ITV

Category: Kids

  • Cartoon Network, Pogo line up special shows for Diwali

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network and Pogo have lined up special shows for Diwali. The programming line-up comprises a mix of Hollywood and Bollywood films. In addition, Cartoon Network will roll out a contest contest ‘Cartoon Network Popcorn Phataka‘ from 26 -31 October.



    Turner International India Private Limited (TIIPL) VP and deputy GM – entertainment network, South Asia Monica Tata said, “On the occasion of Diwali, we offer an exciting line-up of premium content sure to add on to the encompassing enthusiasm and zeal with which we celebrate the festival of lights. We are confident that our sparkling festive treat will further brighten our viewers’ Diwali.”



    As part of the special programming line-up, Cartoon Network will show blockbuster Krrish and a series of animated mythological movies that include: Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Ram, Pandavas – The Five Warriors, Krishna: Kansa Vadh, and Bal Hanuman Pogo will showcase international movie Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone, The Hulk and Bal Ganesh.

  • Cartoon Network to develop 5 animation shorts from India

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will develop five animation shorts from India. The ideas were culled from over 300 entries received for Snaptoons (Short New Asia Pacific Cartoons), the network’s pan-Asian original content development initiative.


    The five short-listed India projects are Kul-Veera from Graphiti Multimedia; Sulochana from Miditech; Johnny Goes To Bollywood from Famous House of Animation; The Firebirds from Splash! Communications and Guide to the Only Planet by Shoot at Sight.


    Cartoon Network’s in-house Snaptoons team has been working with the shortlisted creators in developing 10 ideas and will produce at least five completed shorts this year.



    “The quality and depth of the ideas reinforces our belief that Asia Pacific is truly an unlimited source of talent that the animation world should take note of. This is an ambitious stage of Cartoon Network’s long-term commitment in development and we are very excited that we may just be working on the next generation of cartoon heroes in the league of BEN 10, The Powerpuff Girls or Johnny Bravo,” said Turner Entertainment Networks Asia VP content Mark Eyers.


    He added, “We are looking forward to the next stage, when we can see the results of helping creators realise their vision at an international level, providing them the best creative and technical support and global exposure of their idea. Cartoon Network is investing in the creation of the shorts, for the ultimate consideration of being greenlit into a series and consumed across every platform – mobile, online, television, as well as licensing and merchandising.”


    The other five are from Australia, (FWAK! Animation and Bogan Entertainment Solutions); Malaysia (Inspidea Sdn. Bhd.); Taiwan (Sofa Studio) and Thailand (Ittirit House). The commissioned entrants will have their world premiere exclusively on Cartoon Network across selected Asia Pacific feeds in 2009.

  • CBeebies unveils media pre-school quiz show ‘Kerwhizz’

    MUMBAI: CBeebies has unveiled Kerwhizz, a multi-platform entertainment format aimed at 4 to 6-year-olds.



    Cbeebies controller Michael Carrington says: “Kerwhizz is tremendous fun, looks absolutely amazing and children and their grown-ups will be able to enjoy the game and the podcasts any time they like.”



    In Kerwhizz, three teams of CGI characters compete to answer questions that will give them add-ons or “Pod-Mods” for their high tech racing machines.



    Kerwhizz has been designed with the assistance of teachers and a specialist advisor, to test the teams and the viewer.



    Children are drawn into the action at every step of the game, answering questions, making predictions about the race and advising contestants when to use their “pod-mods”.



    The races can take place in any of 26 different worlds which reflect a range of environments, from the astronomical to the historical. The three teams of two are Kit and Kaboodle, Twist and Snout, and Ninki and Pip.



    Firing the questions and commentating on the race is the live action Kerwhizzitor. A live action audience adds to the excitement by cheering on their favourite contestants.



    The online game will reflect the show, with brand new questions and specially created races for the users to enjoy. There will also be a radio show which will be podcasted on the site, joining the growing number of increasingly popular CBeebies podcasts available at bbc.co.uk/cbeebies.



    It is also the first in-house CBeebies show to be filmed in HD. 26 of the 22-minute programmes have been ordered from CBeebies Production and the show and game will debut on air and online respectively at the start of November.



    CBeebies Production head Kay Benbow says, “I am delighted that CBeebies Production has been commissioned to make this stand-out multi-platform property.



    “By working together the integrated in-house team have created a show that lives in all the spaces a child does – on TV, on Radio and Online. It is great fun, fills a real gap in the pre-school market and looks fantastic!”



