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Tag: Sesame Street

  • Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    Sesame Street’s new global playground: Netflix

    MUMBAI: Netflix has tossed a lifeline to Sesame Street, bringing the beloved children’s show to its 300 million subscribers while keeping it on PBS in the US. The 56-year-old kids’ favourite will now stream new episodes on both Netflix and PBS on the same day, a rescue move after HBO dropped its funding.

    The deal is a double delight for Sesame Street fans—new episodes will be available worldwide on Netflix, while PBS viewers in the US will continue to get free access. But behind the cheerful puppets, it’s a story of survival.

    Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the iconic show, has been struggling financially after losing its lucrative HBO deal, which paid $30 million to $35 million a year. Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent, decided to drop the series as it shifts away from children’s content.

    To cope with the financial blow, Sesame Workshop laid off 20 per cent of its staff this year and warned that the Netflix deal will bring in significantly less revenue. But it’s not all doom and gloom. With Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s trusted brand, Sesame Street is now set to reach more kids than ever.

    In Season 56, the show will focus on character-driven stories, with each episode featuring an 11-minute tale packed with humour and heart. Classic characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster will return, along with a peek inside the iconic 123 Sesame Street building.

    “This unique public-private partnership allows us to continue our mission of educating kids, now with Netflix’s global reach and PBS’s community trust,” said Sesame Workshop CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin.

    Sesame Street’s Netflix run will also include 90 hours of classic episodes, bringing the joy of learning to a new generation.

     For kids and parents, the message is clear: the street is still where the fun and learning meet.

  • HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    MUMBAI: Time Warner’s television subsidiary HBO has assigned Black White Orange Brands as its official licensing and merchandising agent in India for Game of Thrones (GOT). This partnership brings new opportunities for the channel to build on the worldwide GOT fan base by developing officially licensed products for its followers in India.

    The brand licensing company will help to ensure that Indian fans are not far behind in building their own GOT memorabilia collections by paving the way for HBO to partner with companies to develop merchandising and retail opportunities for the show in a market that consumes the property on a level at par with international audiences.

    “This is a huge achievement for us at Black White Orange, and to say we are ecstatic would be underplaying the surge of emotions we’re feeling. Game of Thrones fans get transported into the world of Westeros when watching the show and are eager to extend that experience into their everyday lives. We’re honored & excited to work with HBO, who have instilled faith in a young team like ours, to make that possible for the show’s many fans across India,” said Black White Orange Brands founder and CEO Bhavik Vora.

    Internationally, HBO Global Licensing has created a robust catalog of GOT products, from conventional categories such as apparel, figures, collectibles and digital games to specialty categories such as special edition board games and a range of craft beers. Black White Orange will represent HBO in India to develop licensed products like apparel, wall décor, drinkware, stationery, and other collectibles.

    It has also signed on leading brands like NBCUniversal, Sesame Street, Brand YouWeCan, The Emoji Company and bCreative.

  • HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    MUMBAI: Time Warner’s television subsidiary HBO has assigned Black White Orange Brands as its official licensing and merchandising agent in India for Game of Thrones (GOT). This partnership brings new opportunities for the channel to build on the worldwide GOT fan base by developing officially licensed products for its followers in India.

    The brand licensing company will help to ensure that Indian fans are not far behind in building their own GOT memorabilia collections by paving the way for HBO to partner with companies to develop merchandising and retail opportunities for the show in a market that consumes the property on a level at par with international audiences.

    “This is a huge achievement for us at Black White Orange, and to say we are ecstatic would be underplaying the surge of emotions we’re feeling. Game of Thrones fans get transported into the world of Westeros when watching the show and are eager to extend that experience into their everyday lives. We’re honored & excited to work with HBO, who have instilled faith in a young team like ours, to make that possible for the show’s many fans across India,” said Black White Orange Brands founder and CEO Bhavik Vora.

    Internationally, HBO Global Licensing has created a robust catalog of GOT products, from conventional categories such as apparel, figures, collectibles and digital games to specialty categories such as special edition board games and a range of craft beers. Black White Orange will represent HBO in India to develop licensed products like apparel, wall décor, drinkware, stationery, and other collectibles.

    It has also signed on leading brands like NBCUniversal, Sesame Street, Brand YouWeCan, The Emoji Company and bCreative.

  • Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    Turner, Sesame Workshop launch preschool educational series ‘Chamki Ki Duniya’

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting and Sesame Workshop have joined hands to launch a new preschool educational series called Chamki Ki Duniya, which will be aired on Pogo.

