Entertainment Rights (ER) has signed a global publishing deal with the Penguin Group for its new pre-school brand, Tinga Tinga Tales. Puffin Books will act as the publisher in the U.K. and will control all foreign publishing rights, while Grosset & Dunlap serves as the publishing partner in North America. Both entities are children’s divisions of the Penguin Group.
Tinga Tinga Tales is a new animated series (52×11) being produced in Kenya by Tiger Aspect Prods. and, in partnership with children’s broadcasters CBeebies in the U.K. and Playhouse Disney in the U.S. Aimed kids 4-6, the series features animal stories that have been passed down from generation to generation throughout Africa. Tiger Aspect and Homeboyz in Nairobi have set up a fully equipped animation studio in Kenya and employed local designers, writers, musicians and animators to work on the show and future projects. The art direction is based on the Tinga Tinga art of Tanzania. All images in the series are hand painted by local African artists and then computer animated.
The Penguin Group’s plans for the brand include the production of storybooks, novelty books, electronic books, audio books and manuals. ER will begin to assemble other key global and pan-regional consumer product partners for the property. The animated show will be ready for deliver in the fall of 2009. ER is managing worldwide distribution rights across all forms of media, including consumer products.
