Category: Kids

MUMBAI: Cartoon network has launched a full line of Ben 10 ‘back-to-school’ gear.

Featuring Ben Tennyson and his aliens in a range of creative designs, the back-to-school gear contains stationery, school bags, apparel, raincoats and umbrellas.

Launched by Cartoon Network Enterprises, the global licensing and merchandising division of Cartoon Network, the Ben 10 school gear is available at retailers nationwide.

“The new range features some of our best designs and demonstrates yet another way Cartoon Network engages kids by extending the world of Ben 10 from the TV screen to every day life,” said Cartoon Network Enterprises, South Asia director Gaurav Brar.

Buyers of this new range will also be in the running to win the contest, wherein they can meet their superhero Ben Tennyson live in Gurgaon and in Mumbai.

The company said that till 12 June, with the purchase of Ben 10 school gear or toys worth Rs 1000 or more, kids will get free gifts including limited edition of Ben 10 alarm clock and qualify for entry into the fun Ben 10 slogan contest.

Winners of the best slogans will meet their superhero, and will also win a back-to-school hamper.

The prices of bags have been kept between Rs 295 – Rs 1295, while stationary ranges from Rs 25- Rs 599.

MUMBAI: CBeebies is refreshing its early evening schedule for summer and reintroducing some familiar friends to help children settle down for bedtime.

From 30 May, siblings Charlie And Lola are welcomed back to the CBeebies line-up alongside Lucy and her menagerie of exotic animal friends at 64 Zoo Lane.
 
These programmes will be followed by the soothing adventures of Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy in In The Night Garden and, as always, the familiar comfort of The Bedtime Story in the final slot of the day.

First broadcast on CBeebies in 2005, Charlie And Lola is based on the award-winning books by Lauren Child and follows the everyday cartoon adventures of inquisitive little sister Lola and her ever-patient brother Charlie.

And 64 Zoo Lane takes viewers on an adventurous tour of the globe as seven-year-old Lucy catches up with the animated antics of her myriad animal friends including Herbert the Warthog, Georgina the Giraffe and Isobel the Flamingo.

CBeebies controller Kay Benbow said, “We are always looking at ways to keep our schedule fresh and interesting for our young viewers without causing too much disruption to routines.

“We know that the bedtime hour is an important part of families‘ evening routines and we‘re sure that children will be delighted to settle down with some familiar friends as they prepare for bedtime.”

Fans of current bedtime show Waybuloo will still be able to catch up with the Piplings every weekday at 11.15 am, 3.10 pm, and weekends at 1 pm on CBeebies.

Parents and children can catch up with their favourite programmes at any time through the CBeebies iPlayer at bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbeebies.
 

MUMBAI: Pogo’s Chhota Bheem is the kids’ most favourite character, as per the latest report of Ormax Media’s ranking study Small Wonders.

Chhota Bheem leads by a gap of 37 per cent in this track (April 2011) and is followed by Doraemon and Jerry at No. 2 and 3 positions respectively.
 
In the previous track (October 2010) of the half-yearly study, Doraemon was on the top leading by a gap of 9 per cent.

Meanwhile, among kids whose preferred channels were Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) instead of kids channels, the top three favourite characters are – Inspector Daya (CID on Sony Entertainment television), Pratigya (Pratigya, Star Plus) and Daya (Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma, Sab).

Pratigya has replaced Anandi (Balika Vadhu, Colors) who was in the top 3 in the last track.

Small Wonders is a syndicated study that ranks kids’ favourite characters on television, along with reasons for the same. The study gives an overall understanding of the types of characters that are working, with reasons.

The media research and consulting firm said that the findings from Small Wonders can be used by channels as programming and communication inputs for their own characters.

Small Wonders is conducted among 6-14-year-old kids in seven cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Jalandhar. Around 2000 kids across SECs ABC are interviewed in every track.
 

MUMBAI: Nickelodeon, the kids channel from the Viacom18 stable, is gearing up to launch its first non-mythological, localised show Keymon Ache, starting 9 May.

