MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment, in association with Moving Picture Company, has released VCDs of the National award winning series Jungle Tales that has been inspired from the Panchatantra folk tales.
The series has a total of 14 stories of which six have been released in two volumes in English and Hindi. The famous Panchatantra stories like ‘The Hare and the Tortoise‘, ‘The Lion and the Rabbit‘ and many others have been given a 3D CGI animation treatment with a unique story-telling style. Commenting on the development, Shemaroo Entertainment Director Hiren Gada says, “We are glad to come out with the VCDs of Jungle Tales series. The stories in The Jungle Tales series are not only entertaining but also have morals to be learned. The quality of animation and narration will help children understand and enjoy these stories to the fullest thereby creating tremendous repeat value for the content.”
Shares Moving Picture Company CMD Ramesh Sharma, “The Jungle Tales is an adaptation of stories from the ‘Panchatantra‘, a collection of Indian fables. After envisaging the VCD, we sat across to write our own script, designed our own characters and formulated the presentation. From the lighting, texturing to rigging everything was done in-house.”It took us one and a half years to work on the project. On completion, we approached Shemaroo Entertainment as they are well-known in marketing a product. We are confident that in the days to come we will dub The Jungle Tales in various international languages.”
Shemaroo has released the first two volumes in English and in Hindi separately on VCDs while the final two volumes would be released in the next quarter followed by a DVD release of the entire series. The series is economically priced at Jungle Tales Vol 1 & 2 in Hindi at Rs 99 each and Jungle Tales Vol 1 & 2 in English at Rs 125 each.
Category: Kids
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Shemaroo releases ‘Jungle Tales’ on home video
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Lincoln Butterfield inks publishing deal for animated concept RIP, M.D.
MUMBAI: Lincoln Butterfield Animation has signed a deal with Fantagraphics Books to publish a graphic novel series based on its newest animated television concept, RIP, M.D.
Veteran animation producer Mitch Schauer feels that RIP, M.D. is an edgy, teen-targeted property that takes a comical look at the real-life problems of monsters. Fantagraphics Books-a respected publisher of sequential art since 1976-plans to release the first volume of RIP, M.D. in 2010.
RIP, M.D. follows the adventures of Ripley Plimpt, an ordinary boy whose life turns upside-down when he discovers that monsters are not only real, but are also in need of his unique services. After he finds and repairs the broken wing of a tiny vampire bat, he is accepted into the monster world as friend, confidant and protector. To monsters around the world, Ripley simply becomes known as RIP, M.D. – Monster Doctor!
“We‘re very pleased at the opportunity to pair RIP, M.D. with a Publisher that we clearly respect for what they have done with their own stable of comic book and graphic novel properties,” said Lincoln Butterfield partner and associate producer Joseph Walker.
Lincoln Butterfield‘s growing catalogue of animation projects in development also includes the tween properties TAN (distributed by PorchLight Entertainment) and NIT: Neighborhood Investigation Team (debuted at MIPCOM in October), as well as mature titles like Venture Probe and When in Rome. Each of the company‘s properties offers the potential for multiplatform extensions, such as publishing, broadband, mobile and feature films.
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Toonz Animation, Illusion Studios to produce ‘Gaturro’ for $6 mn
MUMBAI: Toonz Animation India and South American studio Illusion Studios will co-produce a 90-minute 3D animated feature film, Gaturro.
The project cost of the movie is pegged at $6 million. The pre production of the feature has been complete. The production will commence at the production facility in Trivandrum within two weeks. The film will be released worldwide by 2010.
Based on the Argentine comic strip, Gaturro is about the fun love story of two cats – Gaturro and Agatha.
“This is a new challenge for us. Gaturro as a comic strip is an iconic character and it would demand greater care to give life to him in a different medium. But I am confident that we will be able to rise up to the expectations of our audience,” said Toonz Animation India CEO P.Jayakumar.
“We are absolutely proud to have Toonz Animation India on board. It is an essential contribution to our international positioning, as well as to our strategy of opening up new markets for our film industry,” said Illusion Studios CEO José Luis Massa.
