Tag Archive: Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution

  1. Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution Acquires Moominvalley

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    Banijay Kids & Family today announces its distribution arm, Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution, will represent all four seasons of the animated family drama series, Moominvalley. Inspired by the much-loved Moomin stories by Tove Jansson, it is produced by Finnish production company Gutsy Animations in collaboration with YLE and Sky and, additionally, Viaplay for the fourth season.

    The Emmy®-nominated series brings the Moomins into 3D with a unique visual style combining high quality CGI and painterly effects. It is a whimsical, coming-of-age story of family and friendship, which explores humanity, relationships and emotions, as the Moomins work together to restore harmony to their titular home. The series also features a high-profile voice cast, including Rosamund Pike, Bel Powley, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry, Akiya Henry, Jennifer Saunders, Will Self, and Julian Barratt.

    Delphine Dumont, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay Kids & Family says: “Moominvalley is a beautifully crafted animation, with timely themes of the environment, sustainability, and respect for nature, all of which will strongly appeal to our buyers globally. This is such an iconic brand that resonates with audiences of all ages and across borders, and it is a wonderful, complimentary addition to our diverse and exciting portfolio of titles.”

    Katherine Senior, Head of International Sales, Gutsy Animations says: “I am delighted to be working with the great team at Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution to expand our international reach of the award-winning Moominvalley series.  I am certain we will be bringing our animated family drama to many more homes around the world.”

    The award-winning Finnish content creator Marika Makaroff is creative director of Moominvalley. The series director of the first two seasons is the Oscar®-winning Steve Box (The Curse of the Were-Rabbit). Season 3 is directed by the episode directors from previous seasons; Nigel Davies, Sara Barbas (Final Call), Darren Robbie (Doc McStuffins) and Jay Grace (Shaun the Sheep). Season 4 series director is Nigel Davis (Shaun the Sheep Movie). Season 1 is produced by the BAFTA®-winning producer John Woolley (Shaun the Sheep), Season 2 by Louise Holmes (Shaun of the Sheep) and Seasons 3 and 4 by Stephen Dorrance (Happy!). Head writers for the first three seasons are the Emmy®-winning writing duo Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler (Peter Rabbit). Season 4 head writer is Diana Whitley (House of Anubis).

    The 3D animation is made at Anima Vitae – a Finnish animation studio located in Helsinki and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The score music is composed by the acclaimed percussionist Samuli Kosminen, multi-instrumentalist Jarmo Saari and violinist Pekka Kuusisto.

  2. ABC and ZDF Journey into the Super Happy Magic Forest

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    Banijay Kids & Family today announces its sales division, Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution, has agreed pre-sales with ABC (Australia) and ZDF and ZDF Studios (Germany) for its upcoming animation Super Happy Magic Forest. Produced by Tiger Aspect Kids & Family, with Movimenti Production (both Banijay Kids & Family companies), the recent sales follow the announcement of the project earlier this year, with broadcast partners BBC and Rai Kids, and pre-sale with Canal+, already confirmed.

    Super Happy Magic Forest is a comedy quest adventure featuring five heroes, brought together by their mutual love of questing, picnics, and frolicking. Led by the outgoing and courageous faun, Hoofius, they battle villains, share journeys, and have a jolly good time along the way as they learn how to be true heroes and how to quest sensibly. The series is based on the popular picture books of the same name by Matty Long, which were first published by Oxford University Press in 2015.

    Julia Rowlands SVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions Banijay Kids and Family says: “From the incredibly talented teams at Tiger Aspect Kids & Family and Movimenti Production, Super Happy Magic Forestis a funny and joyful series and it’s no surprise that it is generating so much interest internationally. Both ABC and ZDF are trusted homes in their respective markets for high-quality kids TV, so this is a perfect match for their audiences.”

    Roberta Allan, Head Content Curation and Distribution ABC says: “We’re Super Happy to be bringing this delightful series to Australian audiences.”

