Kartoon Studios Gears Up To Launch Most Ambitious Project Yet With New Winnie-The-Pooh Franchise; Backed By $30M Of Non-Dilutive Financing From Catalyst Venture Partners
Detroit, Michigan
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June 25, 2024 08:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time
By Meg Flippin, Benzinga
Winnie-The-Pooh, the classic novel by A.A. Milne, has warmed our hearts, opened our imaginations and kept us enchanted for decades. It has also made its licensees a lot of money. After all, the franchise has generated over $80 billion in sales over the past forty years and is estimated to generate $3 to $6 billion in annual revenue for Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). It's also the subject of the next big project from Kartoon Studios (AMEX: TOON), a global company specializing in creating, producing, distributing, marketing and licensing entertainment brands.
Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh is the most ambitious project yet for the company, encompassing an animated holiday movie, five holiday specials and a four-year/104-episode series and 5 Holiday specials to premiere on Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Amazon Prime Video, via Kartoon Channel!’s subscription service on the platform. Concurrently, the global retail program will kick off with the debut of products featuring an array of special features, distributed through Alliance Entertainment Corporation (“AEC”)(NASDAQ: AENT), which distributes to Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Barnes & Noble and Amazon. At launch, AEC will debut an exclusive steel case video package with unique bonus features as part of Kartoon Studios’ global merchandise program.
The series is being financed through non-dilutive joint venture production financing of $30 million provided by WTP SPV 1, a subsidiary of Catalyst Venture Partners. “We have committed to provide $30 million to the Special Purpose Joint Venture for this exciting new version of A.A. Milne’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’ from Kartoon Studios, which is non-dilutive to any of TOON’s existing stakeholders. Being able to participate in a timeless and proven children’s classic such as Milne’s ‘Winnie-The-Pooh,’ through the production of original animated content and the licensing of consumer products from those proprietary character designs and stories, is a unique opportunity we are very excited about,” said Steven A. Horowitz, Sr. Managing Director of WTP SPV. “Andy Heyward and the team at Kartoon Studios have a long history of producing hit properties for children. An all-star array of award-winning talent across development, production, marketing, consumer products, and distribution has been assembled to manage the brand launch, and we are excited to be a part of what we are confident will be a hugely profitable and enduring business.”
It Doesn’t Get Any More Iconic
“Disney created an iconic and tremendously successful global brand with ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ that we have all admired so much. When the property went into the public domain, we knew we could only undertake creating Pooh for a new generation, if we could bring a completely different and unique look that was contemporary, protectable, and gave voice to the characters and stories created by A.A. Milne, as has never been done,” said Kartoon Studios Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward when announcing the deal. “We are thrilled to launch with Amazon Prime Video, and Alliance Entertainment distributing through Walmart, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, to deliver unique and exceptional content, as we build out a new iteration of this entertainment brand and Winnie-The-Pooh branded consumer products to the global marketplace.”
Been There, Done That
Kartoon Studios has a lot of experience with merchandising around a popular franchise. This spring Kartoon Studios – which is the controlling partner of "Stan Lee Universe, LLC" – unveiled a new dedicated storefront on Amazon, exclusively featuring products related to Stan Lee. This Stan Lee storefront, powered by Meteor, offers a wide range of branded apparel and merchandise adorned with graphics that pay homage to the legendary "Godfather of Comics." This new storefront further enhances the brand's connection with its digital community of passionate fans. Kartoon Studios also has a YouTube channel dedicated to everything Stan Lee for his legions of fans – “Stan Lee Presents,” now rebranded to Cinematica – which features a diverse range of content sourced from Stan’s personal archives, digital Stan Lee comic books, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, seldom-seen historical materials as well as sneak peeks of upcoming projects from the Stan Lee Universe.
Kartoon Studios plans to take a similar approach to merchandising around Winnie-the-Pooh.
The Amazon series is in pre-production and will kick off with the animated Christmas movie, set to premiere December 24, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video through Kartoon Channel!’s $3.99/month subscription distribution arrangement. Alongside the movie, Alliance Entertainment will distribute steelcase videos with plush and a unique array of special features. through its retail and online partners. The company is developing its Winnie-the-Pooh content with what it says is a unique “yarn-based” design and palette for the characters and backgrounds, along with original modern stories inspired by Milne’s beloved classic books. The imagined yarn gives the characters depth and warmth, reports Kartoon Studios. The stories will be told in a “Seussian style” rhyme to provide an enriched dimension.
AI In The Driver’s Seat
To achieve all that, Kartoon Studios is leveraging artificial intelligence. “In designing ‘Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh,’ using both AI and by hand, the unique look of the characters and backgrounds could not have been imagined prior to the advent of AI in our industry,” said Heyward. “Moreover, our use of AI will enable us to bring a level of efficiency, speed to market, and creativity to the production heretofore not possible.” Kartoon Networks is aiming to lift families' spirits with Winne-the-Pooh focusing on its goodness, grounded in family, friendship, kindness and love. Those are values Kartoon Studios’ version of Pooh will showcase.
If Kartoon Studios is able to replicate its prior success, the news could bring cheer to fans and investors alike.
Featured photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
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