Mike Young Prods. (MYP) has signed on as producer/distributor of the upcoming series ToddWorld, created by award-winning kids’ author-illustrator Todd Parr and writer Gerry Renert, a principal of L&G Licensing+. The half-hour series is scheduled to air five days a week on "Ready Set Learn!," TLC’s commercial-free and sponsor-free programming block for preschoolers; and two times a day, five days a week on the Discovery Kids Channel beginning in the fourth quarter of 2004. MYP will be at MIPCOM at booth R34.14.
ToddWorld takes place in the world of Todd, an artistic, offbeat six-year-old who hangs out with friends Pickle, Dot, and Sophie, his dog Otto and Mitzi the cat. The imaginative setting is also populated with an endless assortment of vibrantly colored animals and an occasional alien visitor or two. It’s a world of bright colors, bold lines, and whimsical detail. The series explores common themes and social challenges of a young child’s life with humor and quirky charm along with uplifting and reassuring messages of acceptance, tolerance, and the importance of self-confidence.
Parr has 27 books currently in print, with an additional three to be launched by 2004. Among the author’s literary honors are three Oppenheim Golds and two National Parenting Publication Awards. Little, Brown and Company already has an extensive ToddWorld publishing program in mind.
MYP partners are Mike Young, creator of the British Academy Award-winning series SuperTed; Liz Young, supervising producer of Scholastic’s Emmy-nominated Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS KIDS; and Bill Schultz, Emmy award-winning producer of The Simpsons. MYP’s other recent credits include the critically acclaimed new series Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, which debuted on PBS KIDS in September; Cartoon Network’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; and Nickelodeon’s Butt-Ugly Martians.
