Acamar Films’ Bing has extended its partnership with NSPCC for a third consecutive year to support the charity’s Childhood Day Mile fundraising event.

Acamar Films, the producer and distributor of the multi-award-winning pre-school animation, Bing, is partnering with the NSPCC for the third consecutive year for Childhood Day.

Childhood Day is the NSPCC’s flagship fundraising event to raise crucial funds to protect children. On 7th June 2024, nursery and school children across the UK will be getting together to celebrate childhood and raise money for the NSPCC.

Bing will take part in the NSPCC’s Childhood Day Mile, encouraging nurseries, children and their families to move a mile any way they like, to help support the NSPCC’s vital work. Participants will raise money to keep children across the UK safe. The NSPCC’s theme for this year’s Childhood Day is ‘Play your Part’ and Bing is there to help even young children move their mile by doing it as a team in a relay.

“We are thrilled to be partnering again with Bing for Childhood Day,” said Katie Fudge, Schools Fundraising Development manager at the NSPCC. “Bing’s dedication to early childhood development makes it the perfect partner for Childhood Day.”

Nurseries and early years practitioners that sign up to Childhood Day will receive bespoke Bing resources including activity sheets. Additionally, printed classroom posters and sticker packs will be sent directly to registered nurseries.

Registered nurseries can also enter into a competition to win a visit from Bing and Flop on Childhood Day. Bing and Flop will join in with the children’s activities and help them move their mile. Nurseries and early years practitioners can sign up via the Childhood Day page.

The NSPCC’s Childhood Day campaign will target 10,000 nurseries and early years practitioners around the UK, including email marketing, radio, paid influencer marketing and regional press.

Katie Rollings, chief licensing officer at Acamar Films, said: “Bing tells the small stories that make up those first experiences and shape our children’s understanding of the world and their potential within it. Childhood Day is a wonderful opportunity to come together, celebrate childhood and make a difference to children’s lives in the UK.”

The partnership between Licensing International and the Ethical Supply Chain Program will support the licensing industry in achieving its ESG objectives.

Carmel Giblin

Licensing International, a leading trade association for the global brand licensing industry, has named the Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) as its preferred social compliance partner.

The Ethical Supply Chain Program facilitates communication, certification and cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers, licensors and retailers worldwide. Through the newly formed partnership, more than 1,200 members of Licensing International will now have access to resources and programmes to support their ESG compliance journey and ensure they are adhering to the highest ethical standards.

Programmes available to members include ESCP’s Social Impact Assessment. The online assessment enables licensors to verify the maturity of a company’s social compliance systems and ensure that anyone making products using its intellectual property is doing so in a responsible way. Similarly, licensees can use this efficient and scalable tool to demonstrate to business partners that they are operating ethically.

Maura Regan

Carmel Giblin, president and CEO of the Ethical Supply Chain Program, said: ‘‘I am delighted to formalise our partnership with Licensing International and look forward to exploring how we can support its members and help them to navigate evolving challenges related to social and environmental compliance. This is particularly important at a time when global regulations are increasing. The European Council’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the new German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act are just two such initiatives. While the ambition of these initiatives should be welcomed, with any new regulation it’s important that organisations have the necessary tools and resources to ensure they are able to comply effectively.’’

Maura Regan, president of Licensing International, said: “We are thrilled to name the Ethical Supply Chain Program as Licensing International’s preferred social compliance partner. Consumer demand for ethical and sustainable practices continues to grow and, with new regulations launching around the world, we are working to provide our members with the resources they need to continue to grow while meeting these demands. We look forward to working with ESCP to launch new content and programming in support of the global brand licensing industry.”

The Ethical Supply Chain Program will be attending Licensing Expo, taking place in Las Vegas, NV between 21st – 23rd May, and is inviting members of the global licensing community to meet with the team to learn more.

PMI’s new Fuggler line will bring fans an array of brand-new products including collectible figures, keychains, interactive collectible toys and more.

PMI Kids World has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Fuggler. The funny-ugly monsters that have become a huge hit with their playful antics and quirky looks are now coming to shelves in a completely new way this winter.

With over 8m units sold worldwide to date and Fuggler plush recently selling out across 3,000 Walmart US stores, Fuggler is ready to take the collectible category by storm. The team from PMI has created a range of products that captures the quirky nature of the Fuggler brand, including capturing realistic human-like teeth and integrating the signature Butt-on hole to drive collectability, rarity and fuel the collectors’ secondary trading market.

The new line from PMI will give Fuggler fans a whole new way to interact with the mischievous monsters, including unique collectible figures, keychains, stampers, pencil toppers, advent calendars and interactive toys.

