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Special Event: MIPCOM

Headline News

Sesame Workshop Brings New Street Format To Mipcom

Sesame Workshop will be seeking co-production opportunities for the SESAME STREET brand and will also launch a new half-hour format of 50 episodes of the series at this year's MIPCOM. Also available will be ELMO'S WORLD, a 32 x 15-minute interactive series that looks at the world through the eyes of a three year-old. In addition, Sesame Workshop will launch a slate targeted to 9-14 year-olds including two new live action programs: ZOE HAWKER, NEIGHBORHOOD DOG WALKER and a co-production between CBBC (UK), ABC TV (Australia) and Noggin under the working title TWO DOWN UNDER.

Series Headline News

New From Nelvana For Mipcom 2002

At this year's MIPCOM, Nelvana will launch the preschool series LITTLE CRITTER, a 40 x 12-minute animated program featuring characters and stories culled from the collection of children's books written and illustrated by Mercer Mayer. Another new animated property based on a kid's book is JACOB TWO-TWO, a 26 x 30-minute animated series based on the Canadian best seller by Mordecai Richler.

Headline News

Pepper's Ghost Materializes At Mipcom

TINY PLANETS, co-produced by Peppers Ghost Productions (PGP) and Sesame Workshop, will be returning to MIPCOM along with the newly formatted tween series BUS STOP. Nominated as "best new property" by License! Magazine at this years New York Licensing Show, TINY PLANETS has already been sold to 73 countries and Peppers Ghost Productions is seeking sales in Spain, Benelux and Scandinavia. TV broadcast rights are also still available in France and are being handled by Euro TV. Peppers Ghost will also be bringing the series BUS STOP to MIPCOM.

Media Headline News

Bullivant Gets A Kickback

Television executive John Bullivant has launched Kickback Media, a new executive production and development outfit. According to Bullivant, the aim of Kickback is to create, develop and finance character and design-based intellectual properties. The television activities will focus predominantly on the children's market and will include both animation and live-action content.

Atomic Headline News

Mipcom Gets A Dose Of Atomic

Atomic Cartoons will be in attendance at this year's Mipcom, showcasing a bevy of shows including DENNIS THE DRAGON, CONEY ISLAND CARNEYS, GOAL!, and DIRTY LIL BASTER. And in other Atomic news, ATOMIC BETTY, the studio's co-production with Film Roman, has picked up a distributor. Toronto-based independent production company Breakthrough Films will act as the series' international distributors with Breakthrough's Ira Levy and Nghia Nguyen on board as executive producers and Kevin Gillis as producer.

Mainframe Headline News

Mainframe Brings CGI Series To Mipcom

Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. will offer a variety of computer animated fare for preschoolers, kids, tweens and primetime audiences at MIPCOM 2002. Among the projects Mainframe will promote include TONY HAWK'S FEASTERS, with pro skateboard champion Tony Hawk acting as a mentor to a group of local kids; an all-new BETTY BOOP series featuring Betty on the road as the lead singer of a rock band; and the collage animation series FAMILY VALUES.

Series Headline News

Animatrix To Launch Brand New Dr. Snuggles Series

UK-based production company Animatrix Ltd. plans to create an all new 26 part series based on the 1980s preschooler DR. SNUGGLES. Featuring Sir Peter Ustinov voicing the title character, a cuddly bow-tied inventor who strives to make the world a better place, the original DR. SNUGGLES was broadcast in more than 80 countries, and can still be seen in Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, Ireland and Canada. Animation studio Telemagination has produced a 3 1/2-minute pilot of the newly revamped DR. SNUGGLES scheduled to screen this year at Cartoon Forum and Mipcom.

Headline News

Millimages Inks Pre-Sales For Corneil & Bernie

BBC (UK), France 3 (France) and ABC (Australia) have picked up independent studio Millimages' latest animated series CORNEIL & BERNIE. The 52 x 13-minute series, also known as WATCH MY CHOPS!, is currently in production and is set to broadcast internationally during 2003. Lead character Corneil is a cultured and well-read dog, who is likened by the producers to "a canine FRASIER." Corneil keeps his genius talents hidden from his owners, but when Bernie the dog-sitter is hired and discovers Corneil's secret, Corneil's life is turned upside down.

Series Headline News

South Africa Delivers Animated Tails

A new 13 x 10-minute series being billed as the first CG series from Africa is currently in pre-production at Johannesburg, South Africa studio AnimMate. "The series will be entirely produced by African talent in South Africa," Tanja Botha of Johannesburg-based Animation Africa, which is distributing the series, told C21 MEDIA. "It's a first for Africa.

Animated Headline News

Spanish Production Companies MSL And Grupo Trimagen Join Forces

Spanish production companies MSL and Grupo Trimagen have recently signed a joint venture agreement to create animated programming. The new international company, MSL-TRIMAGEN, will develop, produce and market a wide range of animated series and feature films. The company is currently working at the head offices in Madrid and Barcelona on several projects, including BUNNIBAL, a 26 x 13-minute animated series currently in pre-production.

Series Headline News

Television Industry Bounces Back At MIPTV 2002

Last October, MIPCOM 2001 Personality of the Year, MTV's Tom Freston, stated in response to the events of September 11th and the diminished attendance of the market, "TV will bounce back." This year's MIPTV, which took place in Cannes from April 15 to 19, 2002, showed strong evidence that the television community is on the way to recovery. Organizer Reed Midem reported over 2,600 buyers from 1,052 companies attended the market and representing an increased number of buyer companies, up 20% from last year.

