Tag Archives: news

BBC orders live-action series A Kind of Spark from 9 Story Media Group

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9 Story Media Group has announced that BBC Children’s has ordered its new live action series A Kind of Spark (8 x 24’). Based on the award-winning book by neurodivergent children’s author Elle McNicoll, A Kind of Spark is the first project to be put into production from 9 Story’s first-look deal with award-winning publishing company Knights Of, which focuses on improving inclusivity in children’s books, both on the shelf and behind the scenes.

Winner of the Blue Peter Book Award and the Overall Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, A Kind of Spark tells the inspirational story of 11-year old Addie, a neurodivergent girl. When she learns about the witch trials that happened centuries ago in her hometown, Addie knows that there’s more to the story of these ‘witches’, just as there is more to her own. Can Addie challenge how the people in her town see her and her autism and make her voice heard?

Past and present interweave in eight action-packed episodes full of magic, mystery and friendship with a strong message of inclusion. A Kind of Spark is created for television by Anna McCleery (Free Rein, The Secret Life of Boys), written by Anna McCleery and Elle McNicoll (A Kind of Spark, Show Us Who You Are) and produced by 9 Story Media Group.

Sarah Muller, BBC Head of Commissioning & Acquisitions 7-12, says: “We’re delighted to bring this moving and powerful story to audiences in the UK. In Addie we have a character who is relatable, uplifting and inspiring and we can’t wait to bring her story to life. Our aim is to reflect all of our audience on screen and this story of difference and acceptance is one that we can’t wait to tell.”

“We are thrilled to partner with BBC, to bring this incredibly special story to the screen,” says Gráinne McNamara, Vice President, Live Action for 9 Story. “Just like the countless kids who have fallen in love with the book, we were instantly captivated and inspired by Addie’s way of looking at the world. Representation is crucial in kids television and we are excited to bring A Kind of Spark to new audiences in the UK.”

9 Story Media Group is a creator, producer and distributor of kids and family focused intellectual property whose award-winning animation studio, Brown Bag Films, is recognised around the world for brands such as Doc McStuffins, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Octonauts, Wild Kratts, Blue’s Clues and You, Ada Twist, Scientist andKarma’s World.

 

 

 

Penguin Random House Children’s appoints David Sprei as Commercial Director for Penguin Ventures

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David Sprei will be joining Penguin Random House Children’s as Commercial Director for Penguin Ventures on 18 October. He will report to Francesca Dow, MD for Penguin Random House Children’s.

In this newly created role David will lead the Penguin Ventures business to further growth, working in close partnership with Susan Bolsover, Global Licensing and Consumer Products Director, and the Penguin Ventures team. Susan Bolsover will report to David.

David joins from his previous role as Director International Business Development ViacomCBS Consumer Products, focusing on new innovative & non-traditional partnerships across the portfolio. Prior to this David has held commercial and partnership roles at Viacom Velocity (MTV Europe), Instrumental and TBWA Stream, London.

Penguin Ventures is a separate business within Penguin Random House Children’s, which manages and exploits a portfolio of literary brands and characters, most notably Peter Rabbit, The Snowman and Spot, focusing on licensing and consumer products, retail activations, theatrical, exhibitions and commercial partnership strategies. In the UK Penguin Ventures’ most recent successes include a multi-year partnership with Cadburys as well as a global collection with Cath Kidston, both for Classic Peter Rabbit. The team also created a fashion and digital collaboration with Barbour for The Snowman, expanding upon Raymond Briggs’ timeless story through an innovative ad campaign, and were responsible for the UK, Australian and Japanese licensing programme for global box office smash hit movies Peter Rabbit and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.

 

Award-winning TV special ‘Shooom’s Odyssey’ gathers sales

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Emmy Award-winning French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has garnered a batch of sales for its 2D TV special Shooom’s Odyssey, targeted at preschoolers.

