Rainbow will be bringing some style and flair to its Licensing Expo booth U242 in Vegas this month, showcasing three hot properties: Regal Academy, World of Winx and live-action series Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends.
Regal Academy is a new animated comedy that combines the worlds of school and fairy tales, with utterly hilarious results! The action focuses on young Rose Cinderella, who one day finds out that not only is Cinderella her granny, but she’s been enrolled at the Regal Academy — a school run by fairy tale characters to pass on wisdom to the next generation. Her new classmates include Hawk SnowWhite, Travis Beast, Astoria Rapunzel and Joy LeFrog – all part of famous fairy tale dynasties –and together they enjoy a series of funny and exciting adventures.
Giochi Preziosi has signed pan-European master toy deal for Regal Academy and will produce fashion dolls and accessories, play sets and role play products.
World of Winx is the latest spin-off from one of the biggest girls’ properties in the world – Winx Club. This brand new show sees the Winx fairies visiting Earth as scouts for talent show WOW! As they search for talented kids they come across the Talent Thief – a mysterious villain who is capturing gifted children! The Winx go undercover and hide their fairy identities to outfox the Talent Thief and protect the children of Earth.
Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends is Rainbow’s first live-action production. An engaging and enthralling mixture of comedy and drama, the show has three key themes — music, fashion and the power of friendship. Simba has signed on as master toy licensee.
Regal Academy / World of Winx / Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends
Nottingham Forest, the Licensing & Merchandising agent for Super Wings in Iberia, has closed several licensing deals for the brand in the region. The 52 x 11 series from FunnyFlux Entertainment premiered at the end of May on Spain’s leading kids channel CLAN, and follows a cute jet plane named Jett who travels the world delivering parcels and encountering problems which he and his friends the Super Wings work together to solve.
Panini will develop publishing products including collectibles, books and an official magazine for Super Wings in Iberia. Also on board are Cerda Group (back to school, apparel, shoes, gifts), Karacter Shoes (kids shoes), Dolci Preziosi (confectionary) and Stor (tableware). All these lines will launch in 2017. In the meantime, Color Baby — the toy partner distributor for Alpha Toys in Iberia — will debut its Super Wings products at retail in September.
San Francisco-based digital media publisher eigoMANGA presents animated feature film, Padak — now streaming on Steam and coming to Amazon Instant Video on June 20.
Padak is a Korean CG-animated film written and directed by Lee Dae Hee that dives into the lives of fish living in captivity in a seafood restaurant. Some fish accept their fate, while others fight to change it. Padak has won awards from the likes of Vladivostok International Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival and Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival.
For a limited time, Steam is offering a promotional price to stream Padak, which you can access here.
Software developer Digital Video will present the latest version of its state-of-the-art digital 2D tool Toonz Premium at the MIFA market at Annecy. The Digital Video team will be on hand at their stand 2.000 inside the New Technologies area, June 15 through 17.
Since the agreement with Dwango for the release of OpenToonz, Digital Video has moved to an open source business model while continuing to develop and market the commercial version, Toonz Premium, for companies requiring a highly professional tool built on the contributions of developers with long experience with the product.
Toonz Premium 7.3 includes all the features of Toonz Harlequin and Bravo, plus new innovations and improvements, at a very competitive price (especially with a planned special introductory offer during MIFA). More information available at toonzpremium.com.
Disney’s animated feature Zootopia crossed the $1 billion mark this weekend, making it the studio’s second billion-dollar release of 2016 (and 11th ever). Zootopia is so far the No. 1 animated film of the year, and is just the fourth animated feature to hit this box office milestone. Out of all Disney Animation releases, it currently ranks No. 2, with only global smash-hit Frozen ahead.
As of June 5, Zootopia has grossed $337.2M domestically and $663.5M internationally for a global total of $1,000.7M. With a 98% Fresh RottenTomatoes score, Zootopia has been universally embraced by audiences. It earned an A CinemaScore from domestic audiences and spent three weeks at No. 1 following its $75 million debut – the highest ever three-day opening for Disney Animation and the biggest March animated opening ever. It remained in the top 10 domestically for 13 weeks. In China, Zootopia is the highest grossing animated film of all time and Disney’s biggest release ever there, while in Russia it is the second biggest industry release ever behind only Avatar.
Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, bowed in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on March 4 — the film arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital on June 7 (details here).
Internationally renowned comedian Akmal Saleh is set to join the voice cast of The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill, in the role of Blinky’s best friend Jacko, the frill-necked lizard. Produced by Sydney-based Flying Bark Productions, the CGI animated TV series is the latest incarnation of the Aussie icon, following his big screen animated adventure last year, Blinky Bill the Movie.
Akmal Saleh is one of Australia’s most accomplished comedians, with a credit list that includes movies, stand-up shows, TV appearances and gigs as a radio DJ and talk show host; he is also a published author. Saleh has appeared at festivals around the world, including Adelaide Fringe Comedy Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Montreal “Just for Laughs” Festival, Vancouver Comedy Festival, New Zealand Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill (52 x 11) is set a few years after the events of the movie and follows a slightly older Blinky (voiced by Cam Ralph) as he serves as defender of his outback home with the help of his best friend, Jacko (Saleh). Armed with a knack for mischief and an unstoppable imagination, Blinky and Jacko take on the outback, turning even the simplest challenges into epic adventures.
The series is commissioned by Australia’s most-watched TV network, Seven, for its 7TWO channel. Flying Bark Productions is producing in association with Telegael (Ireland) and Giant Wheel (India), with a broadcast debut set for later this year.
German brand management and media company m4e AG will take a more controlling role in the production, licensing and marketing of international TV series and brand Mia and Me, created by Gerhard Hahn. Terms have been reached with co-production partner Rainbow S.r.l. for m4e’s acquisition of 45% of the international rights for the property, taking effect retroactively from January 1, 2016.
The agreement excludes Italy, where Rainbow will maintain 100% ownership of rights to the popular show. In the course of the acquisition, Hahn Film AG will take over the last 5% of Rainbow’s holding. The remaining 50% of the international rights to Mia and Me will be unaffected, staying in the control of Hahn & m4e Productions GmbH — a 50/50 joint venture of Gerhard Hahn/Hahn Film AG and m4e AG. Thus, m4e has nearly tripled its share in the brand through this deal, financed by a bank loan.
“It has been under discussion with Rainbow for months to acquire the co‐production shares and we are very happy now, that this project came to a successful conclusion. For m4e this a milestone in the company’s development. With now almost 100 percent of the shares, which we are holding together with Gerd Hahn/Hahn Film AG, we are able to market the brand even more targeted and to further expand it internationally,” said m4e CEO Hans Ulrich Stoef. “We also want to express our appreciation to the management and the whole team of Rainbow for the good and successful cooperation over the last years. And that they made the repurchase of the Mia and Me rights possible.”
The Jim Henson Company is continuing to expand the global presence of Dinosaur Train‘s consumer products program, bringing on several new licensing partners in key territories to deliver products inspired by the five-time Emmy nominated preschool series created by Craig Bartlett, now in its fourth season. The announcement was made by JHC’s VP, Global Consumer Products, Federico San Martin.
In Germany, JHC has signed on TV Mania for apparel and accessories, and GEDA Labels for mealtime products. In Italy, Giochi Preziosi is on board for food with premiums, and Panini for publishing. And in the U.S., Wall-Ah! will deliver Dinosaur Train wall decals. These new partners join an international roster that includes global master toy licensee Jazwares, Evrika LLC (chocolate eggs, Russia), California Costumes (costumes, U.S.) and Fun Stickers (stickers, U.K.).
