The venerable Crayon purveyor’s new kids and family-dedicated studio announces its first animated series, ‘The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian,’ a co-development with Mimo Studios based on the award-winning kid’s podcast.
Crayola has announced the launch of Crayola Studios, a new division dedicated to creating genre content for kids and families that explores the possibilities of children’s creativity and leverages color as an intrinsic element of the story. Crayola will partner with production companies, animation studios and IP owners to create engaging content that will air on leading kids broadcast platforms globally.
With a pipeline of shows already in development, the portfolio features a broad range of projects across numerous content touchpoints. Crayola’s EVP Marketing, Victoria Lozano, will oversee the content slate with support from Goatfish Agency - founded by Rick Glankler, Fremantle’s former President and General Manager, Kids & Family Entertainment. Crayola’s sister company Hallmark Media will also support the initiative.
Crayola Studios has launched its first co-development project, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, with Cyma Zarghami’s MIMO Studios, who will produce the animated adaptation of Gen-Z Media’s award-winning kids podcast. Brad Birch will write the 52 x 11” series.
The science-fiction adventure series centers on Finn Caspian, an eight-year-old boy aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station. Together with friends Abigail, Elias and Vale, Finn forms Explorers Troop 301 which takes off from the Marlowe to explore uncharted planets, help aliens, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the Space Station.
“As world leaders in creative self-expression, the establishment of Crayola Studios is a logical next step for us. It builds on plans announced last year to develop entertainment content that inspires and nurtures the next generation and helps them develop lifelong creative mindsets,” stated Lozano. “Our unique perspective offers an exciting opportunity for the industry as it searches for stand out new and trusted content that has creativity at its heart. [The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian] allows kids to explore the power and limitless potential of imagination, self-expression, and creativity. Its DNA is at the very core of what we do at Crayola and a perfect example of the type of shows we want to produce going forward. We’re thrilled to join forces with the talented team at MIMO to bring Finn’s action-packed adventures to life.”
Zarghami said, “Crayola is synonymous with kids and color, and we are so excited to collaborate with them to bring these beloved journeys to life through world-class animation and artistry. We have been cultivating The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian since we first identified it and immediately saw the great potential and opportunity to tell rich stories in video the way Gen-Z Media did in the podcast. The combination of great characters, creativity, adventure, and information is something we can’t wait to bring to audiences worldwide.”
Whitney is a freelance writer focusing on VFX-driven fantasy film & TV as well as preschool animation.
