London, UK -- The Jim Henson Company appoints product licensing rights across EMEA for Doozers, the all-new animated children’s TV series, to Turner CN Enterprises. The show was unveiled to the global broadcast community at MIP Junior in Cannes this month where it received remarkable response.
A co-production between The Jim Henson Company and DHX Media, the new CG animated series Doozers features the much-loved characters from Fraggle Rock, the classic live action puppet series that defined children’s television in the 1980’s and became a phenomenon around the world.
Aimed at children aged 3 to 6, the engaging CG animated series will air to 125 million homes across EMEA on Turner Broadcasting’s dedicated pre-school channel Cartoonito beginning Autumn 2013 – coinciding with the 30th Anniversary of the original Fraggle Rock show.
The EMEA broadcast launch of Doozers will be supported by a full cross category licensing programme, inclusive of merchandising, publishing and promotions. Products will reflect the key themes that are celebrated in the show such as invention, imaginative play, friendship and the very current key consumer trend for eco-awareness.
“Doozers is one of those rare and remarkable properties that speaks to the child in all of us. Its creative pedigree is bolstered by the imaginative characters and scripts that encourage innovative thinking skills and reinforce the inventiveness of repurposing, reusing, and recycling to protect the environment. And it’s really fun," comments Melissa Segal, SVP, Global Consumer Products, The Jim Henson Company. "Turner CN will bring a dynamic consumer products campaign for this outstanding children’s property to market in the EMEA."
Alan Fenwick, VP, Turner CN Enterprises adds, “The Jim Henson Company set the bar for children’s television in the 1980’s with Fraggle Rock. Doozers has the potential to be a future classic and will benefit hugely from the on-channel and retail support that we will commit, in addition to the parental endorsement of adults who enjoyed Fraggle Rock when they were children and now have kids of their own to entertain.”
Doozers are three inch tall, green characters who live in communities (just beyond the view of humans) all around the world. The new animated series is set in Doozer Creek, a high-tech enchanted forest that merges nature with innovation. It’s a self-sustaining, green community that exists in harmony with nature and generates zero waste. In every eleven-minute episode of Doozers, viewers will follow the adventures of four brand new Doozer kid characters: Spike, Mollybolt, Flex, and Daisy Wheel, each with differing characteristics and skills. Together they make up the bright, bold, and fun “Pod Squad” who share a passion for inventing.
The original Doozers were first introduced to television audiences through Fraggle Rock, which aired from 1983 to 1987 in the U.S. on HBO. That series garnered several awards including the 1983 International Emmy Award and a 1987 CableACE Award and currently airs in the U.S. on the Hub. In the international market, Fraggle Rock aired in more than 80 countries around the world including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and Russia.
Source: The Jim Henson Company