The Dinosaur Train series follows Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons on whimsical adventures through prehistoric locales as they explore basic concepts in natural science, natural history and paleontology. The show has been licensed to broadcasters in over 200 territories, including PBS KIDS (U.S.), Netflix (global), Disney Channel (Germany), Watchever (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), Multithematiques (France), YLE (Finland), ERT (Greece), TFO (French Canada), Knowledge Network (Canada), SIC (Angola, Mozambique), Emirates Cable TV & Multimedia, Swen Entretenimientos (Brazil), ABC Australia, TVO (English-speaking Canada), France Televisions, Movile Internet Movel (Germany), MTVA (Hungary), Tring TV (Albania, Kosovo) and Multichoice Africa Limited.
Ink Global is preparing to jet off to Las Vegas with a slate of hot toon properties in tow for the annual Licensing Expo, taking place June 21-23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Ink will be showcasing international kids’ hit Masha and the Bear as well as new series The Mojicons, Zafari and The Fixies.
Masha and the Bear, now in its third season, is the story of a little girl and the bear who becomes her reluctant playmate, now broadcast in almost every country in the world through both pay and free-to- air channels. Masha is also a huge YouTube hit. One episode – Masha and the Porridge – recently hitting the 1 billion views mark, making it one of only 20 videos ever to do so. Broadcasters include France TV, KIKA, Rai YoYo (Italy), Turner Cartoonito (UK and Latin America), Turner Boing (Spain), ABC (Australia), Canal Panda (Spain and Portugal), Minimax (Central Europe), Russia 1 (Russia and CIS), SIC (Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa) and SpaceToon (Middle East, North Africa and Malaysia).
The Mojicons is a new show that reveals the behind-the-scenes world of the internet, inhabited by the Mojicons – the innumerable emoticons that populate our emails and text messages. When a mysterious digital villain steals the @ symbol, all electronic correspondence grinds to a halt. The Mojicons must undertake an awe-inspiring and dangerous quest to restore their system. Trouble is, they don’t know what their “system” actually is! The show is produced by renowned Russian creators Alexander Romanetz and Viacheslav Marchenko.
ZAFARI is the creation of animation visionary David Dozoretz and tells the story of a group of friends who inhabit a land where all the resident animals have been magically born with an amalgamation of varying skins, patterns and characteristics, making each individual truly unique. Broadcasters already attached to the project on a pre-buy level include France TV, Lagardere TIJI, SRC Radio Canada and SpaceToon. NBC Universal have picked up the global distribution rights and the first season will be delivered soon.
The Fixies is the brand new animation that follows the adventures of little creatures who, unbeknownst to humans, live inside machines, appliances and devices. The Fixies are the opposite of Gremlins, conscientiously maintaining and repairing our equipment with the aid of their tool-filled pack-o-mats.
U.K. agency Bulldog Licensing is bringing a strong and diverse portfolio of brands to the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas this month. Attendees and potential partners are invited to check out opportunities for Shopkins, Garfield, EA Games properties, Angry Birds and Yo-Kai Watch at the company’s stand, E214, June 21-23.
Shopkins are cute little characters that live in Shopville. There are hundreds to collect, including a few ultra-rare special characters, and they are sold inside adorable little shopping bags. More than 200 million characters have been sold, over 59 million views have been recorded on Shopkins YouTube channel and fan videos featuring Shopkins have recorded more than 360 million views.
Licensees include: Gemma (party goods), Fashion UK (apparel), BCI (nightwear and underwear), Spearmark (lunchware, tableware, drinkware and lighting), Topps (collectible and trading cards, sticker products and accessories), VMC (headwear, scarves, sunglasses and more), Aykroyds TDP (nightwear and underwear), Bonnier Publishing (publishing), Character World (bedding, inflatable chairs and beanbags), Flair (toys), MV Sports (wheeled toys), DJ Murphy (magazines), Winning Moves (games), Pyramid (posters) and Whitehouse Leisure (amusement plush).
Garfield is the instantly recognizable cartoon cat featured in over 2,100 newspapers across the globe. The portly feline holds the Guinness World Record for the most syndicated cartoon strips and is responsible for book sales in excess of 135 million copies to date, two feature-length live-action films, and three CGI animated movies – as well as thousands of lines of licensed merchandise.
