Gemma International has teamed up with Moonpig.com to offer an array of additional new licensed properties to Moonpig’s Kids Range, which can be personalised with your photos and messages. New characters include Peppa Pig, Thomas & Friends and Moshi Monsters. Keep an eye on our blog for more licensed characters – they will be coming to Moonpig soon!
New TV Show Mike the Knight is a confirmed favourite with children aged 0 to 6.
Created by Alexander Bar and owned by Hit Entertainment (of Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine fame) the show made its TV debut on CBeebies on 31st October. It was a great success and topped the ratings as the most watched show on the channel for the target age range.
The show features an animated knight (Mike) with the motto ‘Be a knight, do it right’. It teaches children the importance of responsibility and it is all set in the Kingdom of Glendragon. Mike gets help in his adventures from dragons Squirt and Sparkie who do their best against the trolls and Vikings.
“We have always had high hopes for Mike the Knight and are thrilled that Cbeebies viewers have taken him to their hearts so quickly,” said Alison Homewood, EVP programming distribution at Hit Entertainment. “Mike the Knight has had a spectacular start and these triumphant ratings put us in a fantastic position for the continued success of the show, and for the licensing roll out next year.”
Look out for books, toys, clothes and more as Mike the Knight makes his presence felt.
Entertainment One Family has given Peppa Pig an online makeover with a new-look website and social media accounts.
The Peppa Pig website portal now includes a ‘Peppa Me’ feature so that children can customise one of their favourite Peppa characters and use it as their personalised avatar to play games.
Registered users will receive unique promotional offers, apps, competitions and newsletters and free, interactive, online advent calendars for Peppa Pig are available from December 1st.
To allow people to connect with the brand using social media, a Peppa Pig Facebook page has been launched and a Twitter account is due soon.
“The internet is an integral part of the every day lives of parents and children and we have recognised that our brands need to develop robust digital strategies to reach families online,” said Andrew Carley, head of global licensing at Entertainment One.
“The new Peppa Pig website and social media channels for our three core brands is the first step in an ongoing strategy to strengthen the presence of our brands online, and to create online destinations that entertain children, keep parents abreast of all the latest brand developments whilst also serving as an effective marketing tool for our key licensees.”
The digital developments are part of an ongoing strategy to enhance the web presence of Peppa Pig.
World’s Apart has brought forward their Moshi Monsters ReadyBed® and Flip Out Sofa to make the Christmas market. Originally planned for Spring 2012, the interest from retailers brought about a re-think on the launch date.
The bed includes an inflatable mattress, sleeping bag and pillow and it can be clipped up to form a comfy and fun seat. Pump and carry case included. The Flip Out Sofa can also be used as an inflatable seat and it doubles as a lounger when unfolded and opened out. The soft cosy cover is detachable and machine washable.
The sofa is suitable for children 3+ and the bed for 6+.
As is common with Moshi Monsters products, a secret code is included with these products, allowing children to unlock features in the online Moshi Monsters World.
There’s good news fore Moshi Monsters fans. A new Moshling Zoo toy by Vivid is due out in January 2012. It will be a great little home for the Moshling toys (as the Moshling Treehouse is already).
The toy follows in response to the success of the Moshi Monsters’ Moshling Zoo Nintendo DS Game, which raced to the top spot in the DS charts.
“We know that between 3 to 5% of all toy sales in the UK and Ireland are being generated by Moshi Monsters at present and with the introduction of the Moshling Zoo toy in January – and Series 2 still only a few weeks old – there is every possibility that the brand will increase market share even further early next year when the focus on pocket money toys is even more relevant at retail.” States Vivid UK’s managing Director Neil Bandtock.
Look out for the Moshling Zoo – coming to shops near you soon….
Check out the new Moshi Monsters party range available online from the Moshi Monsters store store.moshimonsters.com/pages/party-range
You can buy birthday cards, party essentials (cups, plates, table covers, invites and thank-you cards) and party bag fillers.
Gemma International are excited to have gone into partnership with Fluid World who have granted the UK license for Chupa Chups greetings cards, gift wrap and gift bags. We will be producing a range of scratch and sniff cards to bring the colours and flavours of the brand to life.
Blueprint were granted the UK license for fashion stationary.
“We’re really pleased to welcome two such strong partners to the Chupa Chups UK licensing programme,” said Libby Grant, brand director at Fluid World. “The breadth of artwork available lends itself perfectly to stationery, greeting cards and wrap, and the ranges will be fun, fashionable and have real shelf standout.”
Chupa Chups are a fun confectionary brand featuring brightly coloured lollipos. The original Spanish Chupa Chups company was founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat and the name came from the Spanish verb Chupar – ‘to suck’.
Mind Candy have ended up in a legal battle with popstar Lady GaGa over their Lady Goo Goo Moshi Monsters character.
The singer took out an injunction to prevent the Lady Goo Goo character performing publicly on the grounds that children would confuse the cartoon character and the singing star.
“The shame is that millions of kids fell in love with Lady Goo Goo’s debut single on YouTube and now won’t be able to enjoy her musical exploits,” says Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy.
Where’s Waldo? (or Where’s Wally? as it is known in the UK) is now to be made into a film.
MGM will be bringing an action packed family adventure to the silver screen after securing the right from Classic Media.
The book on which the film character will be based was first published in 1987 – that was 55 million book sales ago!
Look out for the lanky chap with an incredible knack for hiding in large crowds – he’s to be found in a cinema near you soon…
Aardman have flagged up an impending crisis in the world of stop-frame animation in the UK. The company famous for Wallace and Gromit.
The problem is the cost of production in the UK when compared to overseas.
Films are not a problem because they receive a 15-20% tax credit from the government but TV animation on the other hand receives nothing.
The worry is that leading companies will move abroad and that some will even have to be bought out.
Losing our top animation companies will result in a loss to our cultural heritage. The UK is good at producing animation and is respected worldwide. Programs are made that a UK audience can relate to. Cars drive on the left and the emergency services number is 999. These things are different in other countries and anything made without the culture of the target audience in mind will mean that we lose these little references and that will be a sad thing.