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya, which is the second venture between Turner and Sesame Workshop, will air on weekdays at 8:30 am. Kuala Lumpur based animation studio Inspidea has been commissioned for the animation of the series.

     

    Prior to this, Turner and Sesame Workshop had partnered to create five seasons of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of the popular American series, Sesame Street.

     

    Turner International Asia Pacific chief content officer – kids networks Mark Eyers said, “Chamki Ki Duniya is a unique show that not only will be the first completely animated series by Sesame Street, but will also encourage social and emotional development of children in a narrative that is fun and entertaining. Turner has always believed in setting benchmarks for creating innovative and engaging content. With the largest portfolio of local content in the kids’ genre, we strive to create content and characters that resonate with children.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya takes young viewers on a journey with five-year-old Chamki, an adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl, anxious to learn more about the world. A warm, sensitive and friendly girl, Chamki is always surrounded by her group of friends from the galli, who love playing games, making music and solving mysteries around them.

     

    The show addresses topics such as early literacy, creative thinking and reasoning, family and community life, healthy habits, appreciating cultural plurality and many more via compelling and humorous stories, music and art. The series is targeted towards children between two and six years of age.

     

    “It’s wonderful to work with Turner and Inspidea to bring the beloved Chamki Muppet to kids and families in this beautiful new animation. Being smart means knowing so much more than letters and numbers. Chamki Ki Duniya’s curriculum is designed to engage the whole child and seeks to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder,” said Sesame Workshop India managing director Sashwati Banerjee.

     

    Inspidea managing director Andrew Ooi added, “We are delighted to have partnered with Turner and Sesame Workshop in producing this path breaking series that aims to subtly and humorously educate children. After detailed research and development with Turner and Sesame Street, we created a visual style for Chamki Ki Duniya, which is charming yet playful that can resonate with Indian audiences and be culturally relevant.”

     

    Chamki Ki Duniya is sponsored by MetLife Foundation as part of its global “Dream, Save, Do: Financial Empowerment for Families” campaign. Part of the content in the series is intended to improve knowledge, language and strategies on financial literacy and increase the dialogue between parents and children to help them make informed choices around spending, saving and sharing to help them realize their financial and non-financial goals.

  • ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ comes to DD & Pogo; Literacy Yatra culminates in Mumbai

    ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ comes to DD & Pogo; Literacy Yatra culminates in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: On the eve of World Literacy Day Turner’s newest edition Galli Galli Sim Sim is all set to expand its outreach by launching the series on Doordarshan on 9 September during the Cartoon Network Duniya block on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. The pre-school television series will also air on Pogo at 8 am, with a repeat telecast at 4 pm, Monday to Friday, starting World Literacy Day- 8 September 2006.

    With the aim to make learning fun, Galli Galli Sim Sim promtes the philosophy “Seekhne ka Mastana Andaaz.” In connection with this and prior its launch on DD, the series has paved the way to create a nationwide awareness with the Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra that kicked off on 15 August 2006. This initiative was strategically undertaken to spread its viewership before its entry into DD, thus attempting to access the most remote areas of the country.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra, is an educational initiative by Turner International India Pvt. Ltd (TIIPL) and Sesame Workshop, which was flagged off from New Delhi and culminated its journey in Mumbai today. Encompassing four states across the country including New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra, the Yatra is said to have travelled over 5000 kms attempting to reach out to as many children, empowering them with the educational objectives of the series.

    The Literacy Yatra arrived in Mumbai at the Guru Nanak Higher Secondary School, along with the adorable muppets Chamki and Googly from Galli Galli Sim Sim and actor Rahul Bose was given a cheerful welcome by the kids.

    TIIPL VP advertising and sales networks, India and South Asia Monica Tata said, “The uniqueness of Galli Galli Sim Sim lies in its 360-degree approach of combining the power of television and on-ground initiatives to spread education to children, aged two to eight in India. Galli Galli Sim Sim Literacy Yatra was our first on ground initiative to deliver the unique content of the television series to children who may not have access to television.

    “We are happy to announce that this Literacy Yatra was a success as we received a great response across different sections of society – from children as well as caregivers. We have already reached out to thousands of children through community screenings and with the launch of Galli Galli Sim Sim on Pogo and Doordarshan, we further hope to reach out to more and more children across the country.”