Series Headline News

Neptuno Films And Megatrix Join Forces To Co-Produce 2020

Barcelona-based animation house Neptuno Films and Megatrix, a Spanish kids' content multi-platform provider, have sealed a co-production deal to produce the animated series 2020. Aimed at 8 to 12 year-olds, the series focuses on the everyday life of a middle-class family in the year 2020, but the series' creators say it is an ironic reflection on what is happening now. 2020 will consist of 26 half-hours animated in Flash for broadcast on television and the Internet. The first episode will be launched in April 2002 at MipTV, and the remaining episodes are scheduled for delivery in fall 2003.

Series Headline News

Cinar Repays Debt

Canadian family entertainment company CINAR Corporation has recently repaid an existing bank loan which was due on October 15, 2001. The corporation had US$26 million outstanding as of November 30, 2000 and this amount has now been repaid in the current fiscal year.

Mipcom Headline News

MIPCOM Wrap-Up

According to organizer Reed Midem, MIPCOM concluded its 2001 run with a grand total of 1244 exhibiting companies, up nearly 5% from the previous year. Although attendance was down almost 15% from last year, the optimistic attitude of the participants, despite the troubling world events, made this years MIPCOM a success. As MIPCOMs Personality of the Year, MTV CEO Tom Freston stated, TV will bounce back. MIPCOM Junior saw encouraging signs for the international childrens programming business.

Headline News

Peppermint Signs Fresh Deals

German distributor peppermint and U.S. animation studio Wild Brain have entered into a strategic partnership for Asia and the U.S. Under the terms of the deal, peppermint will distribute Wild Brain's Flash animation catalogue throughout Asia, while Wild Brain will represent peppermints animation catalogue under the pepperkids label for TV distribution, home video and DVD, licensing, publishing and merchandising throughout the U.S.

Series Headline News

MIPCOM Deals In Brief

Peppers Ghost Productions CGI-animated series TINY PLANETS has been licensed to Germanys Super RTL network and ITV1 in the U.K. The show recently received two BAFTA Interactive awards nominations and is scheduled to debut in the U.K. and Germany in the first quarter 2002.

French childrens cable and a satellite channel Canal J has partnered with Nickelodeon U.K., Spain, Australia and Latin America and acquired Japanese anime series YU-GIOH, which will be broadcast in France in spring 2002.

Series Headline News

Varga Gets Busy

C21 MEDIA reported that Varga Holdings and Australian producer Screentime are co-producing ANIMATED POPSTARS with the U.K.'s Target as the distribution partner. The series follows the adventures of a pop group on tour. It is based on the popular live-action show POPSTARS, where a group of unknowns is groomed to be the next big thing. Varga has also recently signed a co-development agreement with Happy Life (Sweden), which has already spawned three new pre-school projects MUFFIN, DARTANGYANG and PIGGY WIGGY, BJORN THE BEAR AND LORANGE.

Internacional Headline News

BRB Secures Partners For The Invisible Man And Sales For Nico

Spanish-based animation company BRB Internacional has secured two major European co-production partners for THE INVISIBLE MAN (26 x half hours). Italian state broadcaster RAI and French animation house Dargaud Marina are teaming up with BRB Internacional to co-produce the unique series, which is aimed at 8-12 year olds. The deal gives RAI exclusive Italian speaking rights, Dargaud Marina exclusive French speaking rights, plus some other distribution territories, with BRB Internacional and Dargaud Marina handling distribution for the rest of the world.

Film Headline News

Loonland And Nelvana Team For Heidi

TV-Loonland and Nelvana, in association with KirchMedia, announced at MIPCOM the international co-production of the childrens classic, HEIDI. HEIDI will be adapted into a new and highly stylized animated feature film and television series. HEIDI, written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, was first published in 1880. The book has been translated into over 50 languages with over 100 million copies sold worldwide.

Animated Headline News

DIC Asks Celedor: Is That Your Final Answer?

DIC Entertainment and Celedor International have joined together to produce, distribute and merchandise an animated series inspired by the popular game show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Capitalizing on the enormous success of the game show, which is broadcast in over 100 countries, WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE: THE ANIMATED SERIES features an animated host that will launch game show winners on fantastic journeys as they fulfill their millionaire dreams. The program will be introduced at MIPCOM 2001.

Mipcom Headline News

Molly Races To Mipcom

Sav! The World Productions brings its latest animated program to MIPCOM with MOLLY, STAR-RACER. Described by the creators as Japanimation meets European 3D, MOLLY is an explosive mix of comedy and epic racing scenes in 3D CGI animation. Strongly influenced by their childhood memories of anime series like DRAGON BALL and LUPIN THE 3RD, as well as by cult classics like Hanna Barberas WACKY RACES or Saint Exupérys LE PETIT PRINCE, the creators of MOLLY have mixed styles and techniques to create a fresh new kind of entertainment.

Channel Headline News

France Will Learn There Are Aliens Among Us

New York-based production company, Babelfish Productions, will be attending MIPCOM with their partners, the U.K.s Channel 5 & Channel 5 International and Klik Animation of Canada, to promote ALIENS AMONG US. The 65-part show tells the story of a renegade alien kid, Cosnok, from the planet Gontop, who gets inside the minds of children from all over planet earth to find out what he should do about a variety of issues -- from best friends and school bullies to moving house and first love. ALIENS AMONG US blends 3D animation with live-action docu-drama to create a unique new hybrid.

Headline News

Splash Unleashes Little Monsters On Cannes

The Splash! Group will make its international debut as a television program distributor at this year's MIPCOM market. In addition to the successful pre-school animated series LITTLE MONSTERS, Splash! is producing and distributing several new and established properties, some of which will be offered to the international television market for the first time. The second series of LITTLE MONSTERS will commence production in fall of 2001, with an expected delivery of fall 2002.

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