    Kerwhizz fans can play as their favourite team on the CBeebies website. Just as in the programme, they will be asked five different questions, earning points for every correct answer to win “Mods” for their racing Pods.



    They can then progressively unlock six online raceworlds (including Jungle World and Above the Clouds), in which they can try and beat the other teams.



    In addition to the game, children can print out and colour in their favourite characters, listen to the Kerwhizz theme tune and watch clips from the programme.

  • Turner, MGM to produce Pink Panther series for Cartoon Network

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting and MGM Worldwide Television (MGM) have announced that they are producing a new 26 episode half-hour animated series for MGM‘s popular Pink Panther franchise. This will air on Cartoon Network channels worldwide in Fall 2009.



    The show is being produced jointly by MGM and Rubicon, a Jordan based animation, edutainment and multimedia company. Production of the series is currently taking place in both Los Angeles and Jordan.



    Says MGM Worldwide co-president Gary Marenz, “In addition to Cartoon Network‘s interest in the series, international buyers have been especially eager for us to produce another Pink Panther series and we are happy to partner with Rubicon on meeting the worldwide demand with this new series.”



    Pink Panther & Pals is a 26 episode animated TV series featuring the Pink Panther as a rambunctious teenager who, along with his friends, gets into all sorts of mischievous capers and hilarious escapades.



    The musical score and comedy themes will be reprised from the original Pink Panther theatrical shorts and TV series and will be familiar and recognizable to legions of Pink Panther fans the world over.


    MGM plans to support the new “Pink Panther & Pals” show with a dedicated licensing and merchandising initiative targeting licensed apparel, stationery and back to school toys, publishing and interactive games. The retail launch of licensed merchandise is targeted for late 2009.

  • Toel Animation sells shows to broadcasters ahead of Mipcom

     
    MUMBAI: Ahead of Mipcom, France animation production studio Toei Animation has announced that their shows have been acquired by several leading broadcasters in Europe and Asia.
     



    Asataro, The Onion Samurai will be aired on TV Asahi in Japan from 12 October. My 3 Daughters and Master Hamsters has been acquired by GMA7 in the Philippines and by France 3 in France.


    Happy Lucky Bikkuriman has been acquired by Cartoon Network in Italy, by France 3 in France and by Hong Kong Cable in Hong Kong.


    GeGeGe No Kitaro 5 has been acquired by Tooniverse in Korea.

  • BabyFirstTV assigns Summit Entertainment to distribute DVDs

    MUMBAI: BabyFirstTV has assigned Summit Entertainment as the exclusive US distributor for their lineup of baby and toddler developmental DVDs.


    A global independent entertainment production and distribution studio, Summit Entertainment will represent the BabyFirstTV DVD line to home entertainment retailers and mass merchandisers nationwide.



    Says BabyFirstTV SVP sales and marketing Jeffrey Quinn, “Summit Entertainment is the perfect distribution partner for our DVD lineup. Summit has done an outstanding job marketing and selling their titles to all major retailers and quite frankly, one of the few companies we felt could manage our significant DVD output without losing sight of the brand.”



    BabyFirstTV developmental DVDs are created by leading child development experts and include many features including on-screen parenting tips and information and a three-step introduction method to topics.


    Developmental titles include: Social Explorations, taking babies and toddlers on an adventure of discovery through a variety of games and activities; Visual Inspirations (exploring the beauty of art in a manner that adjusts to the nature and pace of a child’s development), Vocabulary Seeds (provides a taste of the gradual process in which vocabulary is created and enhanced), Cognitive Beginnings (explores different components of our cognitive abilities in three progressive steps), Numerical Concepts (introduces numbers and counting as well as the relationships between various shapes), and Night Symphony ( features lullaby music and soothing images to much-needed quiet time for babies and their parents).



    Other series include I Can Sign (learning sign language), BabyFirst Tales (understanding how to read classic tales), MY Gym At Home (provides a safe and fun introduction to flexibility and motor skills), and Baby D.I.Y. (crafts made from items in the kitchen).



    The character line features the four most popular shows each with their own DVD: Harry the Bunny, Squeak, Tec the Tractor and Shushybye Baby.



    “We’re excited to represent BabyFirstTV in the DVD category. The company has put together a truly unique line-up that has really hit home with parents here in the US and around the world. It’s a great addition to our theatrical DVD releases and the channel’s consumer awareness and support makes them a great a partner for us,” said Summit Entertainment president Steve Nickerson.

