Category: Kids

MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based DQ Entertainment has signed a licensing agreement for ‘The Jungle Book’ with C. Riethmuller GmbH (Riethmuller), Germany, for the distribution of branded party products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

As per the agreement, Riethmuller will manufacture and distribute party goods like paper plates, paper cups, napkins, table covers, party chains, party hats, balloons, drinking straws, candles, party bags and banners, decorating garlands and lanterns etc. based on The Jungle Book characters. 
 
Riethmuller will manufacture these in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for a period of two years.

Says DQE Group CMD and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti, “Riethmuller are the leaders in Europe and Asia and have a strong penetration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for party products. We are sure that Riethmuller are the right partners for merchandising an iconic property like The Jungle Book. This is the beginning of a new and strategic relationship and we look forward to continue our association with Riethmuller as well as our strategic partners ZDF Enterprises.”

The deal was concluded through the animation, gaming and live action entertainment production and distribution company’s merchandising agents in Germany, ZDF.

Avers ZDF Enterprises project manager merchandising Oliver Grundel, “Riethmueller has a company history of more than 150 years and is one of Europe‘s leading and most successful companies in the field of event-, party-, carnival- and decorative supplies. We are pleased to have won another high calibre partner in the licensing of The Jungle Book and are convinced that this topic will be successfully translated into these product categories as well.”

Riethmuller’s product range include properties like Spiderman, Barbie, 3 Musketeers, Ben 10, Roary, Barbie Glam, Spider-Man & Friends, Spider Sense, Playmobile Pirates, Teddy & Friends, Pirates, Dino and Safari.

States Riethmueller CEO Edgar Riethmueller, “We believe in the enormous potential of The Jungle Book as one of the most popular topics and as one of the true international classics in L&M. Thus, we are very happy to have reached this agreement and look forward to working jointly with ZDF Enterprises and DQ Entertainment.”
 

MUMBAI: The Banff World Media Festival has announced that The Hub television network president and CEO Margaret Loesch will deliver the Kids and Animation keynote at this year‘s Festival in June in Canada.  
 
Loesch oversees all business and creative areas of the family entertainment network, a JV between Discovery and Hasbro, which reaches approximately 61 million US cable and satellite households.

Banff World Media Festival executive director Ferne Cohen said, “We are thrilled that Margaret Loesch will be keynoting Kids and Animation at Banff this year. Loesch has spent her impressive career at the forefront of kids’ entertainment and is a key force in shaping the children‘s television industry. She will undoubtedly bring an invaluable perspective to our delegates at Banff this June.”
 
 

MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based DQE has entered into a co-production agreement with M6 Studios (France), the TV broadcaster and producer for the second season of Le Petit Nicolas.
Lovingly known as ‘Little Nick’, the second season of Le Petit Nicolas has in all 52 episodes of 13 minutes each to be made at a global budget of approximately €7.7 million.
 
The series, to be developed in high-end CGI and production, is scheduled to start this year.

Little Nick was created by René Goscinny, the creator of Asterix and illustrated byJean-Jacques Sempé.

The first series of Le Petit Nicolas that was co-produced by DQE is expected to premiere in the Indian subcontinent, shortly having already aired in France and on ZDF, Germany.

Said DQE Chairman & CEO Tapas Chakravarti, “I am confident that our collaboration with M6 Studio and its TV Channel for the co-production of the second season of this iconic property, ‘Le Petit Nicolas’, will again be hugely successful. The first season, also co-produced by DQE, has aired in France as well as Germany and has received an excellent response from viewers. Soon audiences in the subcontinent will be able to view it on a leading children’s network in this region.”

DQE has the exclusive right to sell and distribute the TV and video rights pertaining to the series in Asian territories in Hindi, English and all local languages. It will also distribute the series (both seasons) in all English speaking countries worldwide.

The French cartoon was first published in 1959 and since then it has sold over 10 million copies in more than 30 countries.

MUMBAI: Kids channel Pogo is coming up with two new shows in the first month of the New Year.

The first is an animated comedy series, Coji Coji, which will start from 10 January. It will be shown from Monday to Thursday at 5 pm.
  
