This year's Licensing Expo offered retro and nostalgic licenses, along with licensing opportunities for new animated TV shows like Ni Hao, Kai-lan. © Nick.

June's International Licensing Expo, the last to be held in New York before a move to Las Vegas next year, mirrored recent shows with its focus on retro and nostalgic licenses. But there were a handful of properties at the show that were relatively new to licensing, and many of these were animated TV series.

At Cartoon Network, properties being touted included Chowder, which premiered in November 2007; Secret Saturdays, which will premiere in October 2008 and be supported by toys from Mattel starting in fall 2009; and Bakugan, which premiered in February and is based on a Spinmaster toy line. The company also was showing Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, which will add more apparel and room décor to its existing list of licensees, and Ben 10: Alien Force.

Nelvana showed Z-Squad, a CGI property for girls 8-12 produced by Enemes in Korea. It is planning to license apparel, accessories, bags, stationery, mobile downloads, room décor, home furnishings, publishing, home video and interactive gaming based on the property. It also was looking to expand licensing for several existing animated series, including Max & Ruby, Ruby Gloom, and Grossology.

Nickelodeon was displaying Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, its Nick Jr. series that teaches about the Mandarin language and Chinese culture. The network recently ordered 20 new episodes of Nick Jr.'s number-two show behind Dora the Explorer, and announced the launch of its Ni Hao merchandising program. T-shirts and DVDs are among the first products expected to hit the market, followed by toys, accessories, publishing, stationery and other items.

HIT Ent. recently gained consumer products rights for Aardman Animations' Timmy Time, adding this property to its existing portfolio of Aardman licensing properties, including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Aardman Classics. Timmy will air on Playhouse Disney in the U.S. and on Disney Channel networks around the world in early 2009; merchandise planned includes home entertainment, toys and games, publishing, apparel and accessories.

Skunk Fu! , a Cartoon Saloon, Cake Ent. and Telegael coproduction for TG4 in Ireland and SuperRTL in Germany, was highlighted at The Sharpe Co. This is the top animated boys' action show on the BBC and is being stripped on Cartoon Network in the U.S. Galleon Holdings controls the licensing rights and showed its internally developed toy line; The Sharpe Co. handles licensing for the U.S. market. Video distributor NCircle will distribute Skunk Fu! on DVD in the U.S. The Sharpe Co.'s other animation properties include Biker Mice From Mars, which will air on 4KidsTV; Freefonix, a musical animation series; and Franny's Feet, which will be stripped on PBS Kids Sprout.

Skunk Fu! is the top animated boys' action show on the BBC and is being stripped on Cartoon Network for the U.S. An internally developed toy line for the series was shown at the Expo. © 2007 Cartoon Saloon.

Other new animation properties being touted at the show included Monster Buster Club (MBC), which will be on Toon Disney starting this summer and is represented by Jetix in Europe and Brandgenuity in the U.S., and Raggs, a public television series based on a traveling live show. Each episode contains 60 seconds' worth of CG-animated shorts produced by Southern Star Singapore. Zizzle was recently announced as the master toy licensee, and Ty's Toy Box will feature Raggs products on its online site this summer.

Meanwhile, the numerous nostalgic and retro properties at the show took several forms -- anniversaries, relaunches, brand extensions, and limited programs featuring archive properties. Paramount, in an example of the last, is looking at its Terrytoons library to see how it can monetize characters including Heckle and Jeckle, according to Darren Kyman, Paramount's executive director of marketing and retail development.