Winner of the Crystal Award for Best TV Production at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Best Shorts Film – Category Up to 6 Years Fiction at Prix Jeunesse International 2020, the Best Animated Short Film for children at ANIMA 2020, Brussels and with 33 international awards and over 70 festival selections, Shooom’s Odyssey(1 x 26’) has found a home with Discovery Kids (Latin America), ZDF (Germany), RAI (Italy), NHK (Japan), Movistar (Spain), Periscoop (Netherlands), Hop! (Israel), Truecorp (Thailand) MomoKids TV (Taiwan) and South Korean educational pubcaster EBS.

The TV special, produced by Picolo Pictures, features baby owl Shooom, who hatches just as a storm turns the bayou surrounding her tree upside down. No sooner has she fallen from her nest, the little fledgling totters off into the mangrove, pushing a second egg from the brood along with her. Come hell or high water she is determined to find a mother… even if that mom turns out to be an alligator or a raccoon! As she embarks on this dangerous journey through the mangroves, she encounters a series of wild animals before falling in with Walter and Rosie, two children determined to save her.

Emmanuèle Pétry Sirvin, Co-Founder of Dandelooo, says: “This cute little female owl has captured the hearts of people from all over the world thanks to the wonderful talent of creators Julien Bisaro and Claire Paoletti. We hope that she continues to garner many more. We are so proud to be a part of their great adventure”.

 

RHS partners with Annie Sloan for decorative decoupage papers

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The Royal Horticultural Society and Annie Sloan, one of the world’s leading authorities in paint, colour and style, have announced a partnership for decoupage papers, a form of household decoration that simply and cost-effectively transforms a wide range of pieces in any home.

With her design team, Annie Sloan carefully searched through the RHS Lindley Collections – the world’s largest collection of botanical art – to find illustrations to cut out, repeat, combine and colour to match some of the 47 colours from Annie’s famous Chalk Paint palette, a versatile decorative furniture paint designed by Annie Sloan in 1990.

There are 12 individual designs with two large sheets of decoupage paper per pack. The RHS name and logo are prominently highlighted on the front of the packaging. The back of the packaging includes information about the RHS and its aims, alongside a practical guide to using the decoupage papers.

Annie Sloan and her team are working towards a global launch in late autumn 2021 – online and in physical stockist shops around the world. Annie Sloan sells through a network of independent shops in more than 55 countries.

Annie Sloan offers a wide selection of home decoration products, ranging from fabric, waxes and finishes to stencils, tools and of course her world-famous Chalk Paint.

Amy Honour, Head of Marketing, Annie Sloan Interiors Ltd, says: “Annie’s ambition has always been to inspire individuals with the confidence to bring colour, character and design into their homes. For this range, that colour, character and design has come about with help from the RHS – the passionate force at the heart of horticulture for more than two centuries. The result, we think, is both beautiful and memorable.”

 

Asembl announces appointment of Wendy Garth as Brand & Licensing Director – Design

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Australia’s leading design, lifestyle and FMCG licensed brand extension agency Asembl has today announced the appointment of Wendy Garth to the newly created position of Brand & Licensing Director – Design. Wendy will drive the development of the agency’s ‘Fashion and Design’ division, which launches with the global representation of Australian artist and whimsical creative collaborator Fleur Harris, and will bring with her over 20 years as a noteworthy leader in the creative, design, fashion, and licensing industries.

With a distinguished history of working for high profile clients and global brands with Warner Bros for 13 years, Wendy has extensive experience driving revenue and engagement across retail channels, digital platforms and consumer experiences.

In her role for Asembl, Wendy will steer the development of Fleur Harris’ intricate and magical designs into new product categories while also strategically extending and catapulting Fleur’s footprint around the world. Wendy will continue to build upon Fleur’s growing fan base internationally and as Asembl continues to grow and expand its fashion and design space, she will manage upcoming client licensing initiatives locally and globally.

Fleur Harris is fast earning a global reputation with her collaboration with luxury Australian childrenswear label Tutu Du Monde, launching this month in international retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales. The Fleur Harris brand is enjoying great home-grown success in Australia with highly successful collaborations with homewares retailer Adairs and Jimmy Cricket wallpapers.

