A new point-and-click, puzzle-filled sci-fi adventure game has just come out for iOS devices, complete with neat animated storytelling and eye candy visuals. Love You to Bits follows Kosmo, a clumsy rookie space explorer who is searching for Nova, his missing robot girlfriend. When a terrible accident smashes Nova to pieces and scatters them through space, Kosmo must set out to collect all the bits to put her back together — while avoiding crazy space monsters and other dangers.
Created over the last two years by Barcelona indie studios Alike Studio and Pati.io, Love You to Bits whisks players off to enigmatic worlds and planets full of bizarre alien creatures, mind-blowing space-time puzzles and hidden love-tokens to collect. As levels are completed, you unlock new glimpses at Kosmo and Nova’s charming love story.
The game is developed by 5Ants and published by Rovio, available now from the App Store. Versions for Android, PC and Mac are coming soon.
Love You to Bits is nominated for Best Upcoming Game at the International Mobile Gaming Awards.
Following the launch of its first animated feature film in French theaters (Dofus – Book 1: Julith), Ankama Animations has inked a slew of VOD and SVOD deals with several platforms for its original fantasy-adventure series.
French viewers will now be able to watch Dofus, Kerub’s Bazaar on TF1 VOD, OCS Go and Canal Play. The 52 x 13 series for kids 6-10 is commissioned by France Televisions and has broadcast on France 3. The show is also available on Google Play and iTunes.
The deal with OCS Go and Canal Play also encompasses Ankama’s major hit, Wakfu — already available on Netflix, Google Play and iTunes. OCS Go has picked up seasons 1 and 2, and Canal Play will offer the two seasons plus two TV specials (Ogrest and Noximillien) and three OVAs. Wakfu (52 x 26; kids 6-12) is set in the same universe of Dofus nad is part of a transmedia universe created by Ankama, comprising videogames, boardgames, manga, novels and audiovisual productions.
New Star Wars Rebels clip: “Shroud of Darkness”
Debuting March 2 on Disney XD, the latest installment follows Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka back to the Jedi Temple on Lothal to see Yoda, where they experience powerful visions.
The first season of hot Japanese videogame-turned-toon Yo-Kai Watch is preparing to roll out in multiple international territories throughout the year, beginning with a premiere on Cartoon Network in the U.K. on April 23. The series is created by gaming studio LEVEL-5 and centers on a boy named Nate whose special watch allows him to see and interact with the mysterious Yo-kai — creatures that are secretly responsible for all kinds of daily nuisances.
Following the U.K. launch, Yo-Kai Watch is due to arrive in over 100 territories worldwide. In France, it will debut on BOING in April, on Gulli on September 1 and on Cartoon Network in March 2017. Nickelodeon will air the show in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands beginning May 21. In Italy, the series will launch first on Cartoon Network in April and later on BOING.
BOING is also bringing Yo-Kai Watch to air in Spain and Africa starting in May. Through April and May, Cartoon Network will further roll-out the show in CEE, the Nordics, Portugal, Turkey and Poland. The show is also set for Noga in Israel this summer, and on to-be-announced channels in Russia and Ukraine this fall.
Yo-Kai Watch airs in the U.S. on Disney XD, weekdays at 5 p.m.
Organizers of the 30th annual Shanghai TV Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival have opened submissions for animated TV series, specials and films to compete in these prestigious entertainment events.
The Shanghai TV Festival, running June 6 to 10, is seeking entries for its Magnolia Awards including animated series, specials and other projects which have had a premiere broadcast between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016. Each year, the Magnolia Awards attract hundreds of entries from upwards of 50 countries worldwide. Online submissions are free and open until March 10 through stvf.com.
Last year’s Magnolia Award winners included JJJoy Animation Studios’ Kung Fu Bunny (Best Animation) and Argosy Film Group’s Lost Treasure Hunt (Best Animation Storytelling).
On the film side, the 2016 Shanghai Int’l Film Festival (June 11-19) is expected to once again present over 2,000 films from around the world. Last year, the festival’s Golden Goblet Award ceremony presented for the first time a prize for best animated film, which went to Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea. Animated features of at least 70 minutes running time completed after June 1, 2015 are invited to enter for free through siff.com by April 15, 2016.
