Taffy Ent. has acquired worldwide rights to Bobby’s World, the Emmy-nominated animated series created by and starring comedian/game show host Howie Mandel. The Saturday morning cartoon show aired on Fox from 1990 to 1998 but is generating interest again now that Mandel’s Deal or No Deal has become a major hit on NBC. Consisting of 81 23-minute episodes, Bobby’s World will be distributed worldwide by Taffy, beginning with next week’s MIPTV Market in Cannes. Taffy has also initiated a comprehensive licensing and consumer products campaign for the property.
Bobby’s World takes a look inside the mind of 4-year-old Bobby Generic, who lives in a typical suburban neighborhood but manages to find adventure around every corner through the power of imagination. Introduced by Mandel in a live-action sequence, each episode uses everyday family situations and typical challenges of growing up as springboards for viewers to see the world through Bobby’s unique perspective.
”Bobby’s World’ is very personal and important to me,’ Mandel comments. ‘I created that character when I was starting out and it has been a part of my stand up act forever. Now, with ‘Deal or No Deal’ giving me access to such a wide audience, I can see the awareness is widespread and I love it! Most of the original fans of the show are now college age or older and clearly the show had a positive impact on them. It’s great to see it coming back so strong.’
Taffy Ent. CEO Bill Schultz adds, ‘Online communities like Facebook, My Space and YouTube are virally selling the show. This groundswell, combined with the fact that we are working with Howie to help introduce this much-beloved character to a whole new generation of kids worldwide, makes this a huge opportunity with many more chapters to be written.’
Originally produced by Film Roman Prods. and 20th Century Fox Television, in association with Alevy Prods., Bobby’s World was recently re-launched on Kabillion, the new multi-platform kids’ program service available in the U.S. both as a free VOD channel on Comcast Cable systems nationwide and as a free online broadband offering at www.Kabillion.com. According to Taffy, the show has been viewed more than 500,000 since debuting on the new service in January. Bobby, Mandel’s pint-sized, animated alter-ego, also got in from of some 16 million viewrs when he made a sweeps guest appearance on Deal or No Deal this past February.
As part of Taffy’s library of more than 3,000 half hours of animation, Bobby’s World joins such popular shows as Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, ToddWorld, Pet Alien, Titeuf, Growing Up Creepie, Mix Master, Fantastic Four, Code Lyoko and Casper.
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