DHX Media’s hit stop-motion animated preschool property Rastamouse is set for a second season on CBeebies.
Press Release from DHX Media:
Toronto/London -- DHX Media’s hit stop-motion animated preschool property Rastamouse is set for a second season on CBeebies, after scoring high ratings on the channel and iPlayer and proving hugely popular with UK preschool audiences and their parents.
The brand new series, produced and animated in the UK by Three Stones Media, sees the skateboarding, music-loving and mystery-solving character and his band Da Easy Crew return for a further 26x11’ episodes, bringing the total number available to 78x11’.
Jackie Edwards, Executive Producer, CBeebies Animation and Acquisitions said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome the joyous Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew back to CBeebies. We look forward to more mysteries being solved in Mouseland, and to see more bad tings made good!’
Josh Scherba, SVP Distribution at DHX Media said: “It’s the unique qualities of Rastamouse such as the positive messaging, high-quality animation and musicality that make the show stand out in the competitive preschool marketplace. Since it launched just a year ago, the brand has received much praise and won fans of all ages, as well as attracting a roster of major licensees. This success, together with the production of a second season for CBeebies, underscores the show’s popularity and longevity.”
Producer Greg Boardman said: “It’s been an amazing year working with CBeebies. Michael and Genevieve continue to inspire the team with their unique brand of storytelling and we’re very pleased that the amazingly talented Derek Mogford will continue to oversee all aspects of the animation process.”
Rastamouse, the animated series based on the critically acclaimed books by Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza, launched on CBeebies in January 2011 and has since engaged a following of preschoolers and parents alike. The series features Rastamouse, Scratchy and Zoomer of Da Easy Crew, the mystery-solving, reggae-playing band who always make a bad ting good and live by their motto "redemption, not retribution."
Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew was one of the highlights of last year’s Glastonbury and LolliBop festivals, and Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and the group’s celebrity fans include Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Dizzee Rascal, Alexandra Burke and Simon Pegg. The series also won this year’s Broadcast Magazine award for Best Preschool Programme and was nominated for a Children’s BAFTA and a British Animation award.
The property quickly attracted a roster of licensees with DHX Media, together with subsidiary W!LDBRAIN Entertainment, signing deals with EMI (music), Universal (DVD), Character Options (master toy), MacMillan (publishing) followed by Vogue (melamine products from tableware to drinkware, clocks and room decor), Zap (bedding), MVSports (outdoor toys), Sommerbond (underwear and nightwear) and Their Nibs (children’s sleepwear).
DHX Media and W!LDBRAIN are selecting further new partners for the brand with additional deals recently signed with Trademark Collections (bags, purses, wallets and umbrellas) Roy Lowe & Sons Ltd (socks, tights, hats, gloves and scarves) and GB Eye Limited (posters, prints, badges, stickers, tattoos). Ty UK Ltd. will also develop a Ty Beanie Baby line with product set for launch in the UK imminently.
A Rastamouse Company Production for CBeebies, Rastamouse is produced by Greg Boardman and Eugenio Perez of Three Stones Media, in association with Wales’s Dinamo Productions, London-based Little Roots and DHX Media, which handles worldwide TV sales (excluding the UK) and worldwide licensing and merchandising. Visit www.rastamouse.com.
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.
