CBBC

Beeb’s main children’s channel has acquired the rights to broadcast Studio Ghibli in the UK Ronja, the thief’s daughter from London-based distributor Serious Kids, and plans to release the animated series in 2D/CG this summer.

A co-production with The Astrid Lindgren Company, NHK/NHK Enterprises, Dwango and Polygon Pictures, the show is based on Astrid Lindgren’s 1981 fantasy novel Ronia, the thief’s daughterwhich was originally published in Swedish, and has since inspired a film, a musical theater production and an animated series (2004).

cartoon living room

The Irish studio’s brand development division has signed several licensing deals for its Irish Folk Trilogy, which features animated films wolf walkers, song of the sea and Kels’ secret.

These new consumer product partners include Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Xist Publishing, Pinfinity, Cubles and Gallery Nucleus.

The three films were repackaged together in a special edition Blu-ray box set released last year by GKids and Shout Factory in North America and Studio Canal Home Entertainment in Ireland and the UK. It will also be released in Japan this summer.

rocking boat

Three new licensing agents have been signed to manage the expansion of Boat Rocker’s consumer product program for preschool series dinosaur ranch in Latin America. Doce will manage intellectual property in Chile and Peru, with IMC supporting Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and Tycoon Enterprises assigned to Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean and Central America.

Boat Rocker already has five licensees in the region, including Wabro for school products and Meily for accessories and shoes. And the company also launched a Dino Ranch YouTube channel in Spanish for Central and South American audiences.

WildBrain

Canadian prodco sold 2D animated series Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City (38 x eight minutes) to US streamers Peacock, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video and Crave. It currently works on Netflix and WildBrain Spark.

And in licensing news, textile company Bentex (girls’ clothing and swimwear), Spirit Halloween (costumes and fancy dress), and Boss Fight Studio (fully articulated and scented action figures) have all joined the consumer products program of the brand.

Superights

Paris-Based Distributor Now Represents 2D Animated Preschool Series Momolu and his friends (78 x seven minutes) (photo) outside German-speaking territories, Finland, Norway, Benelux and Canada.

Co-pro of Finnish studio Ferly, Yellow Animation of Vancouver and Digital Graphics of Belgium, the toon has already spawned a line of ebooks and audiobooks, as well as a Nintendo Switch video game title. And a toy line from Hong Kong-based United Smile is currently in the works.

Bluey

Party City, Horizon Group and Fathead have joined the North American consumer products program for Bluey, bringing arts and crafts products, wall graphics and balloons into the licensing mix.

South of the border, Penguin Random House will handle IP publishing in Latin America starting in June, with Novelty Corp launching new assortments of Bluey party supplies.

Four new licensees were signed in the UK: Spin Master (wooden puzzles), 8th Wonder (wooden toys), Moonpig (cards and gifts) and Drew Pearson (accessories). And an existing UK agreement with Ravensburger for games extends to also cover France, Italy and the Nordic region.