The show is the story of a character called Coji Coji who wants to enjoy life and the wonders of nature. But Coji Coji‘s carefree ways and tendency to shirk responsibilities is a source of disappointment for others.

Just for Laugh Gags is returning to Pogo to “make you laugh out loud”. The show, which is full of pranks and surprises, will air Monday-Friday at 8 pm.

MUMBAI: Tata Elxsi, part of the $70 billion Tata Group, and international children‘s entertainment company A Squared Entertainment (A2) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture.

The JV will create, develop and distribute original brands, including animated entertainment and digital gaming.

“This venture will combine the best of creative and marketing skills from Hollywood and the animation production experience and scale of Visual Computing Labs of Tata Elxsi to create meaningful and purposeful content of which we can all be proud of,” said Tata Elxsi MD and CEO Madhukar Dev.

Tata Elxsi‘s Visual Computing Lab (VCL) has been associated with animation and VFX projects for motion pictures, television programmes and TV commercials. It leverages a large talent pool including creative personnel and multi-site production capabilities through studios in India and Los Angeles.

Tata Elxsi also brings game development experience across multiple platforms.
 
“Combining A2‘s creative development, brand management and multi-media distribution expertise with Tata Elxsi‘s exceptional animation capabilities and technological innovation gives us a tremendous advantage in today‘s competitive children‘s marketplace,” said A Squared co-president Andy Heyward. “Not to mention the powerful stable of brands that is already in development with personalities ranging from Warren Buffett to Martha Stewart, Gisele Bundchen and Stan Lee. This is just the start.”

A2 is a brand entertainment company that creates, develops, produces, programmes, markets, merchandises and distributes content across all channels: online, offline, on-air and at retail outlets.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, A2 Entertainment was created by co-presidents Andy Heyward and Amy Moynihan Heyward in 2009. It was created with a mission to develop meaningful entertainment in various formats and recreate the way brands are managed and brought to market in the multimedia, multi-tasking world.

A2 Entertainment is know for producing Secret Millionaire‘s Club with billionaire Warren Buffett and Gisele & the Green Team with Bundchen.

Upcoming series include Martha & Friends, a new animated series featuring a 10-year old Martha Stewart, and Stan Lee Comics, a new label of superheroes created with Stan Lee.

MUMBAI: Disney Channel is gearing up to launch a nationwide talent hunt show for kids named Shooting Stars.
Kids can act, sing, dance, play a musical instrument or perform a comedy routine as their entry, and the winning participant will get a chance to star in Disney Channel original productions in India.

“Disney Channel is delighted to provide a platform for kids to showcase their talent through this unique and first-of-its-kind talent hunt for kids in the country. Disney‘s stories and characters are what makes the channel special and we are really excited to give kids an opportunity to share in that magic with this unique initiative, fulfilling the Disney promise to help kids express themselves, believe in themselves and follow their dreams,” said Walt Disney Television International India VP and GM Natasha Malhotra. 
 
Disney Channel‘s panel of judges will select the finalists from across the country who will get tips from a select panel of celebrities including popular Bollywood composer duo Salim-Sulaiman and National Film Award winning actress and producer Raveena Tandon.

The finalists will feature on Disney Channel in March and viewers will get an opportunity to vote for their favourite contestant amongst the selected finalists.

Starting this week, children between the ages of 6 and 16 can participate in Disney Channel Shooting Stars by picking up the registration forms placed with select schools in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Bangalore and getting invited to auditions slated to be held at a central venue towards the end of January.

On her association with the channel Tandon said, “Disney Channel Shooting Stars is the stage where India will get to see the abundant talent that its younger generation has with the right kind of support. I am happy to be a part of a show that not only encourages kids to display their talents but also promotes creativity and fun as an integral part of these growing up years.”
 

MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based DQE has entered into an exclusive toy licensing agreement for its 3D animated series The Jungle Book with UK based company Mookie Toys Ltd ( Mookie).

Under the terms of the agreement through DQE‘s licensing agent Copyright Promotions Licensing Group Ltd (CPLG), Mookie has acquired the Toy licensing rights for The Jungle Book in the UK, Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands.
 
