The 5th Annual MIPCOM Junior Licensing Challenge was won by Funny Face, a new animated children’s series from Glendale, Calif.-based Renegade Animation, and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, a show produced by Rainbow S.p.A. in Loreto, Italy. The international competition for new TV properties received entries from Italy, France, South Korea, Spain and other countries around the world. Both Huntik and Funny Face were singled out for having the best licensing potential by a panel of judges that included representatives of Simon & Schuster, Entertainment Rights Plc, WNET and Marathon Animation.
Six finalists were presented in live pitches in a session held at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes and hosted by License! Global magazine. The judges also considered the properties’ originality, visual and story elements, and distribution and broadcast plans.
Aimed at tweens and teens, Funny Face is based on the wise-cracking fruit characters first introduced by Pillsbury on drink mix packets in the 1960s. The series combines slapstick action, comic dialogue and animation that aims to capture some of the magic of the classic theatrical cartoons such as Tom & Jerry and the Looney Tunes favorites. Renegade Animation’s credits include the hit shows Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Mr. Men Show. Children’s entertainment development company Fitzroy Media is handling international sales and licensing initiatives for Funny Face.
Targeting boys 6-12, Huntik is an action-adventure comedy about a group of seekers traveling around the globe in search of an ancient amulet that can invoke different types of monsters. Rainbow is in production on 26 half-hour episodes for broadcast in the first quarter of 2009. Huntik has already been sold to more than 30 countries. Broadcast partners include Rai, RTL II, Jetix and 4Kids on The CW Network. Major licensees include Playmates (Master Toy), Upperdeck (trading cards) and Panini (sticker albums).