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BBC’s ‘In The Night Garden’ makes progress in China
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC, has announced the launch of a magazine, a range of books and a DVD partner for the pre-school programme, In the Night Garden, in China.
The announcement of commercial plans for the brand follows the programme‘s debut on Chinese Central Television (CCTV) on 13 May.In the Night Garden is produced by Ragdoll Productions, the creators of Teletubbies. It tells the story of a magical picture-book place where a diverse community of toys live out their comical adventures together. A huge ratings and commercial success in the UK, In the Night Garden is now rolling out across the world.
Licensing agent U Young has been appointed to develop a comprehensive licensing programme across categories in China for the show.
BBC Worldwide Children‘s and Licensing MD Neil Ross Russell says, “We‘ve seen great success to date in the UK and in markets like Canada, Australia and Spain in bringing the characters and stories from In the Night Garden to life across DVD, publishing, magazines and merchandise. Now, we‘re delighted to be able to celebrate our partnerships with Chinese businesses CCTV, U Young and Excel Media to bring In the Night Garden to a whole new audience.”
The magazine will launch in China on 1 June 2009. The magazine, licensed to You You Xing Media Co, a branch of UYoung Media, will be published in Chinese. The title will have an initial print run of 150,000 copies, increasing to 500,000 with subsequent issues. The launch of In the Night Garden in China is the second international licence for the magazine. In the Night Garden Middle East was launched in December.
BBC Children‘s Books has secured Children‘s Fun as their Chinese publisher for In the Night Garden. Children‘s Fun has a pedigree of publishing television licenses including Teletubbies. The deal was confirmed through You You Xing Media. Children‘s Fun will be launching eight Mandarin storybook titles followed by a range of activity books with further publishing rolling out in 2010.
Excel Media, a BBC Worldwide partner for Charlie and Lola, will release DVD titles for In the Night Garden. Igglepiggle and his friends will debut on DVD in June in China with two titles, the initial production run of which is 5,000 copies. Two titles every month are planned thereafter.
In just over a year since launch, In the Night Garden ended 2008 as the second biggest licence in the UK, generating ?33.1 million in licensed toy sales and outperforming competitors like Thomas the Tank Engine, Ben 10 and High School Musical. To date the property has sold over three-quarters of a million DVDs, over a million books and been sold to 33 countries Worldwide.
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Snow White and Seven Dwarfs to release on Blu-ray
MUMBAI: Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment (WDSHE) will release ‘The one that started it all,‘ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in high definition (HD) Blu-ray on 6 October.
The release will be part of Disney‘s Diamond collection. The standard definition will be released seven weeks later on 24 November.The release includes Disney Smart Navigation, allowing the personality of Disney characters to come to life, Disney Family Play, the interactive Hi-Def experience, offering a variety of games, activities and unprecedented levels of personalization and customization features, to transform how families experience home entertainment together.
The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition is a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray discs + DVD) and is priced at $39.99.
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Cartoon Network Asia acquires Nerd’s animated series
MUMBAI: Cartoon Network (CN) Asia has acquired Nerd Corp‘s animated series League of Super Evil (L.O.S.E.).
The series will showcase early next year in more than 25 countries including India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, China and parts of Southeast Asia.
The network will handle rights that include merchandising for 26 half-hour episodes that will be aired as two consecutive 11-minute segments. Also, Nerd Corp has created 30-second shorts appended to each episode as bonus on-air or online content.
The series was launched in the US by CN and in Canada by YTV in March this year. It also debuted on CBBC in the UK, Jetix in Latin America and Canal+, Canal J and Gulli in France.
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BBC launches multi-platform soap for teens
MUMBAI: BBC‘s division BBC Switch has gone into production with a new soap for its teen audience. BBC Switch celebrates British teens through a range of multi-platfom content.
In five-minute episodes on bbc.co.uk/switch and a weekly TV omnibus on BBC Two launching later in the year, The Cut features storylines with drama for soap loving teens.
The Cut has been developed by BBC Switch and EastEnders writer Al Smith in collaboration with KateModern producer Pete Gibbons and director Sarah Walker, whose credits include Hollyoaks.