“Fugglers are impossible not to love, and recent sell-out success in retailers around the world, including Walmart, Kmart and Tesco, is a testament to that,” said Omer Dekel, CEO of PMI Kids World. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the hugely talented team at Libertas Brands on building out the Fuggiverse.”

“PMI is known for its expertise in introducing innovative and accessible collectibles and toy products to consumers on a global scale, and its passion for quality, innovation and pricing is second to none,” said Mark Kingston, CEO & co-founder of Libertas Brands. “We’re excited to be partnering with the team and getting Fugglers in all shapes and forms into consumer hands.”

PMI is set to unleash Fugglers hot off the tails of its recent successful launches in the licence-to-collectible pipeline, including Stumble Guys and Pudgy Penguins, which sold out on Amazon within 24 hours.

For more information on PMI Kids’ World, visit the website here.

Rubies has expanded its Star Wars costume offering by introducing the pre-school Young Jedi Adventures-inspired collection, which features Kai Brightstar, Nubs and Yoda costumes.

Building on its strong Star Wars portfolio growth, Rubies has unveiled its latest pre-school range for its successful collaboration with global powerhouse Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.

This collection is designed to ignite the imagination of pre-school children, bringing the enchanting world of Star Wars to a younger generation. Young Jedi fans can now dress up as popular characters including Kai Brightstar, Nubs and Yoda.

The Kai Brightstar-inspired costume showcases his daring spirit and Jedi robes, complete with a jumpsuit. The Nubs-inspired costume captures the lovable fuzzy creature’s charm with its iconic design and printed details and the Yoda-inspired costume transforms toddlers into the wise and revered Jedi Master, complete with Yoda’s distinctive robe and hood with ears.

“Following on from the phenomenal success of Spidey and His Amazing Friends, we are very excited to introduce the latest pre-school hit with our Star Wars Young Jedi Adventure-inspired costume collection. With this epic series, we are anticipating a brand-new wave of new Star Wars fans,” said Fran Hales, head of Portfolio at Rubies. “These colourful and creative costumes mean children can step into the shoes of their favourite characters, fostering imaginative play.”

The Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures-inspired dress-up costumes are available in a range of sizes, catering to toddlers of different ages. To find out more, visit the Rubies website or contact customerservices@rubiesuk.com for more details.

Special public charity previews of The Garfield Movie will take place on 12th May in over 300 locations across the UK before the film opens in cinemas on 24th May.

To celebrate the opening of  The Garfield Movie in the UK, special preview screenings will take place in cinemas across the country on Sunday 12th May, ahead of its debut in cinemas on 24th May. Sony Pictures Entertainment and participating cinemas are donating all income received from ticket sales to support the work of MediCinema.

Hospital patients will also be treated to a special preview the day before, on Saturday 11th May, at in-hospital cinemas run by MediCinema, including the Serennu Children’s Centre in Newport, the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

The world-famous indoor cat Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) is about to have a wild outdoor adventure. After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a high-stakes heist.

Exhibitors taking part include Vue, Cineworld, Showcase, Odeon, The Light, Empire, Everyman, Picturehouse, Omniplex UK, WTW + Scott Cinemas, Savoy Cinemas, Film Centre Wells, Abbeygate Bury St Edmunds and many other independent cinemas.

MediCinema is a charity which improves the well-being and quality of life of NHS patients and their families through the power of the shared cinema experience and the magic of film. It builds and runs cinemas inside hospitals, designed to accommodate beds, wheelchairs and medical equipment. Its services help to improve emotional, mental and physical health, reducing feelings of isolation, anxiety and stress. Last year, more than 16,000 patients and their families in hospital watched a film in a MediCinema at one of 1,200 screenings.

Colin Lawrence, CEO MediCinema, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Sony and all the exhibition partners taking part. By donating the income from these screenings to MediCinema, each company and its customers are helping to support patients visiting our cinemas. We know that this vastly improves the experience of being in hospital, and these special previews will mean that so many more NHS patients and their families will benefit.”

Interested parties can find out where the 12th May special previews are taking place by clicking here.

Licensing Expo has announced the opening keynote presentation under the event theme ‘Brands at Play’.

Taking place 21st-23rd May at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, Licensing Expo brings together thousands of leading retailers, manufacturers and marketers to connect, identify future trends and secure consumer product deals with the world’s most influential brands.

Roughly 48% of the global population consider themselves either casual or active gamers. With mobile gaming capturing more players than ever before, the video game segment is building a community of billions and gaming is expected to be the next major category for consumer products growth. This opening keynote panel, Video Games: Driving Billions to Play, explores the ‘why’ behind gaming’s massive growth in popularity, what gamers look for in a brand and how the next franchise model will lead with video games, either from brand-new IP or the revival of heritage titles.
Panelists include Nick McWhorter, director of Global Licensing, CD Projekt Red; Doug Rosen, senior vice president, Games and Emerging Media, Paramount; Maya Rogers, CEO, Tetris and Ivo Gerscovich, chief Business and Brand officer, Sega of America; moderated by License Global’s Ben Roberts, Content director.