“I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Wendy Garth to Brand & Licensing Director – Design,” says Asembl Managing Director, Justin Watson. “Wendy boasts enviable experience across design, creative and licensing which makes her an extremely valuable addition to our Asembl team.  As we enter our sixth year specialising in fashion, lifestyle and FMCG licensed brand extensions, I am excited to be adding Fleur Harris to our client portfolio.  As a much-loved artist and creator of wonder and whimsy, Fleur Harris as a brand lends itself to incredible local and international licensing opportunities and we very much look forward to seeing Fleur’s work across new product categories and building her licensed opportunities across the world.”

 

Four Fanattik products make it into the Pop Insider Holiday Gift Guide

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UK-based Fanattik, the pop culture specialist, has had four of its licensed products included in the prestigious Pop Insider Holiday Gift Guide.

After reviewing thousands of products from companies based all over the world, the magazine, widely seen as a bible for fans of pop culture, selected the 24k gold plated Rocky fight ticket under Collectibles, the Lord of the Rings Elessar Necklace under Accessories and the Harry Potter book cover artwork as well as their Lord of the Rings art print under Home Goods.

“This is a huge honour for us,” says Fanattik MD Anthony Marks. “Only the best in pop culture gifts get a chance to be in this gift guide and for us to have four pieces chosen is amazing.”

These awards come on top of the Fanattik SpongeBob SquarePants bottle opener being nominated for Gift of The Year 2021 by the British Gift Association.

Next year is shaping up to be a busy one for the Fantattik team with the planned launch of their Magic the Gathering collection, as well a range for what could be the biggest film blockbuster of next year: Jurassic World Dominion. Both collections will be unveiled to the European gift trade prior to Christmas 2021.

Fanattik is a licensee for Microsoft, Hasbro, ViacomCBS, Capcom, Universal Studios, Bethesda, Studio Canal, Studio MDHR and more. The company has won numerous awards with the latest being the UK Northwest Business of The Year organised by the Federation of Small Business just prior to the Covid crisis.

 

 

 

 

Daisy & Ollie secures new series commission from Channel 5’s Milkshake!

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Manchester-based Hoopla Animation has announced that Channel 5 has greenlit a brand new fifth series of Jason Manford’s hit 2D animation Daisy & Ollie for its multiplatform preschool brand, Milkshake!.

In addition, Channel 5 has also inked a five-year deal with Hoopla to air all five of the Daisy & Ollie series on Milkshake!, including series 1 and 2, which originally launched on Cartoonito in 2017.

The show has proven hugely popular with Milkshake! audiences, airing daily since its launch on the channel in March 2020. Daisy & Ollie was recently showcased at the broadcaster’s live ‘5 on the Farm’ event which took place on August Bank Holiday weekend at Cannon Hall Farm in Yorkshire, featuring meet and greets and live nursery rhyme shows led by the show’s official costume characters.

The Channel 5 commission will see Hoopla Animation produce a further 26 x 7-minute episodes, due to launch on the channel’s children’s block Milkshake! next year, bringing the total number of episodes created to 130. The show is based on an original idea by Hoopla’s Helen Brown and co-written and executive produced by comedian Jason Manford, who also voices some of the main characters including Daisy’s Daddy and Whizzy the Robot.

Each episode follows best friends Daisy (voiced by Sarah Hadland) and Ollie (voiced by Claire Morgan) on their adventures, as they seek out the answers to questions that many children ask each day such as ‘How Do Bats See In The Dark?’, ‘Why Do We Have To Wash?’ and ‘What does adoption mean?’.

Daisy & Ollie has featured a host of celebrity guest stars to date, including comedian Paddy McGuinness and TV Star Christine McGuinness, who appeared in a much-acclaimed special episode in partnership with the National Autism Society. Further guest stars have included TV presenter and comedian Romesh Ranganathan and Mrs Brown’s Boys actor Brendan O’Carroll, whilst Take That star Gary Barlow performed in a Christmas special.

Jetpack Distribution have the worldwide distribution rights for Daisy & Ollie and the series has sold in multiple territories across the globe.