Colin Low, a pioneering filmmaker whose groundbreaking career with the National Film Board of Canada spanned over six decades, died in Montreal on February 24 at the age of 89.
“The National Film Board of Canada feels a profound sense of loss today. The NFB as a center of excellence and innovation would not have existed as we know it without the enormous contributions of Colin Low. He was a great and committed public servant―and would speak of the pride he felt in creating cinema that served Canadians. He was tireless, visionary, generous in spirit, a true gentlemen―a great Canadian and Albertan. Canada will not see his like again and we are forever in his debt,” said Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.
Low was born July 24, 1926 in Cardston, Alberta. He was first recruited by the NFB in 1945, soon after his graduation from the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Calgary Institute of Technology, through a summer training program set up by Norman McLaren to create the NFB’s now globally acclaimed animation division. By 1949, Low was hired on as a filmmaker and in 1950 became Head of the Animation Unit. In addition to directing, producing and executive producing more than 200 films for NFB, Low was central to many breakthroughs in Canadian film history.
His achievements began early in his career. He directed the first NFB film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short, The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1952) — which won a Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes and a special BAFTA. The film broke the early mold of NFB animation, putting a humorous bent on an “industrial animation” style rather than McLaren’s auteur model.
His 1954 film Corral, winner of Best Documentary the Venice Film Festival, also broke NFB tradition by doing away with narration. Low received his second short film Palme d’Or (and another BAFTA and Oscar nomination) for the Klondike Gold Rush documentary City of Gold (1957), co-directed with Wolf Koenig. In 1960, he returned to Alberta at made another film first with Circle of the Sun — the first time the Kainai Nation had permitted their sacred Sun Dance to be filmed. That year he also co-directed with Roman Kroitor Universe, which inspired Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Low’s work on the multi-screen Expo 67 production In the Labyrinth (co-directed by Kroitor and Hugh O’Connor) lead to the creation of Canada’s giant-screen IMAX format. Low continued to break ground in IMAX filmmaking at NFB with two world’s fair films co-directed with Tony Ianzelo: Transitions, the first IMAX 3D production (also the first use of stereoscopic computer animation) for Expo 86; and Momentum, the first 48fps IMAX HD film, for Expo 92.
Low’s pioneering influence was also evident in his work on NFB’s centennial community-based film project, Challenge for Change. Low worked with the people of Fogo Island, Newfoundland, to shoot 27 films for the program. His methods of using cinema as a tool for social change has since become known as the “Fogo Process.” In 1972, he was appointed Executive Producer of NFB’s Studio C, where he oversaw production of over 100 documentaries. In 1976, he became Director of Regional Production, heading a new unit of five production offices. Throughout these years, Low helped encourage closer relationships with communities throughout the country.
In 2000, Low directed his final NFB production — the autobiographical Moving Pictures, in which a master filmmaker explores the parallels between the mass production of weapons and technology of cinema.
Amongst Low’s many Canadian and international honors, he received the Grierson Award at the 1972 Canadian Film Awards for outstanding contributions to Canadian cinema, the 1987 Public Service Award from the Government of Canada, the 1997 Prix Albert-Tessier for his contributions to Quebec cinema, and the 2002 Abel Gance Award from the Large Format Cinema Association. In 1996, Low was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Low is survived by his wife Eugénie and sons Alexander, Ben and Stephen, who are all active in the film industry as writers, directors and producers.
Industrial Light & Magic, a division of Lucasfilm, is adding Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Eric Barba to its Vancouver studio team as Creative Director. In addition to supervising effects work, Barba will provide creative oversight across all of the studio’s projects. He will work closely with ILM Vancouver’s Executive in Charge, Randal Shore, and collaborate with ILM talent worldwide.
Barba joins ILM Vancouver after serving as CCO of Digital Domain for the past two years, where he had been a VFX supervisor since 1999. He supervised the effects on David Fincher’s Zodiac, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, for which he received Oscar and BAFTA awards for Outstanding Visual Effects, as well as two VES Awards. Barba also worked with Joseph Kosinski supervising work on TRON: Legacy and Oblivion. He has recently been consulting on a number of feature projects.
