Hit Chinese Animated Series Super Boomi To Travel The Globe With Nelvana
April 26, 2018
HIT CHINESE ANIMATED SERIES SUPER BOOMI TO TRAVEL THE GLOBE WITH NELVANA
Nelvana has scored international distribution and merchandising rights to the successful Chinese IP and a first-look deal with its creator, Up Studios
Toronto, CANADA/Hangzhou, CHINA – Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, a world-leading international producer and distributor of children’s animated content, has acquired global distribution, licensing and merchandising rights outside of Greater China for Super BOOMi, the hit animated Chinese series and IP created by Trevor Lai, CEO and Founder of Up Studios. Nelvana and Up Studios will work together with leading Chinese technology and media giant Tencent, and its extensive network of partners to launch the show’s content and licensing program internationally. In addition, Nelvana has entered into a first-look agreement with Up Studios that will see the companies co-develop and finance new properties over a multi-year plan that will appeal to both Chinese and international audiences.
The 3D-animated series follows the adventures of BOOMi bear and his best friends as they play and learn in an incredible virtual reality game universe. Focusing on themes of friendship, positivity and the power of imagination, Super BOOMi features vibrant characters and expansive worlds that resonate with kids on a fundamental level.
“With Trevor’s richly imagined stories and characters that are truly universal, we feel Super BOOMi has incredible potential to travel globally and are so pleased that Nelvana will be instrumental in making it happen,” said Pam Westman, Head of Nelvana Enterprises. “Super BOOMi is only the beginning of our collaboration with Trevor. His creativity and business savvy will be instrumental in our development of new content for the international market.”
Nelvana will be looking to build on Super BOOMi’s momentum and plans to version the series for various international markets, specifically those with strong consumer product programs.
“I am thrilled to be working with Nelvana to bring Super BOOMi to audiences around the world,” said Trevor Lai, CEO and Founder, Up Studios. “The series was always created with the international market in mind, and in addition to our partners within Greater China, we look forward to working with Nelvana’s extensive distribution, production and licensing teams to launch Super BOOMi globally. Watching Nelvana’s shows were a wonderful part of my childhood, and I am overjoyed to now have the opportunity to create characters and stories with them to entertain a new generation of families.”
With two 52x11min seasons, Super BOOMi has built an extensive audience in China through Up Studios’ partnership with the country’s tech giant Tencent. Tencent has continued to build on its capital investment in Up Studios’ properties, putting seasons 3 and 4 of Super BOOMi into production. Within nine months, the series racked up more than 930 million views on Tencent Video and is on track to surpass an estimated one billion views in May.
“We are very proud of Super BOOMi’s success on our Tencent Video platform, as well as its performance atop television ratings in China,” said Selina She, chief editor of Tencent’s kids channel. “Trevor and Up Studios have been excellent creative and production collaborators, while also bringing world-class partners like Holiday Inn, Li & Fung, and now Nelvana together to build Super BOOMi into a global property. Nelvana has a rich portfolio of programs and properties they have grown over many years, and we look forward to seeing Super BOOMi flourish internationally.”
Super BOOMi has also been licensed to several national and regional television broadcasters across China, including Beijing TV’s KAKU and Hunan TV, where the show garnered #1 national ratings (across all channels) for its primetime slot over multiple weeks.
Super BOOMi is also part of a multi-year partnership with the Intercontinental Hotel Group, which features BOOMi-themed rooms and products in more than 80 Holiday Inn hotels in Greater China, and has had previous promotional collaborations with Apple, Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Wanda Group.
About Nelvana
Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children’s animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and boys action series and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in Canada and in over 160 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,000 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys® and Geminis. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.
Follow Nelvana Enterprises on Twitter @NelvanaEnt
About Up Studios
Up Studios is a leading animation studio in China that creates original entertainment properties for kids and audiences around the world. Founded by author-illustrator and director, Trevor Lai, Up Studios currently has two CG-animated series in production which are co-invested by Tencent: Super BOOMi and Piggy.
For more information about Up Studios, visit www.SuperBOOMi.com or www.UpStudios.cn
Press Contacts:
Nelvana:
Media contact: ChizComm Ltd. | www.chizcomm.com on behalf of Nelvana.
Lana Castleman | 416.551.0822 x 330 | lcastleman@chizcomm.com
Up Studios:
Media contact: Jessica Wang | jessica@upstudios.cn
