Tiny Island Productions will adapt and expand their ‘Dream Defenders’ animated series for the China market with a TV series, feature film, comics and an augmented reality experience, all as part of WingsMedia’s hope to grow ‘Starship MZ’ properties into China’s Marvel Universe equivalent.
SINGAPORE -- Shanghai Media Group’s WingsMedia has launched a new collaborative slate with Tiny Island Productions on their planned mega-franchise, Starship MZ, starting with a media franchise based on sci-fi animated kids series Dream Defenders.
As part of its sci-fi intellectual property strategy, WingsMedia hopes to grow Starship MZ properties into China’s equivalent of the Marvel Universe franchise. When Starship MZ launches this year, Tiny Island Productions will create content based on Dream Defenders, which will lead to a new TV series, feature film and comics, all adapted for the China market.
Last year, WingsMedia’s original science-fiction reality show, Starship MZ: 2049, proved a success with audiences nationwide. The Starship MZ franchise will leverages the popularity of the show and the national demand for science-fiction content, meeting WingsMedia’s goal to “globalize and export Chinese culture.”
“By leveraging on WingsMedia’s vast experience and expertise, while tapping on China’s historical and rich legacy of art and culture, together we will bring China-made Science Fiction to the next level,” said David Kwok, CEO of Tiny Island Productions. “We are very grateful to WingsMedia for this special opportunity.”
Tiny Island Productions’ Dream Defenders TV series, about twin siblings who discover a supercomputer that sends them into dream worlds to protect the real world against nightmare monsters, is an international success. With DreamWorks as distributor of the original series, Dream Defenders has been sold to 80 countries around the world and shown on five platforms in the United States, including Discovery Family and Amazon Prime. In Europe, it has aired on SuperRTL and Planeta Junior, and in Asia, it is on DreamWorks TV Asia across 19 countries.
David Kwok, CEO of Tiny Island Productions, shared how Dream Defenders has been adapted for Chinese Audiences: “Somewhere in China, a city suddenly comes under attack by nightmare monsters based on Chinese mythology, such as the Dragon, Kirin and Phoenix. A pair of Chinese twins desperately sends out a distress call for help to Zane and Zoey from the original series, who reveal the secret technology to enter the Dream Worlds. Now these new Chinese heroes must race against time to save their friends and family from the threat of the nightmare monsters.”
To make Dream Defenders stand out, Tiny Island Productions uses emerging technologies, from its initial broadcast in stereoscopic 3D on 3Net (24/7 3D network joint from Sony, Discovery and IMAX) to creating augmented and interactive virtual reality experiences that immerse viewers in the Dream Defenders universe.
“Young audiences nowadays will not be satisfied with only watching a series on TV,” David Kwok explained, “In order to give the Chinese audience a better experience with sci-fi content, we are constantly pushing the limits of new technologies such as VR to create a new form of storytelling and entertainment for today’s evolving audiences. Together with our partner Presence Pictures, we integrated technology with creativity to create a unique experience for audiences that expands the stories beyond the TV series.”
“Imagine, after watching an episode, you can pick up your smartphone, slide it into a pair of VR goggles that cost only five dollars USD in China, and dive into the world of the show to further immerse yourselves in the story ... But this is not a 360 video. With the Dream Defenders app, when you physically look around, walk, run or jump in the real world, you will do the same in the virtual world.”
Tiny Island Productions has tie-in plans with fast food restaurants for Dream Defenders food-packaging-folded virtual reality goggles. They hope to make Dream Defenders easily accessible to mass audiences on all platforms.
Source: Tiny Island Productions
