First nine episodes of season 3 of the global hit from Russia’s Animaccord Animation Studio have already been released in cinemas across Europe and Latin America.
Masha and the Bear is an internationally known kids brand based on the 3D animated cartoon produced in Russia at Animaccord Animation Studio. Today Masha and the Bear has demonstrated overwhelming worldwide success, peaking in popularity for girls ranging in ages from 0-12 and boys 0-6. The true evidence of audience fascination with Masha is evidenced in reviews on the online database IMDb, where the content is ranked as 8.1 out of 10 in comparison to preschool brand Peppa Pig, which has a ranking of 6.6.
Masha and the Bear’s consistently high ratings around the globe prove that the show is a genuine trans-cultural success. The cartoon holds leading positions for girls and boys in Middle East markets, as well as being named as one the top 10 (according Brand Trends, April 2016) brands on the European market.
Based on the universally understood concept of the relationship between a child and a grown-up, Masha and the Bear delivers high-quality CGI animation along with family-situated humor, educational value, and independent plotlines created for each episode.
Nowadays Animaccord Animation studio is working on the production of Season 3 of the hit series. Beginning January 2017, the first nine episodes have already been released in cinemas in Europe and in Latin America, with exclusive premieres managed by Pathe Live Kids in France and Sweden, Mountain Road in Belgium and Netherlands, Warner Bros. Entertainment in Italy, and Paris Films in Brazil.
Furthermore, two spinoff projects from the core show -- Masha’s Tales and Masha’s Spooky Stories -- have seen tremendous success among children ages 2-9. For example, the release of Masha’s Spooky Stories on Netflix in the U.S., which was dedicated to Halloween season, attracted a great number of positive reviews across the country from parents and popular bloggers alike.
Masha and the Bear a Phenomenal Success on YouTube
With only two full seasons of 52 7-minute episodes, the show was named as the YouTube phenomenon with more than 21 billion views of Masha and the Bear content, including spinoffs. The “Recipe for Disaster” episode has been included in the list of most viewed YouTube videos over the history of the platform and recently pulled ahead of international singer Adele’s clip, “Hello,” on YouTube, taking the sixth place in overall rankings.
Achievements on TV and DVD
Because Masha and the Bear began as TV series, its presence on key media platforms continues to be a vital element of building and maintaining general awareness of the brand. Selecting the best available partners for multi-platform launches in each territory, Animaccord has adopted a unique media strategy for the property.
The show is being distributed in more than 100 countries by media giants such as Turner (Latin America and the U.K.), KIKA (Germany), France TV, Televisa, Teletoon (Canada), and Rai Yo-Yo (Italy). Masha and the Bear is consistently included in the top-five kids content on popular TV channels as such Rai Yo-Yo in Italy, Televisa in Mexico, Cartoonito in the U.K., Teletoon in Canada, and more. Brazil’s SBT has released both seasons one and two, and, as of January 2017, Masha and the Bear has consistently taken the lead in kids programming, gaining the highest audience reach with digital streaming, while Sony Music, NBC Universal and other big names handle DVD distribution.
Masha and the Bear on Netflix
Streaming giant Netflix released the first season of Masha and the Bear in English in North America on August 1, 2015. Later the show became available on Netflix in Latin America, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In 2016 the platform launched the two spinoffs from the core show -- Masha’s Tales and Masha’s Spooky Stories and expanded the broadcasting presence into Benelux, Spain, DACH, Nordics, Italy, France and Portugal.
Masha and the Bear Conquers Cinemas
The cartoon has already been released in movie theatres and got impressive results in the countries where cinema releases took place. In the beginning of 2016, Warner Brothers Italy reported that during the Christmas holidays the Masha and the Bear “Amici per sempre” program was the company’s top- earning event ever in the country. Later in 2016, many of the world’s leading studios and distribution companies picked Animaccord to bring show to cinemas. The exclusive premiere of the Season 3 has been managed by Warner Bros. Entertainment in Italy in Jan. 2017, Pathe Live kids in Sweden (Oct. 2016) and France (Jan. 2017) as well as by Mountain Road in Belgium and Netherlands in Jan. 2017.
In Brazil, Masha and the Bear show is so adored by everyone that the announcement of the cinema release premiere was made on the popular evening show, Noite com Danilo Gentili, hosted by stand-up comedian Danilo Gentili. Masha herself was invited to present the launch of the cinema release, and selected episodes from season 2 and season 3 were shown in 600 cinemas across the country.
Masha and the Bear success on TV and in cinema proves the fact that the unique show’s idea and content attributes allows people of any age enjoy the series in any format, either at home or while having special family time outside the home.
Masha and the Bear Goes Mobile
On October 7th in 2016, two seasons of the Masha and the Bear show arrived on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Instant Video. It’s the first digital distribution of the Masha and the Bear content in English generated by an extremely growing demand of English-speaking families on watching the series. The content is available to download in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and France.
In December 2015, ZeroUm Digital produced a new mobile application, Masha e o Urso: historias e musicas para criancas, which allows streaming of the series in Brazil and Spain even without access to the internet. The launch of an English-language version of the app was launched in 2016, with Masha and the Bear now presented in English-speaking countries on the App Store and Google Play.
The show’s heroes also have a presence in the global digital games market. Did you know that more than 30 million people worldwide are already playing the game Masha and the Bear, published by Indigo Kids? Masha and the Bear: New Adventure, from Apps Ministry, was recently launched in November 2016, meeting worldwide access. The Jam Day app developed by KB Pro has also received worldwide attention, with more than 1 million downloads of the mobile game to date. Jam Day is especially popular among parents, with App Store reviews showing that 30 percent of users are children and 70 percent of users are adults who also enjoy the game. All these games are available to download on the App Store and Google Play.
Demonstrating the project’s universal appeal, Masha and the Bear has been a phenomenal success on TV and streaming media platforms, as well as big screens and digital and game platforms. The production of Season 3 is planned to be completed by the end of 2018.
Source: Animaccord Animation Studio
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
