Mondo TV brings the hits of today and tomorrow to MipJunior and MIPCOM
Brandora Editorial Staff - September 2022Established successes, presales and major new productions on show in Cannes
Mondo TV, one of the largest European producers and distributors of animated content, has announced the countdown to some major show launches, the continuing growth of an international hit and a brand-new title among an impressive portfolio at this year’s MIPCOM in Cannes from 17-20 October.
Highlights of the Mondo TV stand, back in its pre-covid location at P-1.N1, will include MeteoHeroes, Annie & Carola, Agent 203, Monster Loving Maniacs, The Wee Littles, Grisù, and for the first time, One Love.
One Love, a major new addition to the Mondo TV portfolio, is a 26 x 7’ 2D animated series co-produced by Mondo TV S.p.A and T-Rex Digimation Srl, based on One Love Musical Shorts (10 x 3’), a series of animated short films commissioned by Rai Kids and aired to an excellent audience response on Italy’s leading pre-school channel Rai YoYo. The series is expected to be completed by spring 2023.
Designed for an international pre-school audience, the show takes place on One Love – the planet with a beating heart – where two best friends Amo and Ama, together with the rest of the Baby-Hugs, jump from one adventure to the next by using the strongest power they have: LOVE. Yet even in this wonderful world, Amo and Ama’s friends occasionally face the small emotional trials all pre-school kids have to deal with – and Amo and Ama will help their friends to deal with those trials. They will help Shila to find inspiration again and encourage her not to stop drawing. They will find a way to make Manu the cactus hug his best friend Pascal, the balloon puppy, without bursting him. And they will help Celibe the duck to overcome shyness and to understand that mistakes are ok; the important thing is to try again.
Ama and Amo know that nothing is impossible for those who approach the world with kindness! So, with courage, a bit of silliness, and lots of friendly hugs, they can help everyone to overcome the little obstacles in their daily lives.
Emotions and sustainability are central to each episode – and especially the colours. When the Baby-Hugs touch each other, they exchange skin colours: “Let’s colour change!”
This is a show that is highly original on many levels. The storytelling, characters, and design style are aimed at creatively influencing emotions. But the show also deals with delicate real-world topics – such as personal growth and social and sustainable values like safeguarding the environment. There’s also a focus on executive function skills in kids based on research done at Harvard. But at all times the approach is light and playful.
As in the One Love Musical Shorts, entertainment and educational values are further explored through music. Original songs provide a memorable final flourish to each episode, with the characters dancing to pop, rock, dance, funk and more, making the series enormously appealing to the very young.
Mondo TV Studios is in charge of pre-production for the series at its new studio in Tenerife, while Mondo TV S.p.A will manage the animation and the international distribution of the series for all territories except Italy and the Indian sub-continent.
Now in its third year of success, MeteoHeroes, the only cartoon in the world dedicated entirely to climate and environmental sustainability, is available in 180+ countries and 22 languages. In Italy it is among the most successful Cartoonito children’s series. It has enjoyed similar success in Spain on Clan and this year has delighted viewers in multiple markets from Europe to Latin America and lusophone countries to MENA and Singapore. And that’s not all. Thanks to the exclusive partnership of the show’s co-producers with mega hit-maker Kenn Viselman (Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank Engine) MeteoHeroes also made its broadcast debut on PBS in the US with an Earth Day Special.
In April, the second season of MeteoHeroes (52 episodes x 13 ') had its world premiere on Cartoonito in Italy. And there’s even more big news for fans of the show: the first two (of four) 26-minute TV movies will arrive on Cartoonito from autumn 2022.
The adventures of six superpowered kids who can control weather phenomena has also inspired a videogame. MeteoHeroes – Saving Planet Earth has been available worldwide on PlayStation® and PC (STEAM platform) from 28 February. Launch in retail stores is expected in Spain and Italy by the end of 2022.
Further underlining the importance of MeteoHeroes in both education and entertainment are two important recent initiatives. The MeteoHeroes – Saving Planet Earth videogame played an important part this summer in the Real Madrid Foundation Campus Experience within the Football and Responsible Gaming programme at Real Madrid City training complex. The MeteoHeroes videogame supported recreational and educational activities as part of a unique experience that encompassed football training, gaming activities and the encouragement of positive values. These activities included entertaining and informative sessions and activities incorporating an environmental theme.
Meanwhile, in the USA, MeteoHeroes is a partner in the most comprehensive climate education initiative in the world supported by PBS Stations across America, KIDS FIRST!, Mondo TV Studios, Meteo Experts and Adventure2Learning, which has committed to reach 30,000 schools and 15 million kids, aged 4-to-10 in USA and millions of school-aged children around the world.
