LICENSING MAGAZINE MAY 2019

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Cover story Rescue brings to screens is taking place across all markets; there will also be a plastic toy line. Mondo TV will preview a major new property at Las Vegas. MeteoHeroes is a Mondo TV co-production with MOPI (Meteo Operations Italia – better known to the public as the Epson Expert). Scheduled to launch in autumn 2020, this animated comedy-adventure will consist of 52 episodes of seven minutes each.

personality concept behind the toys, and Edicart for original and highly entertaining humorous books. YooHoo to the Rescue is the first-ever Netflix Original Series from co-producers Mondo TV and Aurora World. It became available worldwide from 15 March 2019 exclusively on the Netflix platform as a Netflix Original Series. From April and May this year it has been shown on free-to-air channels in Italy, Russia, Poland, Spain and Portugal. It is also a major licensing prospect. This new 3D CGI 52 x 11’ children’s series is based on the globally successful line of Aurora World plush toys, more than 80 million of which have been sold since the worldwide launch of the line in 2007. It’s a funny, exciting and beautifully designed

animated series with strong environmental themes, in which YooHoo and his friends, Pammee, Roodee, Chewoo and Lemmee, travel from their home in YooTopia to Earth to confront threats to nature and wildlife and meet many different endangered animal species. The YooHoo brand has attracted strong international licensee interest in such areas as baby care products, fragrance, bath and body products from Nuvita, and stickers and trading cards from Panini. Many important categories are also covered through domestic deals, notably an Italian agreement with Mondadori, which will launch its first title, the YooHoopedia, in Italy in autumn 2019. Plush is, of course, directly managed by Aurora. A refresh of the popular line based on the new characters that YooHoo to the

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MeteoHeroes is about six kids – Fulmen, Nix, Nubes, Pluvia, Thermo and Ventum – who discover that they can control the weather. Each one has a different superpower, connected with a different weather phenomenon, enhanced by special gadgets and costumes. Working with a group of meteorological experts, they find out how to use their powers to help the Earth – while also learning about friendship, cooperation and diversity as they work together. The combination of great characters, gadgets, science, comedy, adventure and such topical themes as climate change and energy saving is expected to inspire a strong licensing programme. Mondo TV plans to sign up key partners in order to ensure that the series has worldwide reach both in terms of media distribution and in terms of licensing and merchandising. The Giunti publishing house already has an exclusive publishing agreement for Italy.


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