“Licensing Expo is where we plant the seeds for how we creatively approach emerging trends we see across the market. These phenomenal global leaders in gaming IP are at the forefront of tomorrow’s leading brand extensions, tapping into what resonates best with their communities,” said Anna Clarke, senior vice president of the Global Licensing Group, which produces Licensing Expo. “Especially as this year we focus on all iterations of Brands at Play, we are setting the stage by shining the light on gaming as the category of the future. Digitisation impacts brand engagement and is a critical area to provide education and ideas into how we can expand.”

As the gaming segment connects a community of billions globally, video games are quickly becoming the next major category for licensing growth. Licensing International reported 9.8% of the $340.8b global sales revenue of licensed merchandise and services in 2022 came from video games, software and apps.

More than 300 exhibiting companies, including Paramount, The Lego Group, Warner Bros., Nintendo, Riot Games, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Sega, Mattel, Crunchyroll, Minecraft, NASCAR and many more will be at Licensing Expo.

To learn more about Licensing Expo and register to attend, visit www.licensingexpo.com.

Panini’s Official England Sticker Collection Tournament Edition 2024 is available now, with 387 stickers to collect.

Panini has announced the launch of the eagerly anticipated Official England Sticker Collection Tournament Edition 2024.

Featuring 100% official kits and packed full of past, present and future Three Lions stars, plus elite players from four of Europe’s greatest national teams, Panini says the collection is the ultimate companion to the summer of football.

The collection boasts 387 stickers, including 130 special stickers. Collectors can kick start their collection with a starter pack that includes an album plus five sticker packets.

Commenting on the collection, Katie Gritt, head of Marketing for Sport at Panini, said: “The Official England Sticker Collection Tournament Edition 2024 has landed, ready for football fans to collect their favourite England players ahead of what promises to be a memorable summer of football. As well as the current England squad – and the favourite players from France, Germany, Italy and Spain, all in 100% official kit – this must-have collection features England Legends, Next Gen players and amazing facts and stats on Europe’s biggest superstars. It’s the sticker collection to have this summer.”

Panini’s new collection features a Legends series with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney, all available to collect.

Former Liverpool and England star, Steve McManaman, who also features as a Legend in the series, said: “It’s a really proud moment being included as a Legend and those specific stickers standing out with a unique design. My 12-year-old boy will be talking to his mate about the stickers in the new collection, and now his dad is on one of them. For football lovers, sticker collections and the quest to try and fill up your book, is one of the great memories of growing up.”

The Official England Sticker Collection Tournament Edition 2024, is available now at www.panini.co.uk/englandstickers and retailers nationwide.

Random House Children’s Books has released an array of Garfield titles ranging in age to accompany the release of The Garfield Movie next month. 

Random House Children’s Books has released a series of Garfield books ahead of The Garfield Movie’s release on 24th May, which will feature Chris Pratt’s voice as the titular character. The collection of books includes a Golden Book, an early reader for children learning to read, two storybooks and an activity book to accompany the movie’s release next month.

The Garfield Movie: Official Activity Book contains 48 pages and is designed for children aged 3-7. This full-colour activity book retells the story of Garfield and includes puzzles, posters and over 50 stickers.

The Garfield Movie: The Junior Novelization contains 144 pages and is aimed at children aged 6-9. This title retells the story of Garfield and includes eight full-colour pages.

Living the Dream is a full-colour storybook featuring 24 pages and a 8×8 size. This title is targeted at children aged 3-7.

Little Cat, Big Dreams is a beautifully illustrated Little Golden Book made for children aged 2-5. It features a hardcover and 24 pages.

One Lucky Cat! is a 24-page Step 2 Step into Reading book retelling the story of Garfield. Step 2 readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. This book is particularly designed for children who recognise familiar words and can sound out new words with help.

All five titles are available on the Random House Children’s Books official website now.

The countdown is on to the Real FX Disney Stitch First Edition being unleashed on June 26th, which will include a Stitch certificate that verifies it as first off the production line.

Wow! Stuff has announced that pre-orders will shortly open for one of the most hotly anticipated toys of 2024. Real FX, the Disney Stitch First Edition will be in the hands of fans for the first time on June 26th.

Designed and developed in-house, over several years, by the engineers and scientists at Wow! Stuff, Real FX new Disney Stitch was first teased at international toy fairs and received a phenomenal reception (not least from the Licensing Biz team). Now, the company reports that many major retailers around the world are already calling it their 2024 toy of the year.