Besides feature films, Barba has supervised effects work on dozens of commercials for the likes of Nike, Heineken and Microsoft Xbox/Epic Games and has directed ad campaigns for American Express, Cingular, Honda, Jaguar and Nike. His commercial work has been honored with 8 AICP Awards and 3 gold and 2 bronze Clio Awards. He began his career as a digital artist on science fiction television programs at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Imaging and is a graduate of Art Center College of Design. Barba is also a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
ILM Vancouver is currently in production on Warcraft for Duncan Jones, Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and David Green’s Teenage Mutant Turtles 2. Recently completed work includes Jurassic World for Colin Trevorrow, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant and Star Wars: The Force Awakens for J.J. Abrams which won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Special Visual Effects.
Disney’s heroic action-thriller The Finest Hours, now in theaters, is the true story of the most daring small boat rescue in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard. To bring the harrowing adventure to life, director Craig Gillespie and production vfx supervisor turned to MPC to deliver roughly 900 shots across 10 months of post-production, overseen by MPC’s vfx supervisor Seth Maury and producer Felix Crawshaw.
The bulk of MPC’s work involved recreating an immersive no’easter storm, complete with ocean swells, thrashing waves, driving rain and snow to suck audiences into the perilous story, and a sequence where a 36-foot Coast Guard boat crosses a digital version of Chatham bar surrounded by 30- to 50-foot waves.
MPC built on footage shot using a large water-tank, gimbal set of the Coast Guard rescue boat, full-size mock-up of the Pendleton’s hull and a replica of the endangered boat’s engine room — as well as on-location scenes shot around Cape Cod. Visual effects work began early on in the production, with the team creating some full CG shots in order to figure out what would be required to create a big enough storm for the story.
The vfx team completed about 300 large-scale water simulation shots, 300 weather and environment shots and 300 shots of the ocean inserted behind actors shot on bluescreen. MPC also built digital doubles of the crewmembers, as well as digital versions of the Pendleton T2 tanker and CG36500 Coast Guard boat.
For the large-scale, fully CG water simulation shots, MPC built a library of elements and CG renders that layered to create the watery expanse — a base ocean, foam pass, mist pass, fine spray pass, bullbe pass, water texture pass and refraction and reflection passes for surfaces. A constantly blowing CG mist, dubbed Speed Mist, was also added to the live footage shot on location. For shots panoramic enough to show the practical (or CG) boat interacting with the water’s surface, there was a suit of elements rendered to connect the the two — splashes, sprays, bow wakes, tail wakes and engine wash.
The most challenging work involved a sequence where the CG36500 Coast Guard boat crosses the Chatham Bar in 30-50ft waves. The waves were in various state of swelling, crashing, dumping and spilling. MPC developed systems for creating each of these waves, and additional systems for adding layers of waves into the same scene. Many shots in this sequence were crafted as single-solution waves, such as looking down the barrel of a crashing wave, or being pushed along and backwards by a wave that had already crashed.
Award-winning preschool animated series Puffin Rock is heading to book shelves as Puffin Books announces the release of the first of a new series of picture books centered on the character Oona and Baba, Hello Little Egg. The title is set to launch on World Book Day, on Thursday, March 3.
In Hello Little Egg – An Oona and Baba Adventure, Oona, Baba and Mossy discover a very strange looking rock while out playing. When they discover their find is actually an egg, all alone and far away from its mama and papa, the threesome and their friends set off on a high-spirited quest to return the little egg to its parents — before it hatches!
The recent recipient of two Kidscreen Awards, Annies recognition and nominated for a voice acting British Animation Award for narrator Chris O’Dowd, Puffin Rock is a multiplatform preschool brand co-owned by Cartoon Saloon, Dog Ears and Penguin Books. The animated series premiered on RTEjr in 2015 and follows the comical adventures of a family of puffins who live on a beautiful Irish island.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Genius Brands International have finalized a multi-year deal that will see Sony providing marketing and distribution GBI’s Kids Genius and Baby Ganiu labels throughout North America. The deal also allows for for the two companies to co-develop, distribute and globally merchandise future animated and live-action properties derived from their respective programming libraries.