    With DD and Pogo being added to the roster, the show will continue to air on Cartoon Network at 1 pm. In addition, kids will also be able to catch Galli Galli Sim Sim on Saturday evenings in a segment called Sim Sim Shanivar from 4 pm to 6 pm starting 16 September on Pogo.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim set in an “Indian Galli” represents the reality of daily life for the widest possible range of Indian children and families. The series is targeted towards children between the age group of two to eight years, transcends socio-economic barriers and will feature animated segments and live-action films, with music, stories, and art drawn from various elements of Indian culture and regions of the country.

    Primarily to cater to Indian families and kids, the adorable residents, the Indian Muppets – Googly, Chamki, Aanchoo and Boombah, have been specially created with Indian characteristics and elements, along interesting and a well thought out human cast. In the first season, the series comprising 65 episodes of 30 minutes each will be aired in Hindi, with usage of some English words.

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is the Indian adaptation of the popular American series, Sesame Street. The series will help in developing social, emotional and cognitive skills in children, and become the catalyst to encourage children to pursue educational goals. It was born over 37 years ago as a new way to utilize the power of television to not only entertain, but to educate young children as well.

    Today, Sesame Street is the longest street in the world, reaching over 120 countries and serving as the largest informal educator. In India, Galli Galli Sim Sim will address topics such as early literacy, creative thinking and reasoning, family and community life, healthy habits and appreciating cultural plurality.

    Funding for the development phase of Galli Galli Sim Sim was provided through the generous support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Turner. Moving forward, the producers of the series will look to combine the strengths and resources of the public and private sectors for local development initiatives.

    Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit, educational organization making a meaningful difference in children’s lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching.

    Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit organisation, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa products right back into its educational projects for children around the world.

  • Sesame Workshop expands opportunities for kids to play with ‘Sesame Street’ friends

    Sesame Workshop expands opportunities for kids to play with ‘Sesame Street’ friends

    MUMBAI: Preschoolers will soon have more opportunities to play with Bert, Ernie, Grover and Elmo. Play With Me Sesame’s worldwide success has led Sesame Workshop to greenlight production of 26 new episodes of the interactive series. In addition, the series is one of the shows included in Sesame program blocks debuting in Poland, Hungary and Croatia.

    Play With Me Sesame encourages children to get up and play games such as Ernie Says (a la Simon Says) and Move and Groove with Grover along with their favorite muppets from Sesame Street. Broadcast in over 50 countries, the series is currently seen on such networks as Disney UK, Disney Asia, ABC Australia, YTV/Treehouse Canada, Cartoon Network India and Rai Sat Italy. The 104 30-minute episodes include a mix of new and classic Sesame Street segments that focus on fundamental concepts critical to reading, math and science, and encourage creativity and individual expression.

    Play With Me Sesame is one of the programs featured in new Sesame programming blocks in Poland, Hungary and Croatia. On Poland’s Minimini, the recently launched Sesame Nook includes Elmo’s World, Play With Me Sesame, Global Grover and Sesame English. In December, broadcaster Minimax will begin airing a Sesame block with Play With Me Sesame, Elmo’s World and Global Grover, in Hungary, Romania Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The three series will also be seen in Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovena, Serbia and Montenegro, starting in early 2007, in a block on broadcaster Magma.

    “The expansion of the Sesame brand through wonderfully interactive shows like Play With Me Sesame and Elmo’s World give children around the globe new ways to experience fun and learning in the way Sesame does it best. We are excited to bring more games to children with the addition of new episodes of Play With Me Sesame and thrilled that children throughout Eastern Europe will have the chance to interact with friends like Grover and Elmo,” said Worldwide Television Distribution vice president Jennifer Monier-Williams.

    Play With Me Sesame is produced by Games Productions Inc. in association with Noggin and Sesame Workshop. The series will be available to international buyers and co-producers at the Mipcom market at Cannes in October.

  • ‘Sesame Street’ to launch in Northern Ireland

    ‘Sesame Street’ to launch in Northern Ireland

    MUMBAI: The American Ireland Fund has forged a partnership with Sesame Workshop to bring an adaptation of Sesame Street to Northern Ireland as a means of promoting the values of tolerance, acceptance and understanding among children.

    Working in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the AIF has pledged significant financial support to enable the creation of a localised version of Sesame Street programming which is slated to begin airing in early 2007. The initiative will consist of 26 episodes to broadcast over an 18-month period that promote the values of respect, tolerance and understanding. Elements of the shows will be created in Northern Ireland. In addition to the series, an educational outreach initiative will also be developed for use in schools to reinforce the show’s important messages to children in the region.

