KGUIDE_1016_INTERVIEWS_DIST_1207_INTERVIEWS 9/19/16 12:39 PM Page 15
Marja Kerkhof Managing Director Mercis TV KIDS: To what do you attribute Miffy’s enduring appeal, 61 years since she was created? KERKHOF: The illustrations are almost like pictograms, they’re so clear and the colors are so bright. [Creator] Dick Bruna has been able to work for so many years in the same kind of style. It’s vibrant, it’s very iconic and it stands out. If you see a whole sheet of characters, you still will notice Miffy. TV KIDS: How did Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small, the new animated series for Miffy, come about? KERKHOF: A few years ago, we felt that we really wanted to make a new series. We had just finished the movie, which was successful, and then we decided to look for a new series with a new approach. We talked to several studios, looking for the best possible one to make a series with us. After some research, we decided to go with Blue-Zoo Animation Studio in the U.K., who we felt had a very good understanding of the brand. We wanted an international series, and we decided that CGI is so good nowadays, we really wanted to go with that. We talked with a team of writers to capture the essentials of the brand. That’s how it came along. We went for 52 episodes of 7 minutes each. We [recently] decided to make 26 more episodes. We’re very pleased with the series and it’s done very well in the countries it’s been broadcast in. The children respond very well, which is the ultimate test! TV KIDS: How have you updated your L&M strategy for the new series launch? KERKHOF: We’ve continued with the 2D style for some products. For other products, we have a whole new style guide for the TV series with everything from packaging to displays. Licensees can still also make their own designs, but we want to provide them with a rich style guide for them to be inspired. And we still have style guides we update all the time for the 2D artwork. 26