1 July 2008
ER ACQUIRES WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO MANAGE TINGA TINGA TALES
TIGER ASPECT PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES THE MAJOR NEW COMMISSION OFTINGA TINGA TALESTM COMMISSIONED BY CBEEBIES in the UK AND PLAYHOUSE DISNEY in the USA
ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS ACQUIRES WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO MANAGE THE BRAND GLOBALLY
Classic tales telling modern audiences the story of how their favourite animals came to be - Why Hippo has no hair?; Why Lion Roars?; Why Giraffe has a long neck?; Leopard spots and Zebra stripes? - all these and many more.
London June 26 2008 – Tiger Aspect Productions today announced it goes into production with Tinga Tinga Tales™, a brand new animation series (52x11) with leading children’s broadcasters, CBeebies in the UK and Playhouse Disney in the US. Entertainment Rights (ER) is managing worldwide distribution rights for the brand across all media and it will form an integral part in ER’s continued global business development over the longer term. The series is currently setting up in Kenya for delivery from autumn 2009 into 2010.
Tinga Tinga Tales™ sees a return to traditional storytelling, bringing to screen animal stories that have been passed down from generation to generation all over Africa. Adapted from African folk lore it is told through the eyes of Africa’s diverse and most loved animals.
The series, aimed at pre-schoolers will have global appeal. A cast of returning characters led by a young, cheeky Monkey, bring these tales to life. The bright and exuberant imagery will be hand painted and animated in an explosive mix of African colour, pattern and music. The style is based on the famous Tinga Tinga art of Tanzania. All images in the series are hand painted by local African artistes and then expertly computer animated to produce a wonderful visual experience.
Tiger Aspect in association with Homeboyz in Nairobi has set up a fully equipped Animation studio in Kenya and employed local designers, writers, musicians and animators to work on Tinga Tinga Tales™. After production completes in 2010 the studio will continue to provide jobs for a new animation industry in East Africa, encouraging the creation of original African content which will work in the International arena.
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Tinga Tinga Tales™ is brought to screen under the direction of Tiger Aspect’s Head of Animation and Children’s - Claudia Lloyd. Claudia comes to this project off the back of the BAFTA Award-winning Charlie and Lola. Her other previous credits include Mr Bean (52x11) and Bosom Pals - (2 x ½ hr) BBC1 specials based on the art of Beryl Cook.
Claudia said, “Wonderful African animal stories, with great characters, songs and visuals. Children in Singapore, San Diego, Sierra Leone or Sydenham will love it. Producing the series out of Africa couldn’t be more exciting”.
Controller of CBeebies, Michael Carrington said, "Tinga Tinga Tales™ is one of those exciting projects that has a unique style and engaging tone of voice for which Tiger Aspect is synonymous. We're sure British children are going to come to love these African stories, inspired by rich indigenous artwork".
Jane Smith, Chief Commercial and Creative Director, Entertainment Rights Plc, commented:
“Tinga Tinga Tales™ is a fantastic addition to our global brand portfolio. CBeebies and Playhouse Disney are recognized as two of the leading preschool broadcast platforms globally, and their commitment to the programme demonstrates how successful the series is likely to perform internationally, enabling ER to fully exploit the brand commercially across all platforms.”
Andrew Zein, Tiger Aspect’s Managing Director said, “This is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve ever taken on. On top of everything else it is truly inspirational to think that 50% of Tiger Aspect’s profits from the show will go towards helping make a real difference in improving the educational needs of children in East Africa.”
-ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Iain McCallum
Head of Press and PR
Tiger Aspect Productions
T: 020 7434 6727
E: iainmccallum@tigeraspect.co.uk
Simon Avis
Head of PR
Entertainment Rights Plc
T: 0208 762 6200
E: simon_avis@entertainmentrights.com
Editors Notes
About Tiger Aspect Productions:
Tiger Aspect Productions, an IMG Media company, is internationally recognised as one of the UK's most successful and prolific independent television producers. The company portfolio includes animation, comedy, drama, entertainment and factual genres.
Tiger creates a wide range of critically acclaimed and award-winning programming for all the UK's major terrestrial and non-terrestrial broadcasters. In addition the company’s creative output now enjoys an increasingly high profile in the USA through its commissions for major stateside networks.
Tiger's production slate includes primetime mainstream successes for BBC1 and ITV. These are complemented by a varied and genre defining range of programming for BBC2, Channel 4, Five, Sky, MTV and BBC3 and ITV2, 3 & 4.
Current and recent successes include Charlie and Lola (CBeebies), Robin Hood (3 series for BBC One), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (ITV2), Cook Yourself Thin (Channel 4), Paul Merton In China (Five) and Ross Kemp In Afghanistan (Sky One).
Visit www.tigeraspect.co.uk/
About Entertainment Rights:
- Entertainment Rights Plc (“ER”) is the UK’s leading global media group specialising in the ownership of high quality children’s and family programming, characters and brands
- ER owns or controls the rights to many global characters including Basil Brush® , Postman Pat® , Jess the Cat™, Little Red Tractor®, Rupert Bear®, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ® , Fat Albert and the Cosby kids™, She-Ra™ , Jim Jam & Sunny™ , Ghostbusters, Lone Ranger ® , Lassie®, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer®, Casper® the Friendly Ghost, Felix the Cat ®
- In January 2007, ER acquired Classic Media , the US-based owner of an extensive portfolio of children’s and family characters and brands including Big Idea Productions Inc , producer and creator of the award-winning ‘Veggie Tales’ series of programming which, to date, has sold over 50 million home entertainment units in the US
- Since 1999, when ER owned rights to just 39 episodes of programming, ER’s library has grown to circa 9,000 episodes of high quality children’s and family characters and brands. This includes certain rights to global brands such as Mattel’s Barbie™, Scholastic’s CliffordTM and Hasbro’s Transformers®
- ER has grown rapidly. Annual revenues have increased from £1.8m in 1999 to £68.1m in 2007, the last reported financial year
Visit http://www.entertainmentrights.com/
Related:
Tinga Tinga Tales,