    “We are proud to be a prime supporter of this historic initiative aimed at bringing values of tolerance and understanding to the children of Northern Ireland. All children deserve a chance to learn and grow, to understand the world and each other. Shockingly, research has revealed that Northern Ireland children as young as three years old have begun developing sectarian beliefs. The need to counteract this was the impetus for our commitment to this initiative,” said AIF vice president Kieran McLoughlin.

    Sesame Workshop co-founder and chairman of the executive committee Joan Ganz Cooney said, “We are so pleased with this commitment from the American Ireland Fund which will enable this worthwhile program to move forward. All of us at Sesame Workshop are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the children of Northern Ireland a program that will encourage mutual respect, understanding and appreciation within their community, which we hope will resonate for many years to come.”

    The series will encourage children to develop the skills to challenge ignorance, dispel stereotypes and champion diversity. The program will also serve as a valuable resource for children, parents and educators by:

    Contributing to a “Shared Future” in Northern Ireland.

    Presenting to children positive images of themselves and others.

    Imparting the values of mutual respect, understanding and the appreciation of diversity to counter negative stereotypes that attempt to dehumanize the “other.”

    Helping the early childhood community in Northern Ireland achieve its strategic goals.
    As with all of the Workshop’s local adaptations, this program will truly reflect the issues of the region. The program will encourage a shared society in which people make choices that are not bound by historical divisions and where there is respect and tolerance for cultural diversity. Sesame Workshop will partner with local organisations to help bring the program to the youngest audience and develop an education plan focused on topics related to diversity and acceptance: racism, sectarianism, gender, and respecting people with disabilities.

    Senior executives from Sesame Workshop traveled to Northern Ireland to meet with representatives of the public and private sectors, including broadcasters, government ministries, and educational organisations to bring this project to fruition. A broadcast partner is expected to be finalised shortly. This project follows on the success of several other Sesame Street initiatives designed to bring educational values to children in over 25 countries around the world including Israel, Palestine, Kosovo and South Africa.

  • Streets ahead on child connect

    That Hindi is our national language is a given. Yet today urban Indian kids are more comfortable with English and ‘Hinglish‘ but not Hindi.

    Sample this: “Aaj mera History ka exam hai.” Now we don‘t expect our kids to say “ithihass” for History but hello… ever heard of the word “pariksha”? How many kids use these basic Hindi words in their day to day lives? And this is just one such example.

    This is where Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian version of the world renowned children‘s television series Sesame Street, will play a vital role in developing the language, communication, cognitive and social skills of Indian kids.
     

    In addition to this, Galli Galli Sim Sim will be attempting represent the vibrancy of India‘s multi-culturalism. “The series will celebrate the similarities and differences that are part of children‘s every day lives,” says Turner Entertainment Networks Asia senior vice president regional ad sales and marketing and Sesame India project director Soumitra Saha.

    The series will air on Cartoon Network and Pogo this summer. This is a joint initiative by Sesame Workshop, Turner and Miditech. Also, in order to garner a wider reach, Turner is in talks with Doordarshan to air the series on DD‘s terrestrial network.

    The first season of the series will have 65 half hour episodes and these will be repeated considerably on Turner‘s two kids‘ channels. Also, plans are in progress to launch the series in another Indian language next year. However, the language has not yet been decided upon.

    MUPPETS‘ SNIPPETS

    Four Muppets have been specially created for India – Chamki, Aanchoo, Googly and Boombah. They portray certain positive attitudes and have characteristics that are universal and endearing to all.

    Chamki is a learner, Aanchoo a day dreamer, Googly likes to spend time alone and Boombah the lion is very health-conscious. “Each of the muppets has special characteristics that are representative of Indian kids. The idea is to create characters who transcend geographical, communal and other distinctions,” says Saha.

    Apart from the four main muppet characters, Galli Galli Sim Sim residents include human characters representing different genders, regions and religions. Jugaadu, likes to find innovative solutions to fix problems and does not view his disability as a handicap. Basha Bhaijaan owns a corner store and knows several Indian languages whereas his wife Dawa Di, who is from North East India, teaches dance. Kabir, Basha Bhaijaan and Dawa Di‘s son, is an active and curious eight-year-old.

    Other key characters include: Col. Albert Pinto and his wife, Rukmini (Doctor Aunty). Col. Pinto, a retired army person, is an advocate for healthy living and civic sense. Rukmini, a doctor by profession, is a combination of contemporary and traditional wisdom.

