The Jim Henson Company has licensed all 52 x 11’ episodes of its new preschool series, Pajanimals to Disney Junior platforms in France, Italy, Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe, Israel, Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The announcement was made today by Richard Goldsmith, exec VP of global distribution and Patricia Hidalgo, VP of content and programming strategy at Disney Channels EMEA.
Created by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell, the series was first introduced on PBS Kids Sprout in November 2008 in a shorts-format and in October of 2011 as a full-length program. It also airs on NBC Kids and Nick Jr. The Jim Henson Company’s Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford serve as executive producers along with Muncy and Rockwell.
The puppet-animated series will begin its run on Disney’s EMEA platforms beginning this December in the morning and afternoon slots, with some markets planning nightly evening programming blocks developed around the show’s bedtime themes. The series has also been licensed to international broadcasters ABC in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand, where it debuted with strong ratings.
The stories unfold through fantasy, adventure and song as the Pajanimals fly away together on a magic rocket ship to make-believe lands such as the Land of Play, The Land of Hush, The Friendly Forest and Happy Birthday Land. These journeys celebrate imagination and tackle typical toddler issues, such as the fear of the first day of school, making new friends and learning how to share.