A high-tech animatronic puppet, Real FX Stitch will be launched in limited numbers as a First Edition on 26th June 2024, to commemorate International Stitch day. The First Edition will include a Stitch certificate that verifies it as an official first model off the production line.

Real FX Stitch is truly distinctive. Fans can commandeer the authentic animatronic Stitch toy using the hand-insert controls to generate over 100 incredible action and sound combinations. Real FX Stitch has been designed to captivate onlookers with his cute blinking eyes, mechanically controlled rising and drooping ears, mischievous smile and wonderful dialect spoken in his alien native tongue of Tantalog – a combination of Hawaiian, Chinese and Chezcreekian.

Real FX Stitch even features touch-sensitive sound activations: stroking his blue fur will elicit infamous phrases in Stitch’s native tongue of Tantalog. His owner can hear him excitedly respond when they stroke his head, purr softly as he warms to their cuddles, or play-bite those who dare touch his tongue. Ultimately, Real FX Stitch always retains his soft and cuddly side, proving to be a best friend ready to sniff or snooze on request.

The pre-order list is expected to open on 1st June in the UK and Europe at leading retailers, where fans pre-ordering will secure their First Edition model for delivery on 26th June or soonest thereafter. Pre-orders will take precedent and be on a first come first served basis, and more stock is expected later in 2024.

For availability please contact sunny.walia@wowstuff.com (North America) or tony.white@wowstuff.com (Rest of World).

Wow! Stuff’s stated mission is ‘to work until our brains hurt to deliver toys and pop-culture products that are really innovative, on brand, in universe, always!’. The team has won multiple awards and global recognition for its unique tech-toys and world first inventions, is a five times TOTY (Toy Of The Year) award nominee and a winner of the Toy of The Year Innovation award.

For more information see www.wowstuff.com.

The Lego Group has announced its Lego Star Wars 25th anniversary collection will continue to expand with new launches on Star Wars Day: May the 4th.

The TIE Interceptor building set which was part of the first launch of the Ultimate Collector Series in 2000 is back in a new and redesigned version. Fans of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi can relive the action of the movie, as they recreate the distinctive wings, detailed cockpit and laser cannons of the magnificent Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor building set.

The 1,931-piece set is an impressive 16 inches long and comes complete with an exclusive TIE Pilot minifigure and Mouse Droid figure, currently limited to this set. The model is mounted on a stand with a printed plaque and includes a 1.3-inch wide printed brick with the Lego Star Wars anniversary logo.

Meanwhile, fans of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace can dive into building a dynamic snapshot of Tatooine with the Mos Espa Podrace Diorama building set. The 718-piece display set includes Anakin Skywalker, the Arch Canyon and a plaque with Qui-Gon Jinn’s advice: “Remember. Concentrate on the moment. Feel. Don’t think. Use your instincts.”

With the 640-piece Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator building set, fans can fold out the wings and retract the landing gear for flight, fire the two spring-loaded shooters and press the trigger to drop three DRK-1 probe droids from the front compartment.

Alternatively, fans can check out the brick-built destroyer droid, Droideka set with 583 pieces. For those who prefer brick-built display characters, there are six collectible Lego BrickHeadz figures featuring Jar Jar Binks, Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Captain Panaka, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul.

For Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith fans, there is also a BrickHeadz Clone Commander Cody set. Anyone who is team Grogu will be pleased to now be able to immerse themselves into the building experience of the 221-piece BARC Speeder Escape alongside Kelleran Beq.

May the 4th celebrations continue in Lego Fortnite, with exciting new Lego Star Wars content to discover in the survival crafting game beginning on 3rd May.

Also launching for pre-order on 1st May is the new Lego Star Wars Coffee Table Book, The Force of Creativity. The book includes development art, character designs and gives fans a true insight into the Lego Star Wars galaxy and is available for pre-order here.

Fans are also invited to join the 25-Second Film Festival, which will be open until 22nd April and culminates on 4th May and invites fans to submit their own 25-second clip that recreates their favourite Star Wars moments or forges a new one with Lego Star Wars building sets and minifigures they treasure.

From 1st to 5th May, Lego Star Wars fans will receive all three ‘gift with purchases’ when purchasing the new Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor, including the Battle of Yavin collectible depicting Darth Vader’s cockpit view, the Trade Federation Troop Carrier set commemorating the 25^th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and the AAT building set. These offerings coincide with the Lego Star Wars May the 4th live stream event featuring special offers, set reveals, designer presentation and giveaways such as a signed TIE Interceptor set in the US, UK and Germany on 1st May.

The new Lego Star Wars products will be available from 1st May. The Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor set is available exclusively at Lego stores and online with Lego Insiders early access from 1st May, and all shoppers from 4th May.