Category: Kids

MUMBAI: Disney Publishing Worldwide India has launched two new ranges of workbooks- ‘Smart Beginnings‘ for preschoolers aged between two-four years and ‘School Skills‘ for kids between 5-7 years. The books aim to encourage early childhood learning in fun and engaging way.
‘Smart Beginnings‘ features locally inspired content and themes which resonates with local kids. ‘School Skills‘, aimed at older children, features Disney‘s favourite stories and characters.

“‘Smart Beginnings‘ and ‘School Skills‘ are products that parents will trust and kids will love. The books inspire kids to read and learn by presenting content in a relevant, compelling and enjoyable format for our young readers,” said Disney Consumer Products India regional director Roshini Bakshi.
 
Starting this month, Disney will release ten new titles of ‘Smart Beginnings‘ and ‘School Skills‘ workbooks every quarter. ‘Smart Beginnings‘ titles for this quarter include numbers, shapes, letters, patterns and colours. ‘School Skills‘ titles, to be launched this quarter will include evolved math and english concepts such as uppercase, lowercase words, vocabulary, addition and subtraction.

Available in English, the workbooks will feature Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princess and Disney Fairies.

MUMBAI: Shaw Communications has added Nickelodeon to its Shaw and Shaw Direct channel line-ups.
“Shaw has provided quality family programming to our customers for more than forty years,” said Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonnette. “We are proud to provide entertainment for every member of the family and delighted to bring exceptional programming like the Nickelodeon network to our younger viewers.” 
 
The channel will be available at no additional charge to any Shaw Classic Cable customer with Shaw Digital TV. It can be added to a digital package for $2.95.

With this addition, Nickelodeon shows including SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly and The Fairly OddParents can be seen on the network.

Shaw Direct customers who subscribe to Digital Favourites or Shaw Direct‘s Smart Stuff or Fun Stuff Pick and Pay bundles will also receive Nickelodeon at no additional charge. Pick and Pay bundles can be added for $4.99 per month.

MUMBAI: The Discovery-Hasbro Joint Venture president and CEO Margaret Loesch has announced the appointment of four senior executives to the children’s television network, which is scheduled to launch in late 2010. 
 
Joining the yet-to-be named network are Amber Fredman-Tarshis as chief marketing officer, Dan Pimentel as chief financial officer, Brooke Goldstein as senior vice president of ad sales and Lorrie Copeland as senior vice president of consumer insights and research.

Loesch says, “The addition of Amber, Dan, Brooke and Lorrie to our team solidifies the foundation of this new children’s network. Their expertise and hard work will help build a world-class, family-friendly destination for children featuring compelling storytelling, strong characters and engaging brands.”

Fredman-Tarshis joins after serving as VP of marketing for Victoria’s Secret since 2006. As CMO, Fredman-Tarshis will work directly with Loesch and the senior JV team in developing all aspects of the network’s brand identity including its name, logos and overall brand essence.

Fredman-Tarshis also possesses experience in the children’s entertainment space from her time as vice president of global brand management for Warner Bros Entertainment. While at Warner Bros, Fredman-Tarshis managed the Harry Potter brand worldwide, as well as Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Polar Express starring Tom Hanks.

Pimentel, CFO for the joint venture, will oversee management of its financial planning and analysis functions. Pimentel has experience in both the children’s entertainment and cable television arenas from his time at Walt Disney Company and most recently Discovery Communications. While at Walt Disney Company, Pimentel served as controller of the Disney Stores. Most recently, he was vice president of finance for Discovery’s commerce division, where he led the initiative to reengineer Discovery’s financial systems and reporting processes in preparation for Discovery Communications’ transition to a fully public company.

Goldstein will lead the sales team for the joint venture. Goldstein will report to Loesch and receive functional support from Discovery president of ad sales Joe Abruzzese. Prior to joining the joint venture, Goldstein was a managing partner at Mediacom Communications, where she also served as the director of client services. During her tenure at Mediacom, she worked extensively with a number of premier national clients, including Hasbro.

Copeland comes from Hasbro, where she served as senior vice president and head of consumer insights. In her new role, Copeland will provide the qualitative and quantitative context to support multiplatform, multimedia business efforts across the joint venture. She will spearhead the network’s customised studies, appearance at industry events and other initiatives designed to break new ground in the field of consumer understanding.

MUMBAI: Princess Protection Program, a Disney Channel original movie directed by Allison Liddi-Brown, is set to premiere across the Indian subcontinent on 20 November.
To be telecast on Disney Channel, the movie will be aired at 5 pm.
 
