Tag Archives: horrid henry

Rubies teams with Novel Entertainment for Horrid Henry World Book Day campaign

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Costume designer and manufacturer Rubies Masquerade UK and Novel Entertainment have come together to support an exclusive Horrid Henry giveaway and Rubies dress-up costume for the brand.

Launching during the week of World Book Day (3 March), for which Rubies is an official corporate partner, the initiative will see an exclusive offer for 250 fans to receive a free copy of a specially created comic-style book entitled Horrid Henry’s Vile Vacation when they purchase a Horrid Henry dress-up costume through one of Rubies official retail partners. The offer will be supported on both Rubies and Novel Entertainment’s Horrid Henry official social media channels.

The book is based on the popular TV episode of the same name, written by Novel Entertainment’s Co-Founder and Creative Director Lucinda Whiteley, and follows Henry on the trip of a lifetime – even though it isn’t quite what he was expecting.

Under Novel Entertainment’s long-term deal with Rubies, the Horrid Henry costume is available in children’s sizes, while there is also ‘Bag of Tricks’ available, featuring essentials for every budding prankster and Horrid Henry fan.

Novel’s Lucinda Whiteley says: “As a long-standing and valued partner of Horrid Henry, it’s fantastic to be teaming up with Rubies on this campaign to support the launch of our first ever comic-style book alongside the latest brilliant costume. At Novel Entertainment, we’re committed to highlighting the joy of reading among Horrid Henry’s strong and growing fan base and this is just the start of our plans in this space. We can’t wait to see children have the chance to dress up and immerse themselves in the world of Horrid Henry’s Vile Vacation.”

Mike O’Connell, Managing Director of Rubies UK, adds: “This is a fantastic opportunity to promote the power of reading to children. With our exclusive offer, we know this will not only be a way to generate unprecedented interest in our Horrid Henry costumes and the new story, Vile Vacation, but to also inspire children to read, which provides untold and limitless benefits. We are proud of our robust relationship with Novel Entertainment and Horrid Henry, which is showcased through the unique opportunities we have to collaborate with them.”

Novel Entertainment partners with P2 Games for Horrid Henry’s Krazy Karts

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Novel Entertainment has partnered with P2 Games to develop and launch a new racing game for its internationally renowned Horrid Henry brand.

Targeting kids aged 6+ and families, ‘Horrid Henry’s Krazy Karts’ will initially be available exclusively from the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch worldwide from Friday 21 January.

Based on Novel Entertainment’s hit TV series Horrid Henry, the all-new game will give players the chance to race as Horrid Henry or go head-to-head with him as Rude Ralph, Moody Margaret, Perfect Peter, Brainy Brian or Singing Soraya, gaining cups and upgrades to become the ultimate ‘Horrid Hero.’

The game features 40 challenging levels set across four themed locations: Gross World, Ashton Town, Ashton Primary and the Park. During the races, players control their racing karts to swoop over jumps and dodge obstacles, farts, goo and slime. Fans are also able to customise their kart in the ‘Wacky Workshop’ for extra advantage and win perfect power-up tokens.
‘Horrid Henry’s Krazy Karts’ will be available to play in single and multiplayer modes as well as offering both a Tournament and Race Mode option. The game also features a level design editor, giving users the chance to create and share their own horridly tricky challenges.

Lucinda Whiteley, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Novel Entertainment, says: “There continues to be a high expectation from Horrid Henry’s extensive international fan base for engaging ways to experience the brand across a multitude of formats and platforms. As such, it’s fantastic to once again team up with P2 Games and bring fans a new action-packed racing game, which incorporates all the Horrid Henry elements they know and love.”

Gerry Whiteside, Co-Director at P2, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with Novel Entertainment once again to introduce the hugely successful Horrid Henrybrand to Nintendo Switch. This is the first game that P2, in collaboration with Mobile Pie, has developed for this device and we believe there’s a huge gap in the market for high quality kids gaming content.”

Novel Entertainment’s Horrid Henry heads to Amazon Kids+ in the UK

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Novel Entertainment has partnered with Amazon Kids+ for all five seasons of its acclaimed animated TV series Horrid Henry (250 x 11’). From 11 October, Horrid Henry can now be found in the UK through Amazon Kids+ on Fire TV, Fire Tablets and compatible iOS, Android and Chrome devices; a subscription service offering unlimited access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, games and more.

Mike Watts, Co-Founder of Novel Entertainment, says: “It’s been 15 years since Horrid Henry first debuted in the UK and since then, the series has successfully established a wide and deeply loyal fan-base, which now spans multiple generations. Both new and existing Horrid Henry fans will now be able to access all 250 episodes of the series, in an age-appropriate environment that also offers peace of mind for their parents and carers.”

To date, Horrid Henry has sold to nearly 150 territories with broadcasters on board across the globe, including: Nickelodeon and Netflix (UK), MBC (Middle East), Alati International (Russia), Atlantic Digital Networks (Canada), TG4 (Ireland), Amazon Prime Video (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), Produkcija (Slovenia), Kids Network (Latvia and Estonia), Turner Broadcasting System (Asia Pacific), Mediacorp (Singapore), POP TV (Slovenia), E-Vision (Middle East) and Discovery+ (India).