“This transformative, long-term commitment between our companies allows Genius Brands International to focus on what we do best–creating, producing, merchandising and acquiring commercial content for both kids and families–and enables us to expand and accelerate our growth and shareholder value,” said Andy Heyward, GBI Chairman and CEO. “SPHE’s substantial, marketing, promotion, and retail and digital distribution resources, will be instrumental in the continued expansion of our brands.”
Leading the new charge through Sony are GBI’s musical, fashion-driven tween girls’ brand SpacePop, which debuts this fall; a new original Baby Genius series set to coincide with the brand’s expanded launch this year; Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club and Stan Lee’s Mighty 7. BI is also developing three new properties to be announced shortly which are included in the agreement.
SpacePOP, aimed at girls ages 7-12, is currently in production and features 100-plus animated shorts to be digitally distributed to align with tweens’ mobile-driven world. BGI Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward, an Emmy-winning kids’ content producer, spearheads production efforts. The key creatives attached also include Emmy nominee Steve Banks as content writer, and Grammy winning producer Ron Fair and his singer-songwriter spouse Stefanie Faire — who will handle original music for the brand. A comprehensive, fashion-driven consumer products line is also in the works. Imprint, a division of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, is on board as global Master Publisher.
Entertainment One (eOne) and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have entered a multi-territory home entertainment agreement, which will also see the launch of a joint venture in Canada. The companies have long had a home entertainment distribution arrangement for Australia and Spain.
The expanded partnership will see Fox managing sales and distribution for DVD and Blu-ray for eOne film, TV and family entertainment titles in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Australia. Fox will also manage marketing and sales activities for eOne’s Peppa Pig physical home entertainment products in the U.S.
In Canada, the new joint venture will handle home entertainment releases for 20th Century Fox titles, with an inaugural lineup including The Peanuts Movie and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip as well as live-action hits The Hateful Eight and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
London-based content distributor Media I.M. — which specializes in animation and family entertainment — has sold three of its top kids’ toons to broadcaster in Sweden, Norway and Israel. “The Nordic territories and Israel are formidable competitive markets for children’s product, which makes these latest deals forRosa & Dara, Kikoriki and Pin-Code particularly gratifying,” says Media I.M. co-founder Irina Nazarenko.
Swedish broadcaster SVT has picked up Rosa & Dara and Their Great Holiday Adventures, a 26-minute TV special from Czech studio Bionaut, for its children’s channel SVT Barnkanalen. The special is set to air in the third quarter of 2016. The animated adventure-fantasy has also been licensed by Norwegian pubcaster NRK for its NRK Super kids’ channel. Last year, Rosa & Dara got a multi-territory deal with Middle East broadcaster MBC3.
Top selling series Kikoriki and Pin-Code, from Russia’s Petersburg Animation Studio, are now headed to Israel through deals with Talit Communications and A+ Kids TV, respectively. Kikoriki launched in 2003 and follows the funny, spherical inhabitants of the world of Kikoriki. The show is one of the most successful Russian animation titles ever, and in the last year has sold to Dusyeri Animation Studios for Planeta Cocuk (Turkey), MBC, Discovery Italia, Telecom Italia, BNT (Bulgaria), TV Galicia (Spain) and ETV (Estonia).
Pin-Code is a science, adventure and discovery series featuring the key characters of Kikoriki and starring a penguin inventor named Pin, aimed at kids 4-8. VOD educational service A+ Kids TV has secured a 3.5-year deal for the series in Israel, with a launch planned for its Hot and Yes platforms this year. A+ Kids also plans to debut a linear channel in the country by the end of the year.
An innovative means of capturing minute facial performance information, used in the blockbuster superhero flicks Deadpool and Avengers: Ages of Ultron, is the subject of an international legal contest which could create major problems for Hollywood, the New York Times reports. The technology, called Mova, won a Sci-Tech academy award last year.
Following a suit filed by Chinese company Shenzhenshi Haitiecheng Science and Technology Company (which is affiliated with vfx company Digital Domain) claiming ownership of Mova last February, San Francisco tech incubator Rearden has countersued, claiming a slew of patent and copyright violations by Shenzhenshi.