Written by Annie DeYoung and filmed in Puerto Rico, the movie‘s storyline brings together the unlikely duo of sporty Carter Mason (Selena) – a regular teen living the country life in small town of Lake Monroe and Rosalinda Marie Montoya Fiore (Demi), the soon to be teenage monarch of fictional Costa Luna.

When a foreign military take-over threatens the tiny sovereign state, Rosalinda is taken into the protective care of the covert international Princess Protection Program.

She is given a secret identity and has to come live with Carter and her dad, an agent with the programme. Carter and Rosie initially are at logger heads because they are complete opposites in personality. The two gradually become close friends as Carter teaches Rosie to act like a normal American girl, and Rosie helps Carter believe in herself, quite like a princess.

MUMBAI: To celebrate the tenth anniversary of its SpongeBob SquarePants property, Nickelodeon UK has produced a live-action Bollywood-style two-minute film, Bollywood Bob that is choreographed by Slumdog Millionaire‘s Longinus Fernandes.
The film, also developed in a shorter 30-second advertisement format, has started airing across Nickelodeon UK network starting 14 November, with back-to-back episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants all weekend.

Bollywood Bob will then be shown across the global Nickelodeon network. The 30-second version is scheduled to run in Vue and Cineworld cinemas nationwide from 13 November to January 1 next year around seasonal releases such as A Christmas Carol, Planet 51, Where the Wild Things Are, Alvin and the Chipmunks II and St Trinians 2.
 
Bollywood Bob, produced by Nickelodeon UK in collaboration with Nickelodeon International and Nickelodeon India creative teams tells the story of Rohan, who tentatively enters a magnificent palace in the heart of Bollywood territory (just outside Mumbai) to present a King with a golden sponge.

As he accepts the sponge a spectacular dance, involving his entire court, ensues.

The film also includes a Bangra-style SpongeBob theme song arranged by Akbar Sami and Firoze Patel.

Said Nickelodeon UK‘s VP creative director Peter Drake, “Bollywood Bob is the genuine global culmination of ‘Year of the Sponge.‘ It is the most spectacular expression of regional cultures‘ celebration and love of SpongeBob, and furthers his credibility as a lifestyle icon.”

“This unique work pushes the boundaries and challenges the norm, extending SpongeBob appeal way beyond the core Nickelodeon audience. He is one of the few animation characters that can do this so effectively,” he added.

MUMBAI: On the occasion of Children‘s Day, Nick has partnered with Portico to launch microbead cushions of Dora – The Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Says Viacom18 VP consumer products Sandeep Dahiya, “We‘re excited to extend our partnership with Portico into yet another product range in this category.”
 
Adds Portico CEO Rajiv Merchant, “We are extremely happy to launch our new cushions and are confident that this collection will be successful given the popularity of Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Priced at Rs 499, the Nicktoon cushions are available at retail stores including Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Home Center, HomeStop, @ Home and other home stores across India.
 

MUMBAI: Amrita TV has unveiled its special lineup on the occasion of Children‘s Day.
The special programmes will open with a peep into the latest chapters in the life of Geetu Mohandas.

Geetu will discuss her plans and dreams for the future, both matrimonial and directorial, in Mangalageetangal which will be telecast on Amrita TV at 10.30 am.
 
At 1.30 pm, the channel will showcase Little World that will feature little programmes for tiny tots.

Sravanthi Enna Kaniha Enna Divya at 2.30 pm will feature Kaniha, the heroine of Pazhiraja.

As the day comes to a close, the special day programmes will wind up with the short film Pancharayumma at 7 pm. The film is based on a short story of the same name by Smt Lalithambika Antharjanam, the Sahitya Academy winning poetess, short story writer and novelist.

MUMBAI: Walt Disney Television International India will rebrand its Jetix/Toon Disney platform to Disney XD, a boy-focused, girl inclusive entertainment brand for kids aged 6-14 on children‘s day, 14 November, at 12 noon.
The channel will premiere with Disney‘s animated comedy series Phineas and Ferb, targeted at 9-14-year-old-tweens, and Aaron Stone, an adventure series about a champion video game player.

Disney XD will also showcase Zeke & Luther, a single-camera comedy about two best friends who set their sights on becoming world famous skateboarders.
 
Said Walt Disney Television International India VP and GM Natasha Malhotra, “Disney XD will feature characters and stories in a wide range of formats – animation, live action, movies and sports – focusing on the core value of accomplishment, in line with the aspirations of tweens today.”

Also debuting on the same day is the online destination, Disney XD.in which will feature regular updates, interactive games, cyber zone with videos, information and downloadable content about all Disney XD channel shows.

