Studio 100 Media journeys back in time with new dino animation series Vegesaurs

International production and distribution company Studio 100 Media has been receiving positive feedback for its latest venture: Vegesaurs.

Vegesaurs are vegetable and fruit-shaped dinosaurs ready to address and teach relatable themes for upper pre-schoolers such as getting to sleep, sharing, friendship, nurturing mealtimes, and play. Starring the lead character Ginger, a young Tricarrotops (carrot) with others including P(ea)-Rex, Cornasaurus (corn), Bananaraptor, Coconutdon, Broccolisaurus, Bokchoydactyl, Tomatodon, Appleflyrus and Potatodon, Vegesaurs’ aim is to enrich and enhance children’s imagination.

The action-comedy CGI-animated TV series (20 x 5’) is produced by independent Australian producer Cheeky Little for the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) and France TV. Principal production funding is provided by Screen Australia, with Studio 100 as co-investor. Based on a concept created by Gary Eck and Nick O’Sullivan, the series is targeted at preschoolers and planned for delivery in 2022. ABC will broadcast it in Australia under the title “Ginger & the Vegesaurs”. Studio 100 Media is responsible for the worldwide distribution of content and licensing & merchandising rights of the series.

Strong interest has already been received from various broadcasters. Studio 100 Media believes the appealing short-form content is a great fit for digital platforms offering new marketing opportunities, and that Vegesaurs addresses multiple execution layers such as collectability, publishing, plush, and gaming.

Martin Krieger, CEO of Studio 100 Media, says: “Everybody we’ve presented to has loved the creative way that vegetables have been transformed into dinosaur creatures and kids around the globe will do so as well. The series offers a variety of excellent opportunities with regards to content distribution and in licensing & merchandising.”

Studio 100 Media is an international production and distribution company within the children’s and family entertainment sector. The company produces and acquires new content, engages in co-production and co-financing activities and is also responsible for the international distribution of its own- and third-party rights. Based in Munich, Germany, the company is a 100 percent subsidiary of Belgian firm Studio 100. www.studio100group.com

Sesame Workshop grows licensing plans across China, Japan, and Germany with new agencies

Sesame Workshop has been an a global escapade this past month, having signed a trio of international licensing agencies with the purpose of strengthening the nonprofit’s licensing programmes across the overseas markets.

The educational organisation behind the iconic Sesame Street brand has been expanding its presence in the European and eastern markets, having tapped the likes of Medialink Group for Greater China, Sony Creative Products for Japan, and Studio 100 Media for Germany and the German speaking market.

Its partnership with Medialink Group will see the outfit act as its licensing agent for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, managing the brand licensing of Sesame Street’s consumer products, while is will also build retail relationships and work with local licensees to create promotional activations in the respective territories.

Today, Sesame Street in available on Tencent, BesTV, SiTV, Mampod and Ukids in Greater China, and generates $1.4 billion in worldwide retail sales of licensed products.

“Sesame Street is everywhere kids are,” said Alvin Fu, vice president and general manager of Greater China for Sesame Workshop. “We achieve this by making our innovative video content available through TV and on-demand platforms and working with partners like Medialink to invite kids and fans of all ages to engage with our beloved characters through Sesame Street-branded consumer products and merchandise and interactive experiences.”

“We are delighted to represent Sesame Street in Greater China. It is immensely meaningful for us to work with such a strong and trusted pre-school brand that shares a similar mission to ours. It is our great pleasure to work with Sesame Street,” said Ms Noletta Chiu, managing director of Medialink Animation International Limited and Medialink Cultural & Creative (Guangzhou) Limited.

Meanwhile, Sony Creative Products has been secured as Sesame Street’s licensing agent for the Japanese market, building on the brand’s more than 50 year history and expanding on its portfolio of 150 countries in which it is present, a network through which it generates $1.4 billion in worldwide retail sales of licensed products.

Sesame Street was first broadcast in Japan in 1971. Maximising the awareness of Sesame Street’s core values, Sony Creative Products will eye new brand activations and retail events, as well as pursue further business opportunities. SCP will manage licensing and retail activities for a wide range of demographics, from preschoolers to their caregivers, generation Z, and adults.

Finally, the company has strengthened its European presence with the appointment of Studio 100 Media as its German licensing agency. The firm will manage consumer products for Sesame Workshop’s flagship German brand Sesamstrasse as it celebrates the broadcast of its 50th season in 2023.

Studio 100 will manage special brand activations and retail events.

Stefan Kastenmüller, Sesame Workshop’s general manager for Europe, said: “I am incredibly excited about this strategic partnership with Studio 100 and the opportunity to strengthen the brand in Germany. In addition to overseeing licensing activity, Studio 100 will develop new ways for families to enjoy and deepen their connection with their favorite characters. Fans can expect to see more in themed entertainment, live shows, apps, and new content.”

Studio 100’s managing director, Martin Krieger said: “We are very happy to represent Sesame Workshop in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Many of us grew up with Sesamstrasse and having it now in our portfolio is amazing.