Produced by Hyderabad-based DQ Entertainment, the animated show will be aired at 7 pm on the weekdays. The channel has commissioned 26 episodes of 30 minutes each.
 
Nickelodeon India Sr VP and GM Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “This summer, we decided to get original shows for our viewers. So we have launched one live action seris Pick a Trick, and one animated series Keymon Ache. These are our own concepts and we are retaining the IPs.”

Talking about the need of home grown formats, Jaipuria said that most of the home-grown properties are either mythological like Ramayana or Mahabharata or characters based on them – Krishna, Ganesha and Bheem. “This is why our shows don’t go oversees. Even the animation companies either make mythological shows for Indian broadcasters or they take international projects.”

Keymon Ache is based on the life of a nine-year-old boy, Rohan Tendulkar, who is accompanied by his set of magical toy friends. His most favourite one is a bag named as Keymon Ache.

Jaipuria is excited about Keymon Ache, and believes that the show will not only attract the kids but also the adults. “The story revolves around a nine-year old boy and his daily life. It is so close to Indian values and with a hint of magic that it will have appeal for co-viewing,” she said.

The channel has plans to take the show to multiple platforms. A special dedicated site has been developed on the show which will offer online games, and downloads apart from videos of the show. On mobile, the channels will offer mobile games, wallpapers and ringtones.

Soon, Jaipuria said, the channel will also launch the merchandise based on the characters.

The channel is promoting the show on Sony Entertainment, Sab and Viacom18 network channels, apart from McDonalds outlets and malls.
 

Mumbai: Disney Channel is premiering an original animation series, Fish Hooks, on 30 April. The show will air every Saturday at 11 am.

Created by children‘s book illustrator and author Noah Z Jones, the series is set inside a giant fish tank in Bud‘s Pet Shop and revolves around three tween fish – Milo, Oscar and Bea – who attend Freshwater High School.
 
The series chronicles the daily lives of these three fish pals as they experience typical challenges of high school, including friendship, dating and sports, along with more atypical fish-related challenges like giant lobster attacks and school field trips to the hamster cages.

Walt Disney Television International India executive director content and creative Arnab Chaudhuri says, “A school of fish, what can be funnier! Fish Hooks is a hilarious series featuring a sub-aquatic take on the traditional high school theme. Memorable characters coupled with humour make Fish Hooks a must watch.”

The show features the young comic Saloni Dani in her first voice acting role as the voice of Clamantha, the clam in Fish Hooks.

Disney Channel host Murtuza stars as the voice of Milo, and Ashish Juneja, who played “Zee” in Disney Channel’s Kya Mast Hai Life, is the voice of Oscar, Milo‘s brother.
 

MUMBAI: Disney Online Studios’ Club Penguin has planned a special lineup for the week, wherein it will show how to protect planet and tender its support for all its citizens this Earth Day.
 
Starting today, members can use the virtual coins they earn playing games on Club Penguin to purchase Earth Day-themed costumes for their penguin avatars. Players will also be able to visit areas of the virtual world that have been redesigned to look like the natural habitat of some endangered species, and learn more about those species and what threatens their survival.
 
Disney Online Studios EVP and Club Penguin co-founder Lane Merrifield said, “Children have such an innate curiosity, and a desire to protect the planet and all its citizens, and we think this is a great way to educate them and encourage them to take action in their own way. From dressing up and role playing during the Earth Day party to sharing their ideas on how to help those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, our players never cease to amaze us with their passion for changing the world, and we really want to nurture that passion.”

MUMBAI:DQ Entertainment and Al Jazeera Children‘s Channel (JCCTV) have signed multiple exclusive broadcast agreements with 22 Arabic states for the broadcasting rights of the Hyderabad-based company‘s three iconic animated productions – The Jungle Book, New Adventures of Lassie and Mysteries and Feluda in Arabic language. 
 
The second series of Jungle Book of 52 x 11 minutes duration in 3D HD follows from the successful first season that was remade with new storylines using modern digital technologies. The successful production of the second series has already started airing on several networks such as BBC-UK, TF1-France, ABC-Australia, TVO-Canada.

