Netflix adds Henson’s ‘Word Party,’ Cheeky Little’s ‘Kazoops!’ and Guru’s ‘True & the Rainbow Kingdom’ to its growing slate of original preschool content.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- Expanding its award-winning programming for everyone in the household, Internet TV network Netflix is adding three new animated series to its growing slate of original preschool content.
On the heels of this month’s earlier announcement of preschool original series Cirque du Soleil - Luna Petunia and Puffin Rock, Netflix introduces Word Party, Kazoops! and True & the Rainbow Kingdom. Created to engage and pique the curiosity of preschool viewers, these new series feature elements of language acquisition, problem solving and critical thinking throughout each episode.
Word Party - 2016
Word Party is a vocabulary building show from The Jim Henson Company that follows four adorable baby animals as they sing, dance and play. The show invites our youngest viewers to help teach the baby animals new words, learn these new words themselves, and even celebrate these achievements with a "Word Party!" Word Party is produced using the groundbreaking Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a proprietary technology from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop that allows puppeteers to perform digitally animated characters in real time - enabling the animation to be more lifelike and spontaneous. Twenty-six 11-min episodes will premiere exclusively on Netflix around the world in 2016.
Kazoops! - 2016
Monty has a huge imagination, a great sense of adventure and is always asking the question "Why," because the world is full of stuff people do and say that makes him scratch his head and wonder. Are all monsters scary? Can animals play music? Why must we wear matching socks? Accompanied by his best friend Jimmy Jones, the family pet pig, Monty challenges everyday preconceptions about life through the power of his imagination. Kazoops!, produced by Cheeky Little, in partnership with the ABC and BBC, promotes curiosity and critical thinking and brings to the screen a playful CGI animation style that draws on traditional claymation and fun 2D graphic art. The 13 episode series will premiere on Netflix around the globe in late 2016 and launch in the UK and Australia at a later date.
True & the Rainbow Kingdom - 2017
True & the Rainbow Kingdom is a comedy adventure series for preschoolers from Guru Studio, Home Plate Entertainment and i am OTHER. True is the guardian of the magical Rainbow Kingdom and the show’s bright and resilient girl lead. True, along with her best friend, Bartleby the cat, use ingenuity and creative thinking to solve problems big and small, and bring harmony and love to all. The series is based on artwork by the Friends With You fine art collective and its positive messages of Magic, Luck, and Friendship. Coming in 2017, ten 22-min episodes will premiere on Netflix globally and launch in Canada at a later date.
“We are honored that Netflix has entrusted Guru to create and launch this unprecedented new preschool concept, and to push the boundaries of our creative partnership as they continue to build their slate of children's originals,” said Frank Falcone, President and Creative Director, Guru Studios.
Netflix has a dedicated section for kids under 12 years old featuring dozens of original series for kids as well as TV shows and movies from great partners like PBS, Disney Channel, DreamWorks Animation, Mattel, Hasbro, Lego and Scholastic, all in a commercial free environment. The dedicated section for kids is available across a broad range of devices including PCs and Macs, iPads, game consoles, streaming devices and smart TVs. Members are provided a kids profile upon sign up and can customize additional profiles for their kids. The kids experience features a character bar where you can find a deep selection of great TV shows and movies featuring that character. Kids, parents and caregivers will also be able to scan through row after row of movies and TV shows organized by easy-to-understand genres like superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs and girl power, featuring clear and simple descriptions of the plot of each title.
Source: Netflix
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.