    Nicole Keeb, Head of International Co-productions and Acquisitions for Children and Youth at ZDF says: “ We are delighted to see how the skilled production teams brought the wonderful books of Matty Long to life. Our young audiences will be excited to join in on the fun of the Super Happy Magic Forest. It is fresh, funny and original. The series is simply the perfect fit for ZDF.“

    The 52×11’ series will bring to life the world created in the books, in a colourful 2D animation for 7+ years. Series Director is Ruth Ducker (Oddbods, Floogals), Series Producer is Georgia Dussaud (Best & Bester, Watership Down), Head Writers are Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Barnett Jones (Mr Bean: The Animated Series, Ninja Express), and Exec Producers are Tiger Aspect Kids & Family’s MD Tom Beattie (Mr Bean: The Animated Series, Corpse Talk) and Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh (Phineas and Ferb , Milo Murphy’s Law).

  3. Mumfie Secures a Herd of Sales

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    Banijay Kids and Family today announces a raft of sales for the all-new pre-school animated comedy series Mumfie (78×7’). A co-production between Zodiak Kids and Family France and Italian animation studio Animoka, alongside France Télévisions and Rai (Italy), the series has sold to ITV for ITVBe (UK), Warner Bros. Discovery (for its new preschool brand Cartoonito in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and South Korea), AMC Network International’s JimJam (CEE, MENA & Portugal), SVT (Sweden) and kids channel ejunior, from evision, part of e& life from e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group) (UAE).

    Earlier this month, Mumfie was awarded Best Pre-School TV Series at the 2022 Cartoons on the Bay Pulcinella Awards. Directed by Daniel Dubuis, the adaptation is based on Britt Allcroft’s Magic Adventures of Mumfie. The series has recently launched in France and Italy, and it was previously announced that Mumfie has also secured a pre-sale from KiKA Germany.

    Delphine Dumont, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay Kids and Family says: “The world of Mumfie is loved and treasured by so many, and it has been joyous to bring the characters to life once more, to delight a whole new generation of children. This raft of international sales is testament to the strength of the brand and the fantastic job the teams at Animoka and Zodiak Kids and Family Francehave done in creating a captivating, warm and uplifting series.”

    Mumfie features the optimistic young elephant Mumfie, alongside his best friends, Pinkey the flying pig and Jelly Bean the colour-changing jellyfish. Meeting an eclectic array of animal friends along the way, the trio embark on a series of adventures. In a world where nothing is quite as it seems, no challenge is too tough for the loveable Mumfie and his friends to overcome.

     

    Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution own international distribution rights to the series.

    Britt Allcroft’s Mumfie was a classically animated children’s musical series, first shown in the 1990’s. The series was lauded for its gentle storytelling and earned top ratings.

  4. Global Pre-Sales Secured for New Drama Silverpoint

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    Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution, part of Banijay Kids and Family, today announces it has secured a raft of pre-sales for its brand-new drama Silverpoint. Zodiak Kids and Family UK are producing Silverpoint, a 13 x 22’ sci-fi mystery adventure series about four kids at a summer camp set in the middle of nowhere for CBBC and ZDF and it has been pre-sold to Canal+ (France), Hulu (US) and ABC (Australia).

    CBBC are launching the series this coming weekend on their channel (5pm, 6th March) the full series will run in this Sunday afternoon slot for 12 weeks. They are simultaneously launching the whole series on BBC iPlayer. Silverpoint will launch internationally this spring/summer. 

    In the middle of the night at an adventure camp called Silverpoint, four kids stumble upon something buried in the woods… something impossible… something that will send their lives and the world around them spiralling out of control.

    The series is created by Lee Walters, Lead Writer, and Executive Producers, Benoit Di Sabatino and Steven Andrew. The series is produced by Trevor Klein, the lead director is Dan Zeff. 

    Delphine Dumont, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay Kids and Family said: “Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution is so proud to be representing such a brilliantly gripping show from a very talented, award-winning creative team and to be announcing these partnerships today. We are working on many more deals to be announced soon following a great response from the global market. “

    ZDF Enterprises own distribution rights in Germany and Austria and German speaking rights in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Alto and Adige.  All other distribution will be handled by Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution.