World news on animated TV series and streaming - February 2022

Netflix Children and family invites viewers to celebrate Black History Month with a fun and joyful selection of titles collected below Black stories for families. Highlights include NAACP Image Award-nominated animated series Ada Twist, Scientist (Season 1 and 2 streaming globally) e The world of karma (S1 available, S2 coming soon), as well as the superkid show with visual effects Raising Dione (S1 and S2 available). See more highlights from the streamer's February vignettes here.

The Disney Bundle of streaming platforms is also continuing its promise to amplify Black's stories Disney +, Hulu and ESPN + with an extra flavor for Black History Month. Disney + will unlock content from The Disney Bundle, offering its US subscribers some of the most popular contemporary series, documentaries and specials in its Celebrate Black Stories collection. Among the highlights of this month's Disney animation are:

• Rise Up, Sing Out (February 2, also airing on Disney Junior and Disney Channel): A series of music-based animated shorts aimed at children, parents and caregivers, designed to inspire, empower and optimistic about race, culture, community and celebrate differences.
• The Proud Family: Stronger and Prouder (February 23, Disney + Original): Follow the ongoing adventures and misadventures of 2020-year-old new Penny Proud and her family as they navigate modern life with hilarity and heart. The XNUMXs bring a new career for mom Trudy, wilder dreams for dad Oscar, and new challenges for Penny, including a socially awake neighbor who thinks she has a lot to teach her.
• A preview of the collection in the promotional video.

A beacon of black animation history is also in the spotlight The Criterion Channel, which will present Floyd Norman: a life in animation (Floyd Norman: An Animated Life) on February 7. Michael Fiore and Erik Sharkey's documentary film tells the story and celebrates the unstoppable spirit of Disney's first black animator. Norman made history when he joined the studio in 1956 and lent his talents to classics such as Sleeping Beauty and The charge of 101 before being chosen by Walt Disney for the story team The jungle book. The film reaches Norman at the age of 80 and includes testimonies from friends and colleagues such as Whoopi Goldberg and critic Leonard Maltin.

Floyd Norman: a life in animation will be presented alongside a selection of short films and commercials produced by Norman's independent studio Vignette Films.

WarnerMedia Children and family is about to start its EMEA launch for the preschool brand, Cartoonthe. The brand, which will be launched as a dedicated programming block across the region, offers a modern approach to preschool programming and is built to support each child's unique potential with their educational framework, Humancentric Learning.

The EMEA roll out, starting in the Nordic countries, follows the Cartoonito brand launch in the US in September 2021 on Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Key shows will include Thomas & Friends All Engines Go, Lucas the Spider, Little Ellen e Mush-Mush and the Mushables. These will sit alongside a growing list of new series and libraries in a lineup that celebrates individuality and originality, while supporting creativity, compassion and inclusion.

Cartoonito already exists as an online channel in the UK, building an audience share until 2021, and in Italy, and as a programming block in the Middle East and Turkey. The launch will give the brand a new look in these regions, along with a growing list of new series and libraries and global acquisitions to be rolled out across the EMEA.

The animated series Masha and the Bear of the Russian firm Animacord has been performing brilliantly in the past 12 months, most notably hitting 100 billion views on YouTube, which has reasonably increased demand for the series. According to Parrot Analytics, the cartoon was the # 1 preschool show. 36 in the world this year, with demand 0,2 times higher than the average show, placing it in the top XNUMX% of all TV series across all platforms. Masha was again ranked as one of the top 5 shows among children (0-18) for 2020-2021, being more in demand by the global audience than PAW patrol (34,9x) and Peppa Pig (34.1x).

Masha and the Bear it was 101 times more popular outside its home market (Russia) than the average show and had 32,9 times longer longevity, meaning the show is still very relevant in its genre after more than a decade. In the US and UK markets, Masha it falls into the “exceptional bucket”, placing it in the top 3% of all TV shows and series. In addition to conquering the preschool market, the series also confronts recent global hits such as Squid Gamand, Marvel Studios' Hawk eye and Amazon Prime Wheel of time, being classified as doubly most in demand.

In response to the UK government's decision not to continue the Fund for young audience content, UK animation has released an official statement expressing disappointment and calling for a reversal of the decision, as well as an urgent review of children's content and investment options (read the full statement here). Noting that children and young people are "25% of the public and 100% of the future," the org noted:

“The three-year pilot project of the Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF) has had a huge impact. The YACF has ramped up production through PSBs and in just a few years has provided quality content for the public. The process was responsive and inclusive; the nature and range of content also meets regional and diversity criteria. Furthermore, this financing model is particularly beneficial for the independent sector as it offers access to both production and development funds. We know he has managed to bring new British voices to the screen across the UK. '

More news bytes:

• Sandbox & Co, a London-based provider of digital learning products and services, has acquired playkids, one of the leading digital education platforms in Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America.
• WarnerMedia Children and family announced multiple new acquisitions of Moonbug entertainmentdigital content for kindergarten a Cartoon on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, now available. These include animated series Wonders of Blippi (premieres in April), CoComelon (the # 1 most viewed brand on YouTube), Town farm of Lellobee e Mia's magical playground S2.
• World TV Studios (Mondo TV Group) has signed an important commercial agreement with Edo for the first season of the popular preschool animated series Cleo, an innovative production by La Casa Animada (Canary Islands). The 39 x 6 ′ series will launch in June on HITN TV's Spanish language SVOD (USA / LatAm).