TV Animation Licensing Notes

Among the general animation sales and consumer products news from the past few weeks, Italian animation production and licensing company Groupo Alcuni (Treviso, Italy) continues to move the globetrotting adventure series SLASH:// to new territories. The animated series now adds the Al Jazeera Children's Channel (MENA region) to its list of broadcast hosts, following agreements for Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, and Russia. SLASH:// is one of Groupo Alcuni's newest titles, and follows five youths who travel great distances to thwart the efforts of a notorious artifact thief.

The five main characters of SLASH:// hail from places as far apart as the Himalayas in Tibet and London, England, with interests and talents equally as diverse. The kids pool their skills in technology, architecture, art history, and music, in order to scour the globe and prevent the theft of fine art, save ancient manuscripts, and generally have a good time experiencing new and foreign cultures.

from 64 Zoo Lane

The ongoing preschool cartoon 64 Rue du Zoo (64 Zoo Lane) was recently acquired by BBC Worldwide as part of an international licensing and merchandizing agreement. Although there are many cartoons where wild animals are keen to tell their side of the story, few are set at the zoo (much less are kickstarted by fetching the main character out of bed each and every night). In 64 Zoo Lane, a little girl wakes each evening to go hang out with her animal pals at the zoo. Once there, she patiently listens to the courageous and touching tales these animals tell.

A Millimages co-production, 64 Zoo Lane has become one of the most widely exported French animation titles thanks to agreements with ABC1 (Australia), ABC2 (Australia), Cbeebies (UK), MiniMini (Poland), and KidsCo (Spain), among several others. The partnership between Millimages and BBC Worldwide aims to further connect customers to the brand they've gained plenty exposure to.

"We are delighted to be representing 64 Zoo Lane," Jackie Ferguson, Senior International Licensing Manager, BBC Worldwide, stated. "This TV series has performed consistently over the years with a number of major European broadcasters and has entranced and delighted consumers and their parents alike. The broadcast and publishing heritage it has established gives us a very solid platform from which to develop an extensive licensing program."

Munich, Germany-based animation brand managers m4e AG announced a little more than a week ago their plans to move Mia and Me as well as Beyblade into the oral health care category, courtesy of a new consumer goods development with Unilever. Operating brands in global, personal health and food care, Unilever leverages more than 400 brands across multiple categories. Thanks to m4e, kids can maintain oral hygiene with themed materials favoring fairies, unicorns, and magic (Mia and Me) or spinning toy-based adventure (Beyblade).

from SLASH://

Motifs of the two programs will decorate toothbrushes and toothpastes of the dental care brand Signal, which recently passed its fiftieth anniversary on the market. The agreement covers products distributed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Beyblade is regarded as an established property. The first season of Mia and Me will air on KiKA (August 2012).

Recent TV Sales News:
"Russian Animation Masha and the Bear News" at AnimationInsider (04/2012)
"TV Animation Sales: Early Spring 2012" at AnimationInsider.net (04/2012)

Recent Animation Licensing News:
"F2D2 Introduces Awards, New Board" at AnimationInsider.net (04/2012)
"Nick Broadens Agreement with Fisher-Price" at AnimationInsider.net (03/2012)