Averred Malhotra, “Disney XD.in is a unique opportunity for us to not only provide additional content to our existing Jetix fans but also attract a whole new audience through its fun, interactive and boys focused, girl inclusive content.”

Walt Disney Television International India has already kick-started its marketing and promotional activities ahead of the launch of the rebranded channel.

Apart from promoting the property across its own network channels, Walt Disney Television International India will also run promotional campaigns across other GECs, music channels and movie channels.

Said Walt Disney Television International India associate director – marketing Venugopal Iyengar, “We already hve an established viewership in the Hindi speaking market (HSM). Thus, our promotional thrust will be more towards the southern market.”

As part of its television campaign, the company has booked approximately 2,500-3,000 spots outside its network across various south regional channels that include Telugu, Kannada and Tamil.

“We will be running the promotional activity on channels such as Raj TV, Kalaignar TV, ETV Telugu and Maa TV,” Iyengar explained.

As a reminder medium, Disney XD will be utilised out-of-home and experiential media to convey the new brand experience.

“Out-of-home will be used as a reminder medium majorly across metros. We will also be present in select malls and multiplexes to demonstrate the brand taste,” he elaborated.

Internet will also be exploited extensively to spread brand awareness.

Iyengar said, “We will be present on trade sites, gaming sites, messenger and e-mail applications.”
 

MUMBAI: On the occasion of Children‘s Day, Excel Home Videos will bring out its collection of children-related DVDs for its child consumers, nicknaming it as a Children‘s DVD Film Festival.
Says a spokesman of the company, “There is no festival as such. It‘s only that we are promoting all our DVDs meant for children viewing. These DVDs would be available at all leading stores and at prices lower than the original price from 11 to 15 November.”

The highlight of the so-called film festival will be the DVD release of Ice Age 3, the third highest grossing animated film of all time with $807 million worldwide directed by Oscar nominated director Carlos Saldanha and Night At The Museum 2.

Says Excel Home Videos Managing Director MN Kapasi, “Children today are extremely drawn to movies understanding that it is easier to mould their minds at a young age.
 
“We have taken up the responsibility to ensure that they are exposed to the right films. The movies chosen for the Children‘s Film Fest, along with offering quality entertainment, will help the kids develop a deep sense of appreciation for great film making.”

The other DVDs that would be available include Ice age, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, Night At The Museum, Dr Dolittle Series, Home Alone Series, Garfield Movies, Horton: Hears A Who!, Alvin And The Chipmunks, Baby‘s Day Out, Robots, Titan A.E., Heidi, Ramayana, Halo, Dunston Checks In, Jingle All The Way, Miracle On 34th Street.

Other DVDs that will be available include Power Rangers: The Movie, The Sandlot: Heading Home, Tell Me Why series, Bob The Builder series, Barney series, Thomas & Friends series, Pingu series, Kipper series, Oswald series, Bravestarr, Vikram Betal, My Baby Can Talk series, Galloping Minds series, Britannica series, Garfield Animation series and many more.

DVDs will be available at leading DVD stores across the country namely Landmark, Odessey, Planet M and Crossword.
 

MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America will bring Storytime Live! in February next year.

This will be the first live family theatrical tour featuring characters from four shows – Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Wonder Pets! and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.

The tour will visit more than 70 US cities from 16 February next year and will then travel to Chicago, Pittsburgh and Radio City Music Hall in New York City, among other destinations.
 
Says Nickelodeon recreation senior VP, resorts and theatricals Stuart Rosenstein, “Nickelodeon‘s latest live theatrical endeavour for families comes from some of kids‘ favourite stories and adds a unique Nickelodeon twist.

“With Storytime Live!, we‘re giving kids the opportunity to sing and dance with all of their favourite characters in one unique production.”

Storytime Live! aims to celebrate the magic of storytelling through four brand-new adventures. With Nick Jr‘s Moose and Zee as hosts, Storytime Live! will take kids and their families on musical adventures whether by leaping into Fairytale Land with Dora and Sleeping Boots, journeying through Filthingham with The Backyardigans, hopping into Wonderland with the Wonder Pets! or jumping on clouds with Kai-lan and the Monkey King.

Broadway Across America CEO John Gore avers, “After bringing several Nickelodeon shows to the live stage, Storytime Live! is a first for our partnership with the network. Having the opportunity to produce a live theatrical tour with new and familiar characters from four popular Nickelodeon shows is truly exciting.”

Nickelodeon has produced several theatrical and touring shows for kids and their families which have drawn more than 2.5 million attendees in 12 years.