Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios announced today that it has completed a global deal with Nickelodeon, which will premiere its new series, Bruno in January 2005. The animated show centers on a playful little monkey who inspires preschool learning through active exploration and discovery.
"This marks a momentous occasion for the studio, with our original programming being sought after by the major broadcasts," says Cuppa President Adam Shaheen. "The fact that I have no more territories to sell to shows what a great supporter of Bruno Nickelodeon has been!"
Cuppa Coffee has recently ramped up its production slate of original programming. The company recently formed a new alliance with U.K.-based outfit Kickback Media headed by John Bullivant to produce a new preschool series titled Captain Mack, with pickups already in place in Australia and Europe. The stop-motion show features a sky captain who travels to the far corners of the universe accomplishing heroic tasks.
Among the other shows on Shaheen’s production slate is Tigga and Togga, an interesting new 26×5 series exploring "non-verbal communication throughhe natural rhythms and sounds of life." The toon encourages children to develop listening skills and creative expression though music. Award-winning Canadian composer Adam Goddard is the man behind the toon’s music.
Asked about the reasons behind his studio’s foray into the production field, Shaheen points to the success of the work his outfit has done for Cartoon Pizza and Playhouse Disney’s Jojo’s Circus. "The huge success of Jojo’s Circus has led to other broadcasters taking note of the superlative production values we attach to everything we do," he notes. "There is certainly a growing trend of dealing with companies that self-distribute." For more information, visit www.cuppacoffee.com or www.bruno.tv.