Novel Entertainment was founded in 2001 by Mike Watts and Lucinda Whiteley. The company specialises in the creation and development of children’s character brands across a wide array of media. Novel’s core programming includes Horrid Henry, Cinemaniacs, Fimbles, Rockit’s Pocket and The Roly Mo Show. Novel have produced more than 850 programmes for television and radio and their expertise extends into brand licensing and merchandising, computer games, interactive online content, music, theatre and film.

Costume specialist Rubies readies its Hello Summer campaign to celebrate getting together

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The licensed costumes specialist, Rubies is preparing to launch a new Hello Summer campaign this July, a marketing initiative devised to celebrate the summer months through new online content and competitions for kids and dress-up fans of all ages.

The company is encouraging customers to make up for lost time with friends and family this summer, welcoming back holidays as the UK’s holiday makers enjoy a summer of staycationing, or engage little ones with Rubies’ new online summer camp, Camp Kindness, all of which will fall under the hashtag #everyexcusetoparty.

New releases from Rubies will feature officially licensed costumes from a wide range of new media, catering to all age ranges, from the deadly assassins of Marvel’s Black Widow cinematic release, to the Space Jam: A New Legacy kit.

Mike O’Connell, COO, Rubies, said: “We can’t wait to launch our new Hello Summer campaign this July, as it’s understandably a very exciting time in people’s lives as the world opens up again and people start to celebrate with those closest to them.

“Rubies is synonymous with unforgettable party experiences and as an industry leader, we act as a positive role model to our audience who wear our costumes. Kindness, Friendship and Togetherness are imperative to our company values and ethos and we want to encourage these amongst our audience, with the introduction of our virtual summer camp.”

Rubiesworld.com will be the home of Camp Kindness, the virtual summer camp. This brand-new website will focus on celebrating everyday acts of kindness with a competition where you can submit acts of kindness or good deeds that you have witnessed and vote for your favourite.

The winner will be announced on the 22nd August and will receive the Ultimate Party Bundle from Rubies, allowing them to throw a character themed party for all their friends.

Novel Entertainment launches month-long Story a Day initiative for Horrid Henry fans

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Novel Entertainment is launching a month-long Story a Day initiative as part of its Hibernating with Henry campaign, one which will see a free audio story posted each day to Horrid Henry’s new website.

Starting Monday, February 1st, the first title available will be Horrid Henry and the Antiques Rogue Show, with additional stories including Horrid Henry Computer Whizz and Horrid Henry’s Favourite Day to follow.

The stories will go live at 4pm each day.

Story a Day is part of Novel Entertainment’s current Hibernating with Henry campaign, which is offering online resources and activities to keep children and families entertained and active during the current pandemic. Further activities will be announced in the coming weeks.

Lucinda Whiteley, creative director and co-founder of Novel Entertainment, said: “Henry’s been hard at work, thinking up ways to share his top hibernation tips. Of course, being Henry, he’s full of ideas, but first up we’re excited for Henry fans to be able to settle down after finishing their school day, with or without their grown-up, and listen to a different story every day throughout February.”

Novel Entertainment first launched Horrid Henry audio content in Spring 2020 and continues to expand the offering for fans. Most recently, Novel Entertainment launched a Horrid Henry’s Winter Wonderland audiobook compilation featuring Horrid Henry’s Christmas, Early Christmas Present and Winter Wish titles, and the ‘Super Scary One’, which includes Horrid Halloween, Horrid Henry and the Weird Werewolf and Horrid Henry’s Haunted House. 

These latest offerings are available on major platforms including Audible, Amazon and Spotify and join the initial six Totally Horrid Collections which debuted last year.

Novel Entertainment’s Horrid Henry audio content takes the form of dramatisations from its hit Horrid Henry TV series, featuring the show’s voice talent with additional narrative from Henry (voiced by Elizabeth Waterworth-Santo) and songs.

A Horrid Henry podcast also launched in 2020 which is titled Horrid Henry Unlocked and presented by radio host Sean Thorne, voice actor Lizzie Waterworth, and Henry himself. It offers fans insights into the inner workings of the world of Horrid Henry.

Since the start of the pandemic, Novel Entertainment has created over 100 pieces of fresh content for Horrid Henry, produced under the banner of Horrid Henry Unlocked which is designed to offer a familiar environment for fans to discover how the Horrid Henry family is responding to the current crisis.

As well as the Horrid Henry podcast and audio stories, material includes Horrid Homework in the form of activities, projects, challenges, puzzles, and bespoke videos including newly created songs, short videos and behind the scenes content and interviews.