  • Disney Consumer Products launches Wall.E merchandise

    MUMBAI: Disney Consumer Products has launched the merchandise of Wall.E, the latest film from Disney and Pixar Animation Studio. DCP has tied up with HM International and Bombay Dyeing for the Wall.E stationery range and bed sheet range respectively.



    The Wall.E back to school range starts at Rs 40 to Rs 360. The Wall.E Bed Sheet range starts from Rs 895 to Rs1895


    School Stationery is retailed out of Lifestyle and Landmark while bed sheets are available at Bombay Dyeing stores.

  • Disney launches Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray Disc

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) has released its animated classics, Sleeping Beauty, in Blu-ray Disc.

    Sleeping Beauty is the company‘s very first platinum edition title to release on the Blu-ray Disc format. In addition, this special release on Blu-ray offers families an opportunity to receive a DVD of the movie. The movie is set at no additional cost to consumers, retailing for the suggested price of $35.99 US and $45.99 Canada.



    50 years ago Walt Disney shot this movie in a widescreen aspect ratio. However, it has never been displayed in this manner since its original debut in 1959.



    Sleeping Beauty is also the first title to launch Disney‘s new internet-connected BD-Live experience which will allow movie lovers and families alike to chat on-screen in real-time with friends while simultaneously watching a movie frame-by-frame; record personalized video greetings for a loved one that appears on-screen over a pre-selected scene in a movie; play real-time interactive or strategy games against single and/or multiple groups of people; and do much more, all from the comfort of their very own living room.

  • Obama, McCain to answer kiddie questions on Nick

    MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon is providing kids with the opportunity to see the 2008 US Presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, answer their questions in the show Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Kids Pick the President.


    The show airs on 12 October. Hosted by journalist Linda Ellerbee, Nick News‘ Kids Pick the President will feature interviews with McCain and Obama answering kids‘ questions on a wide range of hot political topics, including: the economy, the war in Iraq, global warming, health insurance and immigration. Following the show, kids will be able to cast their votes by going to http://www.nick.com/kpp.


    Nickelodeon will announce the results on 20 October 2008.



    Both the special and the “Kids‘ Vote” are the culmination of Nickelodeon‘s year-long Kids Pick the President initiative to build young citizens‘ awareness of the 2008 election process, its candidates and issues.


    Ellerbee says, “Democracy works only if you participate in it, and this year we‘ve all seen that kids are more interested than ever in participating. We like to encourage this. The candidates, by answering kids‘ questions directly, are showing respect for kids, as have the presidential candidates in previous elections. And, considering that in four of the last five presidential elections, kids have picked the same president the grownups have — but a couple of weeks before the general election — the media shows respect for how kids vote, too.”


    Nick News has been travelling around the US asking kids what they would want to ask the candidates if they had a chance, then videotaping the questions. In interviews conducted exclusively for Nick News, McCain and Obama were interviewed separately — McCain in Columbus, Ohio, and Obama in
    Daytona, Florida — without the opportunity to hear each other‘s responses. Each candidate answers 10 questions from kids (ages 10-15).


    The resulting interviews offer kids a fresh and direct way to learn about what McCain and Obama think about some of the pressing issues facing the country today.


    Kids can log on to http://www.nick.com/kpp from 12-20 October 2008 to cast their votes online for Nickelodeon‘s “Kids‘ Vote”, as well as to get more information about each candidate and his position on the issues.


    Nickelodeon‘s Kids Pick the President campaign includes four television specials, a special online election website http://www.nick.com/kpp/ , and a series of educational and humorous spots surrounding the Republican and Democratic conventions — featuring the Kids Pick the President Election Connection Team of Pick Boy, Lil‘ JJ and Lily
    Collins — which air on Nick and appear online.

  • American Idol runner up to act in Nick’s iCarly

    MUMBAI: Trying his hands on acting, David Archuleta, American Idol’s seventh season will appear in an episode of Nickelodeon’s iCarly. The episode titled ‘Rocked the Vote‘ will be aired in Spring.



    In the episode, Archuleta will play a contestant on a show similar to American Idol, called America Sings. Archuleta’s character will receive a huge boost in votes after gaining the support of the iCarly blog. iCarly is a show about a high school girl who runs a video blog with her friends.


    In May, Archuleta became the runner-up on the seventh season of American Idol.He released his first single, Crush, in August and will release his self-titled debut album next month.