    SIM SIM AIM

    Galli Galli Sim Sim is aimed at serving the 157 million children under the age of six in India and will support India‘s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (universal access to education). The primary aim of the show is to make learning fun and add elements of learning into everything that is fun – learning to count and read, about real life situations, about emotions and problems will all be shown via entertaining and light hearted stories.

    “One of our priorities is to teach basic spoken Hindi to the kids of India apart from numeric skills, counting and basic hygiene,” says Miditech president Niret Alva.

    Another aim of the series will be to build bridges between urban and rural India by making rural seem cool and exciting to urban kids and vice versa. “The idea was to focus on what united children of India rather than what divides them. What are the issues that kids are worried about, language and social skills, the diversity of the Indian culture etc was what we zeroed in on,” Alva added.

    LOCAL FOCAL

    While most of the muppets have been specially created for Indian audiences; four popular muppets from the international version will also make appearances on Galli Galli Sim Sim. They are: Ernie (Earny), Bert (Barth), Grover (Grover) and Count Von Count (Count Gilli Sheikh).

    “We chose these four characters from the international series because they are not culture specific and don‘t have cultural nuances. They are also the funniest and great care has been taken as far as their voice-overs are concerned. It‘d not be just the run of the mill dubbing. We have adapted them to Indian sensibilities. For example the muppet called Grover will be a Punjabi in the Indian series,” explains Alva.

    A specific curriculum has been drafted for Galli Galli Sim Sim, which will be strictly adhered to. New stories have been created specifically for India. “What‘s exciting about what we‘ve done is that we‘ve given the animators a chance to create their own stories and characters using their rich Indian aesthetic. While they work within the parameters of the curriculum, they definitely have the freedom to use their creativity,” says Sesame Workshop executive producer for Galli Galli Sim Sim Nadine Zylstra.

    Training workshops were conducted with the National Institute of Design, attended by a select group of young adults 18-23 years from all over India. “Our goal was to infuse a youthful voice into some of the animation. We talked them through the curriculum and they created many storyboards for us. We wound up incorporating seven of their films into the series,” Zylstra added.

    SOCIAL QUOTIENT

     

    The specific features that were identified as significant for creating more civil and humane attitudes and values among Indian children are:
    • A multi-lingual environment
    • Knowing varying ethnicities
    • Familiarity with different life circumstances living in abundance and limited resources
    • Cultivating respect for different occupations and lifestyles
    • Awareness of ways to bring equal opportunity
    • Analysing and challenging gender roles & rigidities, responsibilities and possible diffusions
    • Countering negative stereotypes by learning about commonalties and differences
    • Incorporating blends of formal and informal modes of knowledge-building
    • Infusing imagination and joy in discovering and exploring the world while creating fun and laughter, generating uniquely Indian humour.

    The Indian series, like its international counterparts, has identified some relevant social issues and will be presenting situations around the same in the series. To begin with, Turner commissioned Indian educational experts to write a series of topical papers outlining practical concerns related to topics of relevance to children living in India.

    “This was followed by an Educational Content Seminar in May last year, which brought together over 60 individuals representing a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise related to child development and children‘s concerns. These advisors included teachers, language specialists, artists, academics and others,” said Saha.

    RURAL – URBAN BRIDGE

    Equal importance will be given to rural and urban India in story representations. “We want one to be a mirror to the other. The aim is to make sure that urban kids see rural kids as cool, exciting, dynamic and different, and something that they want to be interested in and vice versa. At the same time we want the things that link kids. Wherever there are different communities, different groups, there are some things that kids have in common – a problem you are dealing with or something you are excited about or want to be shown, so these are things that we will definitely do on the show,” elaborates Saha.

    Laura Bush shakes hands with Googli

    The rural-urban bridge would be achieved by looking at games in a different setting and activities that children do. For example: How cricket is played in different settings? “I go back to the point that there are certain universals – play, enjoyment, singing, music – and we will be linking these universals among Indian children in different places through different aesthetic sensibilities, the artform of different regions, the music, live action films of children in different settings, taking children to different areas, going to school etc,” he adds.

    In addition to the TV series, which will launch in mid 2006, Sesame India is also committed to a long-term educational outreach campaign to reach India‘s young children, particularly those most in need. The educational outreach materials and activities will reinforce the educational potential of the series and promote public awareness; preview key messages and ways children can benefit from the show; and provide tools and information on various platforms that are accessible to parents, caregivers, and early childhood focused NGOs and educators.

