files/pictures/picture-35.jpgNCircle Ent. announced that it has entered into an exclusive multi-year distribution partnership with Granada Int'l, which makes NCircle the exclusive U.S. home entertainment distributor for the award-winning animated children's series POCOYO.
Written by Ken Scarborough and Andy Yerkes, the series is co-produced by Granada Int'l and Zinkia Ent., in association with Granada Kids and Cosgrove Hall Films. POCOYO uses XSI to create a unique look aimed at children under the age of five. The series features Pocoyo, a three-year-old child with an insatiable curiosity, and his friends: Elly the pink elephant, Pato the yellow duck, Loula the loyal puppy, and Sleepy Bird. It's all about learning through laughter as each episode takes Pocoyo and company on a voyage of discovery about life. The gentle, parental voice of narrator Stephen Fry guides Pocoyo through the day's events with patience and humor, encouraging children to sing, dance, interact and have fun.
"The POCOYO content partnership advances our drive to bring new and exciting materials to the inquisitive minds of children," stated Debbie Ries, svp/gm. "An important addition to our library, the adventurous series adds depth to our diverse offerings."
POCOYO has seen great worldwide critical success as it has sold in more than 100 countries such as Canada, U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and in a number of countries in the Middle East. The series, which includes a library of 104 seven-minute episodes, was the recipient of the top TV Production Award at last year's Annecy Int'l Film Festival. Other POCOYO accolades include the 2006 Pulcinella Award for Best European Program and Best TV Series for Pre-School; the 2006 British Academy Children's Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Pre-School Animation; and a 2005 Animacor International Animation Festival Award for Best Episode in a Series. Also, POCOYO: A LITTLE SOMETHING BETWEEN FRIENDS show was recently nominated for a BANFF Rockie Award.
"The partnership with NCircle will launch our brand and propel the series' colorful, adventurous world into the hearts and homes of the U.S. market," said Carol Lee, vp, home entertainment, Granada Int'l. "We're confident that this relationship will be a great success for Granada and NCircle alike."
NCircle Ent., an Alliance Ent. Corp. division, licenses, manufactures and distributes family and children's programming and related images for home entertainment and consumer products. Alliance maintains the largest in-stock catalog of CDs and DVDs in the U.S. -- a combined total of more than 335,000 titles. More information can be found at
www.NCircleEntertainment.com .
Part of ITV Worldwide, Granada Int'l is one of the largest and most successful commercial television distributors in Europe. A unique catalogue of programming encompasses network production, international co-productions, formats, Hollywood TV movies, classic film libraries and programming from the worldwide independent production sector. For further information, go to
www.granadamedia.com/international .
