Category: Kids

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network has picked up 13 episodes of the two hour-long original, scripted live-action series, Tower Prep and Warner Horizon Television‘s Unnatural History.
The production on the network‘s first one-hour long action series is scheduled to begin in January next year.

Tower Prep is the story of a rebellious teen, who wakes up one morning to find himself trapped in a mysterious prep school focused on tapping into the unique potential of its students. The series will be produced out of Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, CA, in association with Dolphin Entertainment.
 
On the other hand, Unnatural History is an action-packed mystery series centering on a teenager with exceptional skills acquired through years of globe-trotting with his anthropologist parents. The series that will be executive produced by Mike Werb is being produced by Warner Horizon Television (WHTV).

Said Cartoon Network chief content officer Rob Sorcher, “These new series will offer our viewers a type of action-packed event entertainment not seen nywhere else. We are looking forward to working with all of the great talent involved in these exciting new ventures which we believe will be a powerful complement to our diverse and expanding array of original programming.”

MUMBAI: MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking) has won this year’s Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award for producing the music videoAll I Need for Radiohead.
The video gives an insight into the realities of exploitative child labour and shows that we are all touched by it no matter where we live and that we all have a role to play in ending child exploitation and trafficking. 
 
Created by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), ABU and Unicef in 2001, the award is given annually to the best television programme on child rights issue produced in the Asia Pacific region. This year, the award received nearly 40 entries from 15 countries including India, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Thailand.

Radiohead, an alternative rock band from the UK, gave MTV Exit the right to use All I Need off their In Rainbows album and to produce the official video for the single as a way to reach young people and show them the realities of trafficking and exploitative child labour.

The music video is shown in split screen: one side depicting a day in the life of a young boy from an affluent country; the other showing the day in the life of a boy being forced to work in a sweatshop.
 
 
MTV Exit campaign director Simon Goff says, “The idea of fusing a social message into a creative format like a music video was something that we had wanted to experiment with for some time. By integrating the message into this format, we could reach many more people than if we created a standard public service announcement.”
 
    This music video is part of the MTV Exit campaign, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking.
 
Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies says, “Broadcast platforms of all kinds are one of the most powerful tools for educating and promoting child rights issues. On behalf of the industry, Casbaa salutes the on-going participation of broadcasters from across the Asia Pacific region in this year’s Award process.”

The winning entry was selected by a panel of jurors made up of television producers and industry representatives. They included Hitoshi Furukawa of Children‘s Programmes Department of NHK Educational Corporation (Japan), Bella Stjerne of SVT Sveriges Television (Sweden), Aparna Sanyal of Mixed Media Productions (India), Jesse Stern of InFocus Asia (Thailand), Syahrizan Mansor of Nickelodeon (Singapore) and Virginia Lim of SPE Networks (Singapore).

MUMBAI: D3Publisher announced that PlayStation Portable (PSP) system classic games based on Cartoon Network‘s animated series Ben10 will now be available for download via the PlayStation Store in North America.
These will include Ben10: Protector of Earth and Ben 10 Alien Force The Game. While, the former is priced at $14.00, the later is available for download for $19.99.
 
Said D3Publisher director business development and licensing Michael Scharnikow, “We have made Ben 10: Protector of Earth and BEN 10 Alien Force. The game is available through a simple and easy digital download to accommodate the evolving way people play games. Both Ben 10: Protector of Earth and BEN 10 Alien Force The Game are perfect for fans of the series or new recruits who want to experience the adventures of Ben Tennyson and his alien forms at a great value on the PSP system.”

MUMBAI: Kids entertainment channel Nick will organise a nationwide Play-a-thon on 7 November as part of Let‘s Just Play initiative.

The activity will see Nick hosting a a 10-hour playday in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta, Bangalore and Hyderabad with an aim to spread the message of ‘active play‘ across the country.

The channel has roped in Balika Vadhu‘s Avinash (Jagya) and Avika Gor (Anandi) to support this movement.
 
Says Nick India GM and SVP Nina Elavia Jaipuria, “Both Avinash and Avika have captured the hearts of millions of kids and parents alike and we‘re happy to have them on-board, urging all kids to go out and play on 7 November.”

Massive 10 hour Play-a-thons will be organised in outdoor areas of Ambience Malls Delhi, Inorbit Mall Mumbai, City Centre Mall Kolkata, RSI Grounds-Bangalore and Prasad IMAX Grounds-Hyderabad. This will culminate in a grand finale in the evening from 4-9 pm.

Additionally, the channel will go blank from 5-5.30 pm on 7 November thereby encouraging children to go out and play.
 

MUMBAI: Nickelodeon has partnered with Columbia/Epic Label Group for 20 episodes of Big Time Rush, a new live-action comedy series by Scott Fellows. The channel will air a special one-hour preview of the new series on 28 November.

Big Time Rush will feature original songs performed by the group under the guidance of the label. Nickelodeon had entered into an expanded partnership with Columbia/Epic Label Group to collaborate on music and television projects in 2007.

The show, about four best friends who are given the opportunity of a lifetime when they get a chance to be part of the glamorous LA pop music scene, is currently in production in Los Angeles and is slated to premiere in early 2010. 
 