    Saha informs that this initiative would be through television, alternative distribution strategies and educational outreach to villages and slums, supported by print materials.

    GALLI GALLI CHALLENGES

    A project the size of Sesame Street obviously comes with a bagful of challenges. The biggest challenge that the parties involved faced was the sheer cultural diversity of our country. “This is one of the reasons why it was a tedious task for us to identify the needs of kids in this country and then create a show that would relate to these children,” explains Saha.

    The other challenge, Alva points out, was that of finding people who were genuinely passionate about working on this project. “To find a team of writers, animators and voice-over artists and have them all under one roof was one of the other challenges that we faced. The entire process was highly dynamic and creative. It was like a three way complicated marriage between Turner, Sesame and Miditech,” Alva says.

    SIM SIM CURRICULUM

    In addition to teaching basic cognitive skills, such as literacy, Galli Galli Sim Sim will represent the vibrancy of India‘s multiculturalism The series will celebrate the similarities and differences that are part of children‘s every day lives.

    Laura Bush and Nafisa Ali with the ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim‘ gang

    “The content seminar helped us a great deal in identifying five broad curricular objectives that embody the India Statement of Educational Objectives for Sesame India, which are: cognition, emotion, physical well being, social relations and culture,” informs Saha.

    Cognition: stimulating and enriching mental functions – This section highlights objectives related to the stimulation of the mental functions such as literacy and communication, mathematics, intuition, thinking and reasoning and creativity.

    Emotion: caring, sharing and nurturing – This goal area concerns objectives such as recognising emotions and coping with emotions.

    Physical Well-Being: body care and safety – Objectives highlighted here include relate to basic health practices and safety, including good hygiene and traffic safety.

    Social Relations: independence and interdependence – This area concerns objectives that relate to modeling positive relationships, such as basic interactions, friendship, conflict resolution and caring for common facilities and spaces.

    Culture: harmonising diversity – This section is oriented towards objectives that relate to embracing diversity, including culture and the arts, ethnic variability and bridging diversity, forging unity.

    In the Indian context, the fifth section – Culture – is unique to India in the Sesame Street scheme of things. “The requirement for such a section was thrown up for the first time at the India content seminar. More importantly, Sesame globally was very impressed with the importance and relevance of such a section and hence they are planning to include the same in the curricula for other Sesame projects across the world,” says Saha.

    FORCES BEHIND THE SCENES

    Galli Galli Sim Sim will have a mix of live action and original animation programming and the production of the series is handled by a robust team. Miditech‘s Prakash Moorthy is in charge of the in-house team of animators in Delhi.

    Turner‘s Anshuman Misra with Dr Asha Singh and Niret Alva

    Noted educationalist DR Asha Singh is the education and research director for Galli Galli Sim Sim and has played a very important role in developing the curriculum for the series.

    Miditech vice president Pria Somiah is the supervising producer for Galli Galli Sim Sim. Umesh Bist, Soumitra Dasgupta and Bhavya Nidhi Sharma are segment directors, whereas Samir Chanda has been responsible for building the expansive sets of Galli Galli Sim Sim.

    Anurag Dhingra is the director of photography and the head writer for the show is Sehba Imam.

    The music for the series has been composed by Julius Packiam, whereas Paramangsu Mukherjee is in charge of live action films.

    “The animators are trained in a variety of styles that are reflected in the series. We made a conscientious effort to reflect these styles so there is a good mix of stop motion, 3D, classic line drawings, oil on glass, paper cut outs, and so on,” informs Zylstra.

    Health conscious Boombah greets Laura Bush

    Internationally, Sesame Street muppets actually take to the road and perform for kids in live shows, which are a huge success. Once the show launches in India, it is likely that Turner will be exploring these opportunities too. However, Saha declined to comment on the same. “At the moment we are focusing on the launch of the show in mid 2006 and have nothing to announce at the moment,” he said.

    In terms of merchandising and licensing around the show too, there are huge opportunities. Games, toys, learning material, books etc are some of the products that have been successful internationally. The home video market is yet another area waiting to be tapped via Galli Galli Sim Sim. But the Indian aim at present is to launch the show.

    The series has been a runaway success in almost all the countries it has been launched in and given the extensive research and dedication that has gone into for the Indian adaptation of the same, it is sure to repeat its success story in India too.