“It’s a perfect fit as we have similar brand values. I believe that our expertise will sustainably contribute in strengthening and expanding Sesamstrasse’s popularity and success story. We look forward to further developing licensing opportunities in important and new categories.”

Maya the Bee becomes face of World Bee Day at Germany’s retail and tourism group REWE

The European retail and tourism group, REWE has underlined its commitment to the protection of biodiversity across Germany, including that of bees and insects, by celebrating World Bee Day last week with its brand ambassador, Maya the Bee.

For the past two years, the popular Studio 100 Media character has been the face of much of the retailer’s environmental activity, including its insect protection campaign, tapping into the brand’s ethos in standing for insect protection and sustainability in its own Project Poppy Meadow initiative.

Last week, Maya the Bee took on the role of ambassador for and face of REWE’s World Bee Day celebrations, with POS designed across the retailer’s outlets to broadcast the importance of the annual Bee Day and raising awareness among customers. As well as this, Maya is prominently placed on the retailer’s website, while TV spots on RTL and VOX round off the campaign this year.

Together with 530 farmers throughout Germany and parts of Austria, the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the Rhineland Cultural Landscape Foundation, REWE is implementing biodiversity projects such as nesting aids and flowering areas. The company currently operates the largest biodiversity promotion in conventional fruit and vegetable cultivation (in terms of cooperation between retail, nature conservation and farmers).

Like REWE, “Maya the Bee” also cooperates with NABU and acts as an ambassador for its campaign, Insect Summer. At the same time, NABU supports Maya and her friends with its ‘know-how’ on the website www.diebienemaja-bienenschutz.de.

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

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.”

Maya the Bee – The Golden Orb trailer lands on YouTube ahead of cinematic release this year

Studio 100 Film has dropped the first international trailer for Maya the Bee – The Golden Orb on its YouTube channel ahead of the cinematic release of the film later this year and into 2021.

Maya the Bee 3 – The Golden Orb is produced by Studio 100 Media, in co-production with the Australian animation company Studio B Animation and in association with Flying Bark Productions. Munich-based Studio 100 Film is the international sales agency for the worldwide rights.

To date the movie has been sold to Australia, the US, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Ex-Yugoslavia, CIS Territories and the Baltics, Turkey, Israel, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

Tracy Lenon, producer at Studio B Animation, said: “The Australian/German co-production of Maya the Bee – The Golden Orb has provided yet another fantastic opportunity to tell a story with our much-loved, empathetic Maya who bravely accepts the challenge to help others despite being faced with some tricky obstacles.

“Maya’s BFF, Willie, truly shines in this adventure to offer an uplifting, funny tale which will have children and their families laughing out loud. The teams in Australia and Germany have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the loyal Maya audience will be inspired with the highest quality animation of which they have come to expect.”

Thorsten Wegener, producer and head of operations at Studio 100 Media, added: “Maya the Bee’s adventures have delighted audiences around the world and this new film will bring old and new characters together in a fun-filled, comedic story which will appeal to younger and older audiences.

“Recent challenges to working life have led to our Australian and German teams staying at home to work remotely while finishing the film. It’s quite extraordinary that all this could be achieved with only a small delay on delivery.”

The first two theatrical features, Maya the Bee – First Flight and Maya the Bee – The Honey Games, have already been sold to more than 130 countries around the globe. Both have been credited as the most successful German animated film according to the international box office in 2015 and 2018, the dates of their respective release.

Playmobil and Studio 100 bring Heidi toy partnership to the screen with CGI specials

Studio 100 Media and the European toymaker, Playmobil, have joined forces to bring the Heidi Special: Spring is here to TV channels across Europe this spring.

Under the partnership, Heidi has been rendered to life with a CGI animated Playmobil styling, riffing off the already existing Heidi-licensed toy line from the toymaker, and dropped into the idyllic Alpine setting she is known for.

Among the channels to premiere the Heidi Special: Spring is here are Canal Panda in Portugal, Kidzone in the Baltics, Studio 100 TV in Belgium, Toggolino on Super RTL for the German-speaking territories, TVPabc in Poland, and the Rai Yoyo App in Italy.

A second Heidi Playmobil special, Heidi Special: Winter in Dörfli will follow in autumn this year, and will take audiences to a winter landscape to follow Heidi’s snowy adventures. Both specials are produced by Studio 100 Animation and distributed by Studio 100 Media.

Martin Krieger, CEO of Studio 100 Media, said: “Watching Heidi and her world come to life in Playmobil’s wonderful play-sets as well as in the new CGI animations has been a great pleasure over the last months.

“This exciting cooperation with Playmobil as a strong strategic partner both in the toys sector and on the content production side allows us to bring the Heidi brand experience to a new level.”

Studio 100 Media and Brandstätter Group have signed an extensive license deal for Heidi, covering the worldwide rights with the exception of some territories in Asia. As part of the agreement, six detailed Playmobil play-sets bring Heidi’s Swiss Alps home to any playroom including characters, locations and stories from the series.

Original details and sophisticated features allow fans of Heidi to immerse themselves fully in Swiss mountain life, as well as experience Heidi’s adventures in friendship and family.