainment.
In a deal brokered by the brand’s EMEA licensing agent, The Point. 1888, Poetic Brands will develop and launch a collection spanning children’s daywear, outerwear, and swimwear, along with towels, winter accessories, and sleeping bags. The new range will focus on the bright, playful, nursery-rhyme singing characters of CoComelon.
The consumer products programme for the property recently kicked off when Jazwares launched a toy line incorporating plush, role-play, vehicles and mini-figures.
Anne Bradford, director, Poetic Brands, said: “From day one, it’s been important to ensure that every brand that we sign has an angle that is truly unique. CoComelon has an incredible global audience and massive brand adoption, creating a huge opportunity for retailers to engage with.
“As soon as we discussed CoComelon with The Point.1888, we knew that this was perfect for us, and it is completely new to the apparel market. This will give us the opportunity to create ranges that will provide everything a preschooler needs from their t-shirts and sweats right through to their puddle suits and jackets. With its core engagement of one to four-year-olds, this is a fabulous new opportunity for retail.”
Becky Langer, senior commercial manager, Soft Goods at The Point.1888, added: “The brand has had such incredible digital success and we wanted to make sure that our licensing programme would enable fans to get enjoyment from it even while away from the TV or iPad.
“We’re thrilled to be in a position to announce this partnership and cannot wait to see the reaction from Cocomelon’s growing audience to the new product range.”
The baby essentials brand, Mori has secured a new partnership with Rocket Licensing to launch a collection inspired by the World of Eric Carle and the cherished story book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The limited edition collection has been designed for newborns through to children aged six years old and unites Mori’s signature soft and sustainable materials with the popular literary character in a collection that launched this week.
“Mori is overjoyed to help bring the enchanting and timeless appeal of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to life for today’s generation of little fans, as well as continue the tradition for their parents and siblings,” said brand founder Akin Onal.
“Joining the world of Eric Carle with the Mori and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Collection is one of our proudest milestones.”
The new collection follows the success of Mori’s licensing debut when it lauched a Gruffalo collection in 2019.
Rob Wijeratna, joint managing director at Rocket Licensing, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Mori on this beautiful new The Very Hungry Caterpillar range, creating high quality classic pieces for a treasured brand that continues to go from strength to strength. MORI’s commitment to creating special family moments and using sustainable fabrics also seems highly fitting for this nature-loving brand that remains a favourite across the generations.”
The Mori and The Very Hungry Caterpillar collection includes eight very special designs featuring Mori’s silhouettes and organic cotton and bamboo-blend fabrics with sweet prints and excerpts culled from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Among the collection, standouts include Mori’s award winning zip-up sleepsuit, long-sleeved t-shirts, a pyjama set with “Tiny” and “Very Hungry” lettering, a spirited romper and a 2-pack short-sleeved bodysuit featuring a juicy red apple.
Sophie Gibson, Head of Brand at Mori added: “Following the success of our first licensed collaboration with The Gruffalo, we are thrilled to be launching our second licensed collaboration ahead of World Book Day 2021; The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As a brand dedicated to helping to improve a family’s sleep, we believe that story time is an essential part of a child’s development and bedtime routine, which is why we have partnered with the much-loved story by Eric Carle.”
The Mori and The Very Hungry Caterpillar collection will be available online exclusively online at www.babymori.com fromthis month.
Rainbow Designs is encouraging children to undertake their own Bear Hunt adventures this year as it launches its new We’re Going on a Bear Hunt collection of soft and wooden toys to the market.
Based on Walker Books’ classic storybook of the same title, the toys take inspiration from the adventurous tale that has been entertaining children for over 30 years.
The new range of toys will include a super soft Bear toy and Wooden Shape Puzzle featuring the Bear, Rufus the dog, and will be illustrated with paw prints and the Bear Hunt sayings, such as Splash, Splosh and squelch, squerch. New additions to the range will follow later in the year.
Anthony Temple, managing director of Rainbow Designs, said: “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is the perfect fit with our portfolio of prestigious and nurtured children’s brands and it is exciting to be kicking off Rainbow’s milestone 50th Anniversary year with the launch of such a joyful and iconic character range.”
Pindy O’Brien, licensing and retail development director (UK & Europe) for Walker Books, added: “We are thrilled to have Rainbow Designs launching toys for our classic “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”.
“The softness of their plush product and high quality delivers everything we’d want from our toy range. We are excited to have them on board as our EMEA partner.”
The first sign language version of the multi-award winning pre-school series, Bing is landing with audiences across Italy thanks to a new partnership between Maurizio Distefano Licensing and Acamar Films’ Italian VoD partner, TIMVISION.
Through TIMVISION, a selection of original Bing episodes featuring an Italian sign language interpreter launched on December 24th last year as part of the company’s commitment to offer educational and fun-filled opportunities to deaf children in Italy.
The dubbed episodes joined the original 78 episodes of Bing that have been available to stream on TIMVISION since November 2019. A total of 14 Lingua dei segni Italiana episodes are now available to stream with more to come in 2021.
Eroulla Constantine, director of sales and distribution, Acamar Films, said: “We are delighted to have Bing as part of TIMVISION’s growing catalogue of LIS version episodes on their platform.
“We stand alongside TIMVISION’s commitment to diversity and inclusion with meeting children’s specific needs. We look forward to having more inclusive episodes of the series available in Italy.”
Maurizio Distefano, president, MDL, added: “Bing is enormously popular in the Italian market and this delightful, funny and educational show should be accessible to everyone, which is why we are delighted that TMVISION has introduced a sign language version. The first-ever LIS version of Bing is a genuine cause for celebration.”
Bing has seen incredible success in Italy since it first launched in 2018 and is beloved among little ones and their grown-ups in the region. With more stories in high demand, the latest series recently launched on-air and on various platforms including the new Bing app, Bing: Guarda, Gioca, Impara.
The app successfully launched in the summer and includes episodes and compilations, learning games and activities.