BBC Switch head Geoffrey Goodwin says, “This series reflects the way many young people want to consume content. We‘ve united top British writing talent with the freshest and newest interactive ideas to make appointment to view content for soap loving British teens.
“The story is fast paced and relevant to young audiences, with secret crushes, family dramas and plenty of intrigue. The writing is quick, witty, and knowing, rich with pop culture references and with storylines suggested by teens themselves.”
The BBC adds that the structure of the Switch team is an opportunity for established directors, writers and producers to lead the next generation of talent – and for many of the young cast this is their first professional job.
Shot on tapeless cameras and edited in house, The Cut will look to be fast and reactive, with an efficient digital production process allowing capture and broadcast to be just a few weeks apart. The Cut will be an integral part of Switch‘s offer for British teens, getting audiences to the heart of the drama.
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Nick to launch CG animated ‘Kung Fu Panda: The Series’
MUMBAI: Nickelodeon has ordered 26 episodes of its second co-production with DreamWorks Animation SKG, Kung Fu Panda: The Series.
This is a new CG animated comedy series adapted from the film and strengthens the strategic alliance between the two companies.
DreamWorks Animation COO Ann Daly says, “We are thrilled to extend our ongoing collaboration with Nickelodeon, whose creative expertise in producing hit TV series is second to none.
“The characters and worlds we originally created for Kung Fu Panda are particularly well-suited to be further developed and explored in new and exciting ways.”
The series will chronicle the further adventures of Po, the energetic, enthusiastic, always hungry martial arts panda. He is aided by his mentor Shifu and the Furious Five: Tigress, Mantis, Crane, Monkey and Viper. Anointed ‘Dragon Warrior‘ Po protects the Valley of Peace from threats of all kind.
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CBBC to get children active in ‘Skate Nation’
MUMBAI: CBBC has announced a new show Skate Nation, which begins later this year.
This is the competition for roller skaters and inline skaters who will need to have levels of agility, fitness and talent to be in with a chance of winning.Skate Nation is going to be positioned as an action-packed show.
Says CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist, “Skate Nation will be an opportunity for children to get off the sofa and get active. We‘ll be encouraging CBBC viewers to learn a new skill and to see how much fun and expertise can be achieved in a remarkably short time scale. It‘s a show all the family will take part in and enjoy.”
There are 14 teams taking part, each made up of three children (age between seven and 13) and one adult. It isn‘t just about their skating abilities, the teams must also be able to demonstrate that they work well as a team. So they will need to encourage and support each other as they attempt to master the jumps and spins!
The competition steps up a gear as teams vie for one of 10 places at Skate Camp where they will be tutored by top coaches and choreographers. This is an invaluable chance to hone their skills and work on all aspects of their performance, before the main competition begins.
For the teams that make it through camp, the Skate Stadium arena awaits. This is what the skaters have all been working towards: they will need to wow both the judges and the stadium‘s live audience. Each week the skaters will have to learn and perfect a new routine to perform and, as the weeks go on, the routines will get more and more challenging. The teams must pull out all the stops if they want to win.
The judges Camilla Dallerup (Strictly Come Dancing, professional dancer), Asha Kirby (professional skater) and Kevin Adams (Fame Academy, fitness instructor) will be looking for super-talented skaters with lots of potential.
The series ends with a skating extravaganza as the finalists compete for the Skate Nation title by showing off stunts and tricks which they‘ve learnt over the series. The competition will be fierce, as the grand prize is a trip to the World Games in Taiwan to see the world‘s best skaters in action.
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Pogo to unveil new show from 25 May
MUMBAI: Pogo, the kid‘s entertainment channel from the Turner stable, is gearing up to roll out its new original production Pogo All Stars from 25 May onwards.The format of the show has been licensed from FremantleMedia and is produced by Fox Television Studios India for the channel in India.
The new property, hosted by Cyrus Sahukar and positioned as a ‘rib ticking game show‘, will be aired from Monday to Friday at 5 pm.
For the game show, each episode will feature two contesting teams‘ race to win in four different physical games.