Current licensees include BCI (apparel), Blues clothing (Ladies’ apparel and nightwear), Poetic Gem (Men’s nightwear and underwear and tshirts for men and women), Roy Lowe and Sons (socks and tights) Sambro (bags and stationery), Ravette (publishing) and J Fox (accessories). Apparel sales on Garfield are at an all-time high with fashion retailers seeing strong sell-through for both adult and kids’ lines.
EA is one of the biggest games companies in the world and is behind major franchises that have dominated the digital landscape for years. These include Battlefield – the epic first-person shooter that boasts more than 50 million players worldwide; Need for Speed – the car racing series that is one of the most successful game franchises of all time; and SIMS – the life simulation games that have sold over 150 million copies since the first title launched in 2002.
Angry Birds is the mobile game that – through a mixture of simple yet addictive gameplay, striking graphics and low prices – is a global phenomenon. The various games in the franchise, from the original through to Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds 2, have been downloaded over three billion times in total and Angry Birds is now a massive property with a reach across the generations. The brand also has nearly 26 million Facebook followers, whilst the Angry Birds cartoon series boasts two billion YouTube views and five billion views through the Toons TV site. The Angry Birds Movie, recently released, boosts the brand’s profile even further.
Yo-Kai Watch is the hit anime that follows an average boy, Nate, who gets a special watch empowering him to discover mysterious beings called “Yo-kai.” Yo-kai are everywhere, causing little nuisances in our daily lives. Each time Nate needs to solve a problem – a problem often caused by another troublesome Yo-kai – he uses his watch to call upon a friendly Yo-kai to aid him. The anime series has already enjoyed huge success in Japan, where it dominates the television, merchandise, gaming and toy markets, generating retail sales of over €2 billion in less than two years.
The University of New Orleans has been awarded $94,000 to build a digital animation studio for students looking to make a career in animation and special effects. Expected to open next spring, the facility will be an 11-station laboratory in UNO’s Earl K. Long Library.
UNO fine arts department faculty Jeff Rinehart lead the effort to secure the grant, which was awarded by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The department’s goal is to establish a new media and animation arts degree program, and the added equipment access that the lab will make possible is an important step.
Located on the fourth floor of the library, the animation lab’s 11 stations will each be equipped with a high-definition tablet as well as software for animation, rendering, video editing and web design. Currently, only three similar tablets are available to fine arts students and are mainly accessible during class hours. The new lab will be open to all students, but is designed primarily for fine arts, film and theater undergrads.
UNO recently opened a digital media laboratory on the library’s third floor — a collaboration between the Computer Science, Film and Theatre departments. Dubbed the “Innovation Lab,” this facility offers 10 high-performance computers, a 3D printer and motion-capture equipment which were used in the student side-scrolling action game Honest Abe, created this spring. In concert, the two labs will facilitate a project-driven curriculum aimed at giving students the professional development they will need to succeed in the industry.
Video: Aardman’s #ToadOff for Vimto
U.K. animation house teams up with Driven ad agency for an epic amphibian fruit-fight in this energetic CG spot, directed by Will Studd (Stuff vs. Stuff).
18th Annual Animation Show of Shows Kickstarter Launches
After the successful 2015 tour of 47 theaters in four countries, producer Ron Diamond seeks to raise $120k to bring the acclaimed short film showcase to even more locations worldwide.
Nick Launches Retro Ninja Turtles Fashion Line
Nickelodeon and U.K. fashion brand HYPE team up for apparel and accessories featuring logos and characters to roll out in many territories.
Tricon Kids & Family and Wildseed Kids have sold animated shorts series Counterfeit Cat to Disney XD for broadcast in the U.S. The comedy spots will debut on Monday, June 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET on Disney XD and its multiple platforms, including app and VOD. You can also get a feline fix at counterfeitcat.com.
Commissioned by Disney XD EMEA and Teletoon, Counterfeit Cat is a U.K. and Canada co-production of Tricon and Wildsee. The latter handles pre-production at its Bristol studio while Vancouver-based Atomic Cartoons delivers animation — Tricon International handles global distribution and property rights management.
