Packed slate also sees new seasons of Malory Towers, Ruby and the Well, Boy & Dragon and more coming to Cannes this October
Visit WildBrain at MIP stand # R8.C18 to learn more about these and other exciting shows
Toronto, ON – October 1, 2024 – WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, is headed to MIPJunior and MIPCOM this October with a fantastic slate featuring everything from wicked witches and shape-shifting seals to dopey dragons and wonderous wells. Headlining the roster is the hilarious new animated series Badjelly, inspired by the original Spike Milligan book and starring Miriam Margolyes and Rhys Darby, with Ava Diakhaby and rising star Malachi Hall. The exciting new mythical family drama, Secrets at Red Rocks, based on the bestselling children’s novel by Rachael King, leads the live-action lineup. Also on tap for the market is the impactful animated shortform series Storybooth, plus new seasons of family favourites Malory Towers, Ruby and the Well, Boy & Dragon, Fireman Sam and Polly Pocket.
Katie Wilson, VP Global Sales and Acquisitions at WildBrain, said: “We have a packed slate of amazing kids’ and family content coming to market this fall. We’re especially excited to be unveiling Badjelly, which showcases all the humour you’d expect from Spike Milligan’s original story with pitch-perfect performances from Miriam, Rhys and the rest of the stand-out cast. We’re also thrilled to be debuting Secrets at Red Rocks, a compelling live-action series with exhilarating adventure for the whole family set against the dramatic and stunning backdrop of New Zealand’s Wellington coastline, as well as the shortform series, Storybooth, which features real stories submitted by real kids. We look forward to connecting with buyers to share these terrific shows and much, much more from our extensive catalogue of beloved content.”
Badjelly (13 x 22’) – hilarious animated adventure for kids
Based on the beloved kids’ book, Badjelly the Witch: A Fairy Story, by renowned comedian Spike Milligan, Badjelly delivers a fresh take on this classic for today’s kids, all while preserving the crazy humour, bizarre situations and quirky characters from the original tale.
Distributed globally by WildBrain (excluding ANZ), Badjelly tells the exciting and hilarious story of two curious kids whose future is in the balance after their beloved cow is cow-napped. Will they be made into boy/girl soup to rehydrate the desiccated has-been, Badjelly? Or will they enlist the help of a paranoid sausage-hatted tree goblin, a rusty metal lion, an inhumanly strong worm and an ex-banana mouse to defeat evil and win a bonus giant?
Renowned BAFTA-winning stage and screen actor Miriam Margolyes OBE (Harry Potter, Hilda, Doctor Who) stars as the voice of the enigmatic Badjelly, alongside Rhys Darby (Trolls, Jumanji: The Next Level, Carmen Sandiego) as the mischievous Binklebonk, Ava Diakhaby (Shortland Street) as the charming and brave Rose, and rising star Malachi Hall (The Flatshare) as the fearless Tim. The series also features a sweeping original orchestral score composed by Emmy Award-nominee Guy Michelmore (Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes).
Commissioned by New Zealand’s TVNZ and WildBrain Television’s Family Channel in Canada, Badjelly is produced by New Zealand’s Mukpuddy Animation, Canada’s Sphere Animation and the UK’s Cantilever Media in association with Te Puna Kairangi Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund, NZ On Air and UK Global Screen Fund. ABC Australia has also acquired the series for their platforms.
Secrets at Red Rocks (8 x 24’) – mystical live-action drama for the whole family
Adapted from New Zealand author Rachael King’s award-winning novel, Secrets at Red Rocks follows 12-year-old Jake as he is drawn into a world of mythical creatures and adventure when he finds a sealskin hidden on the rocky shores of his father’s seaside home in Wellington, New Zealand. When unexpected dangers are unleashed, Jake is called upon to protect his family.
Featuring animatronic seals created by Oscar® and BAFTA-winning creature effects and props company Wētā Workshop, Secrets at Red Rocks takes the Celtic myth of the selkies—or seal people—and transplants it into the landscape of Wellington’s wild south coast, throwing an ordinary boy into a life-changing adventure.
Set to deliver by the end of this year, Secrets at Red Rocks is distributed globally by WildBrain (excluding NZ and US). The series is a Libertine Pictures production, co-commissioned by BYUtv (US) and Sky (New Zealand) with investment from NZ On Air, with the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate cash-flowed by Hinterland.
Storybooth (243 x 3’) – inspiring shortform animation
Aimed at tweens, teens and families, Storybooth is an inspirational, heart-wrenching anthology series featuring real stories submitted by real kids from all over the world. The series offers a glimpse into the daily trials and tribulations of real kids and teens, from dealing with friendships and family, overcoming challenges at home and at school, to navigating social media and discovering self-worth. Storybooth’s shortform videos provide a platform for young voices to be heard and understood, fostering empathy and understanding among viewers of all ages.
Distributed globally by WildBrain and created by Marcy Kaye, with Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs, The Muppets Mayhem) as executive producer, Storybooth began as a YouTube channel, which has since amassed over 4.6 million subscribers and over a billion views to date.
Brand-new seasons and newly available content across animation and live action
WildBrain’s live-action slate sees the return of two beloved family series, with season five of the English boarding school drama, Malory Towers (20 x 22’), produced by King Bert Productions and based on the iconic novels by Enid Blyton, and season four of Shaftesbury’s Ruby and the Well (8 x 44’), where teenage sleuth Ruby brings hope and healing to her community as she solves clues from a magic well.
In animation, WildBrain is debuting season four of hit series Boy and Dragon (23 x 2’), which has amassed millions of views across WildBrain’s YouTube network since its release in 2019, along with new seasons of Mattel favourites Fireman Sam (S16 – 26 x 10’) and Polly Pocket (S6 – 38 x 11’).
Buyers attending MIPJunior and MIPCOM (October 18–24) are invited to screen these series and visit WildBrain at stand # R8.C18 to learn more. Or contact our team at sales@wildbrain.com.
For more information, please contact:
Aimée Norman at Liberi Consulting, external PR for WildBrain
+44 (0) 7957 564 050
About WildBrain
At WildBrain we inspire imaginations through the wonder of storytelling. As a leader in 360° franchise management, we are experts in content creation, audience engagement and global licensing, cultivating and growing love for our own and partner brands around the world. With approximately 14,000 half-hours of kids’ and family content in our library—one of the world’s most extensive—we are home to such treasured franchises as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. WildBrain’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences that captivate and delight fans both young and young at heart.
Our studios produce such award-winning series as The Snoopy Show; Snoopy in Space; Camp Snoopy; Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City; Sonic Prime; Chip and Potato; Teletubbies Let’s Go! and many more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries on over 500 platforms, our content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment, including YouTube, where our network has garnered approximately 1.5 trillion minutes of watch time. Our television group owns and operates some of Canada’s most loved family entertainment channels. WildBrain CPLG, our leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency, represents our owned and partner properties in every major territory worldwide.
WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD). Visit us at wildbrain.com.