Dominic Gardiner, Jetpack’s CEO, says: “The fact that Daisy & Ollie has been greenlit for a fifth season is a testament to its quality and appeal. It’s been a top-selling show in our preschool line up and proved universally popular across the globe, with some timeless themes for preschoolers, and inciting their curiosity and wonder. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the next season and taking it to market.”

 

Acamar Films renews Bing partnership with master toy licensee Golden Bear

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Acamar Films, producers of the multi-award-winning TV show Bing along with Brown Bag Films, has renewed its licensing deal with master toy licensee Golden Bear. The EMEA agreement, which extends the partnership for a further four years, will run until 2025.

Golden Bear has seen huge success with its Bing toys since launching into the UK market in the autumn of 2019. The initial range, featuring core character plush toys – including the award-winning Light Up Bing With Hoppity and figurines – was a sell-out sensation for Christmas 2019.

A pan-European partnership, Golden Bear’s toy sales for Bing have increased not just in the UK but across multiple markets including Italy, where Bing continues to be the top pre-school property, the Netherlands and Central Eastern Europe. Further expansion is planned for 2022 and beyond, in line with Bing’s growing licensing programme.

Over the three years since the range launched, Bing has become Golden Bear’s number one global license and seen an impressive 110 per cent sales uplift between 2019 and 2021. This growth continues into Christmas 2021, with a 52 per cent increase in retailer stocking points compared to AW20.

Delivering a multi-year product strategy to steadily expand the toy lines, the range has expanded further across feature plush, playsets and most recently bath toys. The development of additional characters and locations are serving to grow Bing’s world and ensure the longevity of the range.

Set to delight Bingsters this Christmas are the hero lines for AW21: Bing’s House Playset, with nine accessories, and the fun and interactive Musical Statues Dancing Bing, both of which will be fully supported across TV, digital and social platforms. The toys aim to inspire creativity, build imagination and encourage role-play in little ones as they bring the TV show to life.

“I am very proud of what our team and distribution partners have achieved with Bing over the last three years,” says Barry Hughes, Managing Director at Golden Bear. “We are delighted to have signed a further long-term agreement with Acamar Films on the property and look forward to introducing Bing toys into new markets. The highly experienced Acamar Films team have proven themselves to be experts in getting all the building blocks in place to ensure success in every market in which we have launched. We are so excited about what the next few years hold for Bing in both current and new territories.”

Natalie Harvey, Executive Director of Sales at Acamar Films adds: “Golden Bear have delivered a wonderful range of Bing toys which continue to delight our Bingsters across the world – with so much more to come. In the last three years, the Golden Bear team has shown true innovation, care and talent as they have built out the world of Bing, whilst successfully negotiating the industry’s many challenges.”

Bing is an International Emmy award-winning show with broadcast deals in over 130 territories worldwide including the USA, where it launched on Cartoonito with WarnerMedia in September 2021.

Zavvi debuts exclusive Marvel Eternals replica set

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To celebrate the release of the new Marvel Eternals movie, online retailer Zavvi is launching a limited-edition and officially licensed Marvel Eternals collectible replica set.

The UK and EU exclusive, inspired by the feature film, accurately recreates Black Knight’s ring, Sersi’s Necklace, Thena’s Tiara, and Uni-mind’s Bracelet.

Limited to 1,000 individually numbered pieces, each set comes with a certificate of authenticity in a Marvel collectors’ box.

Marvel’s Eternals is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), an unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

The Marvel Eternals replica set, priced at £84.99, is available to pre-order now, exclusive to Zavvi.com.

 

Zavvi debuts exclusive Marvel Eternals replica set

Posted on by

To celebrate the release of the new Marvel Eternals movie, online retailer Zavvi is launching a limited-edition and officially licensed Marvel Eternals collectible replica set.

The UK and EU exclusive, inspired by the feature film, accurately recreates Black Knight’s ring, Sersi’s Necklace, Thena’s Tiara, and Uni-mind’s Bracelet.

Limited to 1,000 individually numbered pieces, each set comes with a certificate of authenticity in a Marvel collectors’ box.

Marvel’s Eternals is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), an unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

The Marvel Eternals replica set, priced at £84.99, is available to pre-order now, exclusive to Zavvi.com.