And there’s a lot more going on for this colourful, funny, exciting and topical show – as visitors to the Mondo TV stand will find out.
Annie & Carola (52 x 11’), Mondo TV’s brand-new 2D animated comedy series aimed at kids aged from 6-10, follows the adventures and mishaps of two unusual teenagers: shy, super-geek Carola and her outgoing best friend Annie – who is a robot. This fun and entertaining animated comedy is full of sparkling dialogue, hilarious situations and visual gags, but also has a focus on the everyday concerns of its teen and tween audience – concerns like friendship, inclusion, and dealing with emotions. Annie & Carola has been presold to the leading Italian public children’s broadcaster RAI KIDS, for a 2023 launch. The series is a coproduction of Mondo TV S.p.A, Mondo TV Studios, MB Producciones and Spanish public broadcaster RTVE for its leading children channel Clan.
The clever, original and very funny kids’ animation Monster Loving Maniacs, a 52 x 11’ 2D comedy for 6-10-year-olds, has already been commissioned by prestigious free-to-air broadcaster Super RTL from Germany and DR from Denmark and pre-sold to Scandinavian public broadcasters NRK and SVT.
The show is about three siblings trained as monster hunters by their tough old grandfather. There’s just one problem: these kids are massive horror fans. Why would they want to hunt their monster idols? They love dangerous paranormal creatures. So they find a way to save the monsters.
The show is great fun, with lots of excitement and humour as well as bigger themes, like families, relationships and coping with our fears, all delivered with wit, energy and stylish, skilled animation. And – of course – there are lots and lots of monsters and lots of comedy!
The show is produced by Ja Film and co-produced by Mondo TV, Belvision and Ginger Pictures. The series is distributed by Toon2Tango and Mondo TV. New deals with leading broadcasters are due to be announced very soon.
Agent 203 is a 26 x 22’ CGI adventure comedy and the world’s first Spy-Fi show, primarily targeted at girls aged 6-10.
Imagine Zoe Stranek’s surprise when she finds out her dad used to be a secret agent protecting our planet against alien invasions. Together with her new alien bestie Ulav and her best friends Quigley and Rock, she follows in his footsteps, protecting our planet from General Gore, the ultimate badass alien, hoping to find out what happened to her father.
Agent 203 was commissioned by Super RTL and is a co-production between Toon2Tango, Mondo TV and Cosmos Maya Animation. The show is distributed by Toon2Tango and Mondo TV.
With pre-schoolers in mind – and offering an appeal to children across all cultures – comes The Wee Littles, the new 46 x 5’ animation for 3-6-year-olds, commissioned by Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE and produced by MagPie 6 Media in a unique style: simulated stop-motion animation using puppets made by leading puppet-making studio Mackinnon & Sunders.
The Wee Littles is about a family of four very small creatures – Mum, Dad, Bitsy and Itsy – living in a great big forest world where ferns and bushes tower over you like trees. Life is very different when you’re small, but The Wee Littles’ stories are about how they handle their tiny size with their own unique and inventive flair. They work together figuring out how to overcome life’s little obstacles – like raindrops the size of your head! – with imagination, positive support and humour.
Toon2Tango and Mondo TV will jointly distribute the show internationally.
Mondo TV Group, Toon2Tango and ZDF Studios are jointly co-producing a new series, based on the classic property Grisù, created by its original authors Nino and Toni Pagot. The new series of Grisù will boast 52 new episodes of 12 minutes each and will make its small screen debut in 2023.
The series follows the adventures of Grisù, a brave, positive, determined young dragon – just like the firefighter he wants to be when he grows up. There’s just one problem: he is supposed to be a fire-breathing dragon when he grows up! This ambition is the theme of all of his adventures – and his positive can-do attitude will give his 4-to-7-year-old audience a little hero that they can identify with.
ZDF Studios will also be responsible for the worldwide distribution of the audiovisual rights (excluding Italy, France, Spain and China, which will be handled by Mondo TV). Already confirmed are broadcasting agreements with ZDF in Germany and Rai YoYo in Italy. Merchandising plans, also well under way, include publishing and toys.
Matteo Corradi, Mondo TV CEO, says: “The continuing success of MeteoHeroes and the strong interest from major media players in Monster Loving Maniacs, Agent 203, Annie & Carola, The Wee Littles and Grisù, are a confirmation of the continuing strength of our productions in a highly competitive market. Creative excellence, originality and great entertainment are the hallmarks of Mondo TV’s work – as we hope to demonstrate to the many visitors and potential partners we expect to meet at this year’s MIPCOM!”