The series follows the adventures of Max and Gark. Gark is not a real cat, he’s a Counterfeit Cat. He’s a small blue alien in a purple cat costume. Max is a real cat: fat, fluffy, yellow and constantly pampered by his doting owner Betty. When Gark crashes his spaceship into Betty’s laundry room, he finds a new home and forms an unconventional friendship with Max, who quickly learns how to take advantage of Gark’s mysterious alien powers and his sweet, trusting nature. Max loves having an admirer who will do anything for him, but Gark’s extreme curiosity and lack of understanding about life on Earth push Max out of his comfort zone and into ridiculous hair-raising adventures. Whether they are just hanging out at home or zipping through space and exploring new planets, Gark’s adventurous instincts will force Max to become the hero Gark believes him to be.
A new short-form animated series has arrived online to break up your existential doldrums. Life Sucks but at Least I’ve Got Elbows blends live-action and 3D animation to follow it’s thumb-sized protagonists as they navigate our world through 12 angsty episodes.
Life Sucks centers on a small family wherein a precocious 9-year old pesters her philosophical father about life’s big questions: Love, Death, Religion, etc. Dad takes an admirable stab at satisfying his daughter’s curiosity, between his son’s irreverent interjections and traumatic memories of his not-in-the-picture ex-wife. And viewers are helpfully reminded by their faithful if obnoxious bird companion throughout, that “Life sucks.”
The series is created by multi-award winning filmmaker Nicola Piovesan and written by slightly-fewer-awards winner Matt Willis-Jones. Michael McConnohie voices Dad and is joined by young talents Lizzie Freeman and Hayley Nelson.
You can be reminded that Life Sucks on Facebook and YouTube.
DreamWorks’ Voltron: Legendary Defenders premieres exclusively on Netflix on June 10 with a one-hour origin story, plus 10 22-minute episodes. While you wait for the official debut (and read more about the show in the June/July issue of Animation Magazine, #261), you can check out some cool clips and images from our pals at DWA.
Rick and Morty Rickstaverse — the first videogame built on Instagram — has a new expansion pack. So, there goes your afternoon! Adult Swim proudly presents “Interdimensional Cable Adventures,” featuring new levels based on the popular recurring episodes from the hit animated series. The expansion is now live, check it out at the @RickandMortyRickstaverse Instagram account.
The new content is based on the popular “Interdimensional Cable” episodes of Rick and Morty, in which co-creator Justin Roiland improvises scenes and the animators work around his off-the-cuff madness. Players can experience 20 new levels, including the Plumbus Factory, and a new collectible: Gazorpazorpfield Comics.
Originally launched in 2015 to coincide with the show’s second season, Rickstaverse is the first game built on the Instagram app platform, created in collaboration with Carrot Creative. The game is composed of over 120 Instagram accounts and over 1,800 individual squares, which players must scan through to find hidden photo tags that warp them to different levels to discover comics, clips and minigames. The account has close to 100,000 followers.
Rick and Morty is created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and produced by Starburns Industries for Adult Swim. A third season is set to debut later this year.
Award-winning animation and VFX studio Animal Logic is heading to the Annecy festiva in France this month, seeking to hire crew into its Vancouver studio for production on The LEGO Movie Sequel. Animal Logic’s recruitment team will join the Vancouver Economic Commission in the Canada Pavilion during the event, June 13-16.
“Annecy attracts over 8,000 industry professionals from all over the world,” said Jimmy Ockey, Senior Recruiter at Animal Logic. “We are beyond excited to be joining the team from the Vancouver Economic Commission this year to promote the great city of Vancouver. We’re also keen to meet some great talent on the ground who might be interested in joining us in making The LEGO Movie Sequel!”
In addition to being stationed at the Canada Booth, Ockey will meet with potential candidates face-to-face during the MIFA Recruitment Sessions (book an appointment online). Animal Logic is looking for candidates in all disciplines, including Surfacing, Rigging, Layout and Animation, Lighting and FX.