Rearden has asked a judge for financial damages and to block distribution of movies and other projects made by infringing on Mova patents and trademarks. These titles would reportedly include billion-dollar blockbusters Deadpool, Terminator Genisys and Guardians of the Galaxy. Intellectual property lawyer Alex Chachkes of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe tells NYT there is little chance of a distribution block for completed movies, but Rearden’s suit may disrupt movies in production at Digital Domain.
Mova is a distinct step forward from traditional motion-capture using markers, utilizing phosphorescent makeup and customized hardware and software to convert highly detailed facial movements and expressions into data for film and videogame animation. The tech was previously used in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Gravity and other major films.
The history of Mova’s ownership is fairly convoluted. Rearden’s founder, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Perlman, merged his online game start-up OnLive with Mova but left the company in 2012. According to the countersuit against Shenzhenshi, OnLive then decided to sell Mova’s assets, which Perlman decided to acquire. At Rearden, Perlman tasked employee Greg LaSalle with managing the acquisition, but LaSalle negotiated to sell the Mova assets to Digital Domain “improperly.”
Shenzhenshi’s suit filed last year contends that it acquired Mova in May 2013 through a legitimate transaction with LaSalle, saying that Perlman’s inability to make a successful business out of Mova lead him to encourage LaSalle to salvage the investment on his own. Perlman’s later attempt to regain control of Mova was “a severe bout of ‘seller’s remorse’” after Mova’s Academy Award win lead to a flood of publicity. LaSalle is currently director of visual development for Digital Domain.
An announcement out of Paris reveals that leading international entertainment companies Banijay and Zodiak Media have completed a merger transaction, uniting their catalogs and production units to form Banijay Group — now the world’s largest independent production and distribution group with around $1 billion USD in revenues.
Banijay Group, operational from Feb. 23, is 73.8% controlled by a company composed of Stephane Courbit’s LOV Group (50.1%) and De Agostini Group’s DeA Communications (49.9%), with Vivendi owning the remaining 26.2%. Courbit has been named Chairman, and Marco Bassetti is appointed CEO of Banijay Group.
The newly formed company boasts production operations in 17 territories, generating drama, factual, reality, docu-drama, children’s and animation programming. Banijay and Zodiak’s distribution operations are merging, to be led by Head of Distribution Tim Multimer — these operations will keep the name of Zodiak Rights. Additional key appointments for the Group include CFO Sophie Kurinckx and General Counsel Frederique Sauvage.
PBS has announced it will launch new, 24/7 children’s services later this year which will include a new TV channel and live stream on digital platforms, provided by local stations. Now PBS stations across the country will be able to broadcast PBS KIDS shows at all hours, making it easy for children to catch their favorite shows. The station-branded live streams will also be accessible through pbskids.org and on the PBS KIDS Video App — available for mobile, tablet and OTT devices.
“Parents know that PBS KIDS makes a difference in their children’s lives, which is why so many have said they would value having access to our content throughout the day. Television continues to be the most widely used platform for children’s educational content, especially among low-income families,” said PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger. “The new PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream offered by local member stations ensure that educational media is available to all families, all the time and via a platform that works for them. Given that 54% of all children nationwide do not have the opportunity to attend preschool, providing access is a critical element of our public service mission.”
Following the initial launch, the live stream will be enhanced with an integrated games feature, which will allow young viewers to toggle between watching a show and a tie-in activity that extends learning.
The new PBS KIDS 24/7 channel will offer popular favorites such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Odd Squad, Wild Kratts and Dinosaur Train, new series Nature Cat and Ready Jet Go!, and a new show from The Jim Henson Company, working titled Splash, premiering this fall. The 24/7 channel will be in addition to established local PBS channels, which will continue to offer daytime PBS KIDS programming. The channels will have different program lineups, expanding viewing options for families.
PBS Launching Free 24/7 Multiplatform Kids Service
The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (itfs.de/en) will welcome around 85,000 visitors to Das neue Herz Europas between April 26 and May 1 this year, and details of the program are beginning to be sketched in. The festival and its partner events, the FMX conference and Animation Production Day, are set to once again offer the latest in artistry, technology and industry resources.