Novel Entertainment also recently brought fans new long-form animated content including Horrid Henry’s Gross Day Out, a new 65’ action-adventure film which launched globally on Netflix in September 2020, alongside Horrid Henry’s Wild Weekend which debuted on Netflix in the UK last June and Nickelodeon UK in December 2020, and for Sub-Saharan Africa, Viacom/Nickelodeon has acquired the rights to Seasons one to four of Horrid Henry.

Season Five of Horrid Henry is currently airing on Netflix in the UK, and also on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons UK and Ireland.

Novel Entertainment to host virtual Horrid Henry ‘Summer of Slime’ Festival this bank holiday

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Novel Entertainment is hosting its first Horrid Henry ‘Summer of Slime’ festival, running virtually across the UK bank holiday weekend this August 29th to 31st and via a curated playlist on Horrid Henry’s YouTube channel and social media platforms.

The festival will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes content, specially commissioned videos, competitions, readings, live performances and more.

Throughout the event, Horrid Henry fans will be able to enjoy acts including behind the scenes chats with Horrid Henry creatives Gary Andrews (director), Lester Barnes (composer), and Sue Elliot-Nichols (voice of Moody Margaret, Anxious Andrew, and the Demon Dinner Lady). They will also be preview to premieres including Sunshine Special, a compilation of new videos and favourite episodes, Tales from Toon Island – the true story behind Henry’s recent visit to Toon Island, and the Imaginary Friends video, helping to raise awareness of the NSPCC’s Childline service.

Also featured will be new make and do videos, cooking themed videos and recipes, a specially commissioned Air Guitar performance from the UK’s 2018 Air Guitar Champion Sparkly Sven Spandex, and the exclusive first look at new Horrid Henry content.

Fans will also have the chance to win a variety of prizes linked to the ‘Summer of Slime’ festival including the obligatory festival wellies from Grass & Air, school shoes to rock out in from Start Rite, a selection of Jaques of London wooden toys, and glow-in-the-dark Playfoam from Learning Resources.

To encourage fans to have fun preparing for the event, Novel Entertainment has created a ‘Get Festival Ready’ booklet which is available to download for free on www.horridhenry.me. The booklet features interactive activities including brand new puzzles, challenges and crafts.

Lucinda Whiteley, creative director and co-founder of Novel Entertainment, said: “After a challenging few months, we wanted to provide children with a moment of celebration before they return to school and a virtual festival felt like a natural extension to the activities we’ve been working on during this time.

“Horrid Henry’s ‘Summer of Slime’ festival will provide families with the perfect opportunity to enjoy some holiday fun together, wherever they are. Never mind Glastonbury, this is Ashtonbury.”

The ‘Summer of Slime’ festival is part of Novel Entertainment’s recently created content output, produced under the banner of Horrid Henry Unlocked and designed to offer a familiar environment for fans to discover more about the world of Horrid Henry.

As well as the recently launched Horrid Henry podcast and audio books, new content includes Horrid Homework activities, creative projects, puzzles and challenges and bespoke videos including newly created songs, pop promos and behind the scenes content.

Novel Entertainment launches new audio content for Horrid Henry across Spotify, iTunes, and Audible

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Novel Entertainment is launching a new publishing line based on the original stories from its award-winning animated TV series, Horrid Henry.

First out of the gate, and aimed at the Horrid Henry audience of kids aged seven to 11, new content will take the form of audio dramatisations from Novel Entertainment’s hit Horrid Henry TV series, featuring the show’s voice talent with additional narrative from Henry (voiced by Elizabeth Waterworth-Santo) and songs.

The content will be available worldwide as downloads on major platforms such as Audible, Spotify, and iTunes and Amazon. The initial release will see 10 titles launch including Horrid Henry’s Fun Run, Horrid Henry Takes the Biscuit, and Horrid Henry and the Lost Dog.

“We’re delighted to be bringing these original Horrid Henry stories to life in exciting new publishing formats,” said Lucinda Whiteley, creative director and co-founder of Novel Entertainment.

“With research showing audiobooks can positively impact reading skills and children’s mental wellbeing, we’re looking forward to giving fans the chance to enjoy the hilarious storylines they know and love from the TV series, whether on car journeys, with friends or at bedtime.”

 These new publishing products are the latest incarnations of Novel’s four-time BAFTA-nominated Horrid Henry, which is one of the biggest children’s animated shows ever in the UK. The fifth season is currently on air in the UK and the brand has expanded to include film, stage, radio and online extensions, as well as being at the heart of a successful licensing and merchandising programme.

A total of 250 episodes are now available with recent sales including MBC (Middle East), Alati International (Russia), and Atlantic Digital Networks (Canada). Renewals include Turner Broadcasting System (Asia Pacific), Mediacorp (Singapore), POP TV (Slovenia), E-Vision (Middle East), Asiana (Korea) and Netflix (France, US, Canada, Russia, Australia and New Zealand).

Other leading broadcasters on board include ABC Australia, RTE Eire, Mediacorp Singapore, Gulli France, NRK Norway, Hulu US, SVT Sweden, YLE Finland, RTP Portugal, TVP1 in Poland, and Al Jazeerah Middle East.