The New Adventures of Lassie is a 26 x 22 minute-HD animated TV series co-developed by DQE with Classic Media, USA and Super Prod, France while Mysteries and Feluda is a 2D animated series comprising a 52-minute movie and 13×22 minutes-duration TV series.

Said DQE Group Chairman & CEO Tapaas Chakravarti, “We are delighted to associate again with JCCTV which is of immense strategic value to DQE.

This agreement for three of our high quality animated TV series is testament to the universal appeal of our properties. The success of the first season of Jungle Book has given us the confidence to produce more of such iconic high quality global properties. We are sure that The New Adventures of Lassie, Feluda and The Jungle Book 2 will also be well received by audiences in Arabic nations.”

DQE has a global client-partner base of over 90 producers, distributors, broadcasters and licensors including Walt Disney Television Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios Inc., Electronic Arts, Marvel Comics, American Greetings, NBC-Universal and BBC Group.
 

MUMBAI: Nickelodeon will air the Kids Choice Awards on 17 April at 8 pm. The event that was held in the US allows kids to vote for their favourite celebrities and sports athletes from the past year. 
 
Categories include kids’ favourite movie, cartoon, song and male and female athletes.

Held in Los Angeles this year, kids cast 200 million votes for favourites in 20 categories. An orange carpet saw Jack Black make a grand entry in the Kids‘ Choice monster truck – kicking off the show with a rocking version of The Black Eyed Peas‘ “I Gotta Feeling.”

Orange blimps were presented to among others Johnny Depp for ‘Favourite Movie Actor’; The Karate Kid for ‘Favourite Movie’ and
Despicable Me for ‘Favourite Animated Movie’. Will Smith continues to be the highest KCA award winner. Stars like Ashley Judd, Kristen Stewart and Emma Watson were nominated for the same category. Pin-up boy Justin Timberlake received Nickelodeon‘s The Big Help Award!

MUMBAI:Family entertainment producer and distributor The Jim Henson Company has partnered with preschool television channel Sprout and Northern Ireland‘s Sixteen South for the co-production of 26 half-hour episodes of the new preschool series, Pajanimals. 
 
The series, which will air exclusively in the US on Sprout later this year, will feature four cuddly musical puppets.

The characters in the show are Sweetpea Sue the pony, the excitable duck Squacky, the creative cow CowBella and the optimistic puppy Apollo. They were designed and built by Jim Henson‘s Creature Shop from original concepts by Los Angeles-based toy and clothing designer, artist Jeff Muncy (Pet Alien).

The show will follow the adventures of the four sweet and gentle characters. Through their imaginary journeys, the Pajanimals will model the skills preschoolers need to move through their days and nights successfully.

Along the way, the Pajanimals discover how cozy and safe nighttime can really be when accompanied by friendship and songs.
 

MUMBAI:4Kids Entertainment, the global children’s entertainment and merchandise licensing company, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. 
 
The bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York also covers all of the domestic wholly-owned 4Kids subsidiaries.

4Kids Entertainment International, Ltd, the company’s subsidiary based in London, is not part of the bankruptcy filing.

In conjunction with the Chapter 11 filing, 4Kids also filed a variety of first day motions that will allow the company to continue to manage operations in the ordinary course.

4Kids Entertainment interim chairman Michael Goldstein said, “We want to assure our clients, business partners and licensees that during the pendency of the bankruptcy, 4Kids will continue to provide the same level of service and dedication that it has in the past. The company will also continue to explore its strategic alternatives, including, the possible sale of the business or reorganisation as a stronger and more focused company.”

The 4Kids bankruptcy filing automatically “stays” the lawsuit filed by the licensors of the Yu-Gi-Oh! property, Asatsu-DK and TV Tokyo (collectively, the “Licensors”) on 24 March, 2011 against 4Kids, until such time as the court may order otherwise.

Goldstein adds, “If the court rules in favor of the company, 4Kids will pursue the full measure of damages for the significant injury the Licensors have caused to the business of 4Kids”.