“Our audience loves stories about wish fulfillment and beating the odds, and that is what is at the heart of Big Time Rush. We think kids and tweens will quickly connect with the story of Kendall, Logan, James and Carlos.

“They‘ll be laughing at their misadventures and rooting for them as they try to attain that elusive goal of pop stardom,” said Nickelodeon executive VP original programming and development Marjorie Cohn.

Nickelodeon is already working with Columbia/Epic Label Group on Victorious, the new live-action series by Dan Schneider about students at a Hollywood school for the performing arts.
Recently, the label produced and distributed the iCarly soundtrack.

MUMBAI: Classic Media is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Casper the Friendly Ghost property. On the occasion, it has also launched the CGI animated Casper‘s Scare School.

The direct-to-video release Casper‘s Scare School, which inspired the new series of the same name, is to be re-released, along with the first two volumes of the classic Casper collection: Casper: Trick-or-Treat Classic Collection Volume 1 and Casper & Wendy: Scare Up Some Fun Classic Collection Volume 2.  
 
The series has now launched on major networks around the world, including TF1 in France, ZDF in Germany, YTV in Canada and Cartoon Network in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Dark Horse Comics, also celebrating its property‘s 60th anniversary, is releasing a hardcover graphic novel featuring a reprint of Casper‘s first-ever comic book released in 1949.

New Casper apparel lines have hit retail for Halloween. Local Celebrity (juniors) and Mad Engine (men‘s and boys‘) have presented their collections of printed T-shirts and tops at department stores, specialty stores, boutiques and online outlets.

MUMBAI: In its aim to develop the comic book Indestructible Man into a TV series, Fox 21 and Platinum Studios have joined hands to work on Gunplay, with writer and producer Glen Morgan delegated to write the script.

Gunplay tells the story of Abner Meeks, a buffalo soldier condemned to roam the Old West with a demonic shooting iron that forces him to kill once a day or suffer soul-searing pain.

Said Platinum Studios chairman and CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, “Gunplay is one of those rare combinations of fantastically created characters and wonderfully told narrative that creates an inventive canvas to play with.” 
 
Earlier in October, Fox 21-the division of 20th Century Fox Television, announced that it was developing a TV series based on the comic book Indestructible Man, one of 5,600 comic characters owned by Platinum Studios.
Said Fox 21 president Chris Carlisle, “Gunplay is a unique story of an ordinary man who must live with an extraordinary curse.”

MUMBAI: In a bid to promote environmental awareness, the UN has appointed Disney‘s Tinker Bell as the organization‘s “Honorary Ambassador of Green”. 
 
Tinker Bell, the fairy from Walt Disney‘s Peter Pan and also the protagonist in the just-released DVD and Blu-ray feature Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, is the first cartoon character to be conferred such an honour. 
 
Says Disney, “The environment is an underlying theme of the Tinker Bell movies. Tinker Bell is a natural ambassador of green, living consistently in harmony with the environment. Her appointment, as Honorary Ambassador of Green, is a great opportunity for this character to play a key role in inspiring kids.”

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network territories around the globe will join forces in a worldwide campaign surrounding the broadcast premiere of Ben 10: Alien Swarm.
 
Throughout November, countries including the US, UK, Australia, Poland, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, and the Philippines will host premiere events and screenings in 26 languages to support the global broadcast premiere of the latest television movie in the Ben 10 franchise.
 
Ben 10: Alien Swarm tour will kick off in London, England where cast members Ryan Kelley, Galadriel Stineman, Nathan Keyes and Alyssa Diaz will present Ben‘s 10 Awards to 10 lucky kids.  
   
Fans will be able to follow the cast as they travel from London to Los Angeles through updates on the official Cartoon Network Facebook page and Twitter account, posting photos, text messages and video clips from each event.

Bandai America, the official toy licensee for Ben 10, will serve as the exclusive sponsor of the US premiere in Los Angeles, California. These events around the world, combined with a comprehensive marketing campaign, promise to make this the most extensive global launch in Cartoon Network‘s history.
 
Ben 10: Alien Swarm is directed and executive-produced by Alex Winter, who also directed Cartoon Network‘s first Ben 10 live-action movie, Ben 10: Race Against Time. The new movie follows Ben as he breaks ranks from the Plumbers (a secret organisation that battles alien forces) to help Elena, a mysterious young woman from his past, uncover an alien threat to our world.

Ryan Kelley (Prayers for Bobby) stars in the role of 16-year-old Ben Tennyson, with industry veteran Barry Corbin (No Country for Old Men) starring as Grandpa Max. Galadriel Stineman (Junkyard Dog) is Gwen, Ben‘s super-powered cousin, and Nathan Keyes plays Kevin Levin, who has joined Ben‘s team for the good of the universe, but still seems to have a scheming side.

MUMBAI: Great Priced Furniture has announced that it will be offering a full line of Nickelodeon Furniture to kids aged 3-12 and plus.  
 
Fellow North Carolina native, Lea Furniture of the La-Z-Boy company, has teamed up with Nickelodeon to manufacture the full line of kids‘ and children‘s furniture.   
 
    The Nickelodeon Furniture line is set at mid-level price points and the collections will include SpongeBob Square Pants, Go, Diego, Go!, Dora the Explorer, TEENick, and the Nickelodeon splat and slime-related brands.