Commented DQE Group Chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti, “This agreement will open up a number of new verticals for maximising our profits from The Jungle Book as we continue to expand licensing and distribution opportunities. The 3D series has already become a hugely popular television programme in countries that have started airing. We remain hugely optimistic that the licensing and merchandising of this iconic property will gain further momentum during 2011. With the expertise Mookie has in toy manufacturing we believe that we have associated with the right partner for manufacture of toys of this classic property. The deal has great strategic significance as this validates DQE‘s constant pursuit to reach audiences and markets”

The agreement allows Mookie to sell toy merchandise of Jungle Book including wheeled bicycles; tri-scooters; tricycles; balance bikes; sit N rides; play balls, outdoor activity centres and slides. DQE will receive a substantial amount of upfront payment as minimum guarantee from this agreement that covers the outdoor play and ball categories for a three-year period.

Mookie will use multiple distribution channels for retail including High Street, Mass Market, Independents and online.

Mookie Toys is an outdoor toy manufacturer and distributor for several well-known brands such as Peppa Pig, Noddy, Rupert Bear, Toy Story, Fire Man Sam, Ben 10, Mr. Men, Postman Pat, Disney‘s characters like Little Mermaid, Cars, Snow White, and Winnie the Pooh.

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network is launching three new shows in the month of January, namely Generator Rex, Ashoka and Tripura.
Generator Rex premieres on 16 January and will be aired at 11 am. It revolves around a 15 year old boy Rex, who is fighting mutant monstrosities and is determined to cure exponentially variegated organisms (E.V.O.s) and protect the earth. Though he wants to be an ordinary teenager and tries to balance his adrenaline-fueled adventures with the ups and downs of being 15.
 
Ashoka-the Hero will be launched from 23 January and will be shown at 12 pm. In this show a young boy named Ashok is fighting for protection of the mankind. He is supported by his mysterious neighbour Masa who is also the keeper of King Ashoka‘s medallion with special powers.

The third show Tripura will premiere on 30 January at 12 pm. The show revolves around the three airborne cities named Tripura built by Maya. He has built the cities with the intention of providing a safe haven to the Asura kingdom.
 

MUMBAI: Kids channel Disney XD, has brought Spider-Man, live for its Indian audiences.
As part of its on-ground initiative to attract its core TG, the channel is organising live performances across five cities in India, of which the first held in Mumbai on 25 December.

At these shows Disney XD will give a chance to Spider-Man fans of all ages to strike their very own Spider-Man pose with Spider-Man himself.
 
Walt Disney Television International India VP and GM Natasha Malhotra said, “We are excited to bring all Disney XD‘s Spider-Man fans this opportunity to watch him perform live. This is a part of our ongoing endeavor to provide kids and families unique experiences around their favorite characters and programs.”

Spider-man will also visit Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

In every city, the show will include a 30 minute live performance followed by a special meet and greet for a select number of kids who have participated in Disney XD‘s Spider-Man contest.

In addition, the spectators will also get to participate in interactive games and on ground contests. Each of the cities will witness a relay of minimum three half hour shows at short intervals. Delhi will have four shows. The shows are being produced by JBC- MEI.
 

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network India is launching a new action-adventure series Generator Rex in January.
The series comes from the creators of Ben 10.

Generator Rex is story of a 15 year old boy Rex, who is fighting mutant monstrosities and is determined to cure exponentially variegated organisms (E.V.O.s) and protect the earth. Though he wants to be an ordinary teenager and tries to balance his adrenaline-fueled adventures with the ups and downs of being 15.

In a first of its kind move, as a precursor to the launch, the channel is airing one brand-new episode of the show every week on Cartoon Network India‘s website.
 
Turner International India director-programming Krishna Desai said, “Generator Rex, the latest animated series from Cartoon Network takes boys on an adventure full of fun, action and super-powered wish fulfillment. The sleek action, quirky humour, well etched characters and the emotional journey of balancing Rex‘s adrenaline-fueled adventures with the everyday ups and downs of being a teenager is all set to capture young minds. With Generator Rex Cartoon Network aims to set a new benchmark in the arena of animation and storytelling.”

Cartoon Network has also created Generator Rex online minisite, where the visitors can play games based on the show‘s theme.