Magic Light's "Superworm" contorts to chart success on BBC One

superworm, Magic Light Pictures' latest holiday special, made its way into the hearts of UK viewers during the holiday season, becoming a hit with both critics and audiences. The half-hour family animation, based on the beloved book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, was the fifth most viewed BBC program on Christmas Day and the No. 1, when its premiere on BBC One attracted a whopping 40% + viewing share.

The Christmas Day broadcast (December 25) was seen by a whopping 5,1 million audiences and its replay a week later garnered 1,3 million viewers on the day (Live + Vosdal).

superworm, voiced by Patricia Allison, Rob Brydon, Olivia Colman, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Matt Smith, is the ninth television adaptation of Magic Light of a Donaldson / Scheffler title for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, the films have become a fixture in the schedule Christmas.

In addition to delighting the television audience, superworm also wowed critics whose comments included "An Instant Classic" (The sun), "Animation when it is so beautiful is one of the greatest delights of Christmas TV" (The Daily Telegraph) and "This will be considered the BBC's top offering" (The Guardian).

Martin Pope, joint chief executive of Magic Light, said: "superworm is an adorable comedy with a heartwarming theme of friendship with a brilliant hero and formidable villain, not to mention a fabulously talented cast! We are absolutely thrilled that the public has taken it to heart and that it has gotten such a great and positive response ”.

I fan of superworm  have another surprise in store this month when the invertebrate hero appears on a new family run of activities at 26 Forestry England sites nationwide, in Magic Light's latest partnership with the organization. The new self-paced trail will encourage children to become superheroes of the forest themselves as they learn about all the heroic feats that worms and other minibeasts perform and the important jobs they do for the nation's forests.

A collection of licensed products is now also available on gruffaloshop.com, including a Superworm plush, Sainsbury's clothes, custom home items and accessories.

Building on her successful debut with BBC One, international sales of superworm they are going strong. It has been sold to ZDF (Germany), Movistar (Spain), NRK (Norway), RTV (Slovenia), SYN (Iceland), SVT (Sweden), Knowledge Network (Canada), ABC (Australia) and Alba (UK) . Theatrical releases are planned in the UK, in France with Les Films du Preau and in Spain with Modiband. In the UK, the special will be available on EST starting April 2022.