Building on 50 years of innovative, nature-inspired entertainment for kids and families, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment will be scouting broadcast and licensing partners for three new 52 x 11′ animated properties next month during the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association expo in Las Vegas.
The properties include:
- Billy Green Builds!™ (pre-school) – created in partnership with Little Airplane Productions, creator and producer of Nickelodeon’s The Wonder Pets!, Billy Green Builds! follows the adventures of 7-year-old Billy Green™ who travels the globe in a solar-paneled vehicle to help animals in trouble. Billy and his animal sidekick Moxy™ use all-natural materials and harness clean energy from the wind, water and sun to create environmentally friendly solutions that preserve and care for the world and its animals.
- The Jungle Bunch® (ages 5-8) – first introduced on DVD in 2012 by Universal Home Video, this award-winning animated series features the zany adventures of a group of unlikely wildlife heroes, including a penguin who thinks he’s a tiger, a crooning warthog and a bat who’s afraid of the dark. SeaWorld owns exclusive U.S. licensing and merchandising rights for the series, currently being broadcast in Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Latin America and Australia.
- Yonaguni™ (ages 6-11) – SeaWorld has teamed with DQ Entertainment and Rollman Entertainment to develop this youth action comedy series in which a group of underwater heroes-in-training — the Yonaguni — learn how to protect the planet and its creatures.
“Animated series are new for us and given the interest we’ve seen so far, we’re pretty excited about the genre, as it’s a great medium to connect kids’ imaginations with nature,” ” said SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Scott Helmstedter. “SeaWorld currently produces two successful, live-action E/I TV series that air on ABC affiliates, including Emmy-nominated Sea Rescue™ and The Wildlife Docs™.
“Our approach is to find exceptional, experienced development partners who create compelling content that promotes our mission,” he said. “We then leverage our brand power to secure distribution channels and merchandising partners. The formula has worked well for live-action and we’re optimistic we’ll see the same results with animation.”
Helmstedter said SeaWorld will also promote an all-new direct-to-consumer, multimedia platform — Generation Nature™ (GenN) – that includes web, digital apps, video blogs, online games and activities. The platform features teen animal conservationist Bindi Irwin and encourages kids to take action to protect animals and their habitats.