Highlights of the 2016 schedule include:
+ Studio presentations from LAIKA, Psyop, Studio Soi, A. Film, Copenhagen Bombay, and more.
+ Special Guests including Eric Shaw, Nick Cross, Ron Diamond, Raul Garcia, Spela Cadez and Marianne Khoury.
+ International and German premieres in the feature film and series competitions, in cooperation with MIPTV, MIP Junior and Cartoon Forum.
+ Feature country Denmark will offer studio presentations, workshops and a retrospective program.
+ Meeting opportunities at Animation Production Day and APD Conference, this year focused on animated documentaries in cooperation with Documentary Campus.
+ Animated Video Market, where you can watch all films submitted to the festival.
+ Screenplay workshops exploring VR storytelling, animated learning tools, graphic novels and more.
+ Game Zone activities include presentations, talks and the Games Award.
+ Meet & Greet with 2,500 attending professionals at the Animation Lounge, at various parties and receptions or in between sessions.
Early Bird accreditation rates are available until March 10 online.
James Pitaro, current co-chair of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media and president of Disney Interactive, will be stepping up as chairman of DCPI following the departure of current co-chair Leslie Ferraro. Walt Disney Company COO Thomas Staggs made the announcement. Pitaro will continue to report to Staggs, as well as to Disney chairman and CEO Robert Iger. Ferraro is vacating the co-chair position to pursue marketing and consumer engagement projects, with Disney as a client.
Pitaro joined Disney’s interactive division, which was last year combined with consumer products, in 2010 after holding the position of vice president at Yahoo Media. As president of Disney Interactive, Pitaro lead social media efforts and spearheaded digital video projects that extended Disney story lines. He oversees multi-platform games, premium web and apps for Disney and its brands.
“Jimmy’s strong and successful leadership makes him the natural choice to run DCPI at this dynamic and exciting time,” says Staggs. “He brings to this expanded position his keen eye for technological innovation and deep familiarity with the brands and franchises that continue to drive the segment’s growth. Having worked with Leslie throughout her 17-year career at Disney, I have great respect for her abilities and appreciate her contributions to the company, which include creating many of our Parks & Resorts’ most successful marketing strategies and iconic campaigns. Given her proven marketing savvy, I know she’ll have great success in her new endeavor.”
Hong Kong-based development studio Fifth Journey has entered into partnerships with Universal, Lionsgate and MGM to develop mobile games, interactive entertainment and virtual reality projects based on feature films produced by the studios. The Hollywood partners are also taking a strategic equity stake in the gaming company.
Fifth Journey was founded in early 2015 by Eric Tan — who had been an executive with Universal, Gameloft and Electronic Arts — and Craig Derrick, formerly of LucasArts. The studio was founded with an eye to helping Hollywood blockbusters break into the Asian gaming market. Tan has overseen a slate of Marvel games as well as the release of Despicable Me: Minion Rush (Universal/Gameloft) in China.
“Asia is an enormous opportunity and challenge for Hollywood,” Tan told Variety. “So is building a great film franchise in this on-demand world. We built a company to solve some of Hollywood’s most pressing needs, and these partnerships are a huge step forward.”
Forthcoming projects through the new deals will also see Fifth Journey incorporate movie ticket sales and merchandise e-commerce, as well as video streaming. The company secured $2 million in financing last August, and inked its first deal with Lionsgate and Millennium Films to deliver a mobile game based on the action franchise Expendables.
Portfolio Entertainment has secured a raft of new sales for animated preschool series, Doki. Much of the distributor’s deals for the show have come from season one broadcasters coming back for more.
Discovery Family in the Middle East, Africa and Greece has picked up season two (26 x 30) and three Doki half-hour specials. KiKa in Germany and Hakka TV in Taiwan opted for the same package, as did Canada’s TVO (Ontario) and Knowledge Network (British Columbia).
Doki follows its little dog hero and his five friends as they travel the world and explore distant lands and cultures, while satisfying the questions of inquisitive preschoolers.
