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TV KIDS
Entertainment One Family www.eonefamily.com • Oscar & Hoo • Winston Steinburger and Sir Dudley Ding Dong • Zapper Jack
The friendship between a boy and a cloud is at the center of the preschool show Oscar & Hoo. “The series has been carefully crafted to help kids connect with their emotions through very relatable characters and strong storytelling,” says Olivier Dumont, the managing director of Entertainment One (eOne) Family, which is presenting the series at MIP Junior.“The themes are universal and we have already received interest across the world, whether in Europe, Latin America, North America or Asia.” Dumont says that the 52x11-minute Winston Steinburger and Sir Dudley Ding Dong will appeal to broadcasters around the world looking for comedy. “There isn’t a lot of strong kids’ comedy out there, so we expect this one to fly off the shelves, with its clever story lines and high concept.” There’s also a strong comedic element in Zapper Jack, targeting 6- to 11-year-olds. Dumont says he’s confident that this character-driven comedy will get picked up by broadcasters, given the strong creative team behind it.
Winston Steinburger and Sir Dudley Ding Dong
“MIPCOM is a great opportunity to spot
new properties and meet with new co-production partners, as we are very hungry to co-finance shows and take on the brandmanagement rights.
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—Olivier Dumont
FremantleMedia Enterprises www.fmekids.com
“Our expectations are that
• Wizards Vs Aliens • Strange Hill High • Grojband
we will build on our past market achievements, book record sales and get one step closer to our goal of becoming the preeminent independent supplier of quality kids’ and family TV content in the world.
This is the third MIP Junior for FremantleMedia Enterprises’ (FME) kids’ and family entertainment division. The segment has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception. In this time, the company has managed to firm up relationships with key creatives in the industry, among them Russell T Davies. The acclaimed writer behind such hits as Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures has brought to the FME slate the live-action/CGI-laden series Wizards Vs Aliens.Also on offer from FME is Strange Hill High, an animated comedy adventure created for CBBC. There’s also the musical comedy Grojband, centered on four tween wannabe rock legends who use a teenaged drama queen’s diary for lyrics. Sander Schwartz, the president of kids and family entertainment at FME, says, “While these shows are completely different from each other—the first is a live-action adventure with special effects, the second is a real-time and stopmotion animated comedy, and the third is a 2D animated music-driven comedy—they are all fresh, well-written, visually stunning and exceptionally well-produced.”
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—Sander Schwartz
Grojband
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World Screen
10/12