Franco and Formula Fun wins 2009 MIP Junior Award
The MIPJUNIOR Licensing Challenge 2009 was won by Franco and Formula Fun, a pre-school animated series of 52 x 11’ episodes. Presented Marina Nicholas, Creator and positioned to support father-son play, the show was developed with licensed toys in mind from the start.
‘We are absolutely thrilled to receive this Award and recognition by the broadcasting and licensing industry experts,‘ says Marina. ‘We truly believe that the sincere passion, experienced team and strong vision helped secure the future of Franco. Within days of winning we obtained 5 deals with broadcasters to air our show next year. The future of Franco is very exciting!‘
The Hive, from Monumental Productions, Picture Production Company and Lupus Films, was awarded second place for its cute child-friendly bee character designs and aggressive licensing strategy.
Four other properties offered stiff competition. Geronimo Stilton, produced by Moonscoop (France) and Atlantyca Entertainment (Italy), rates well, but the judges queried the assertion that its licensing and marketing (L&M) would appeal equally to boys and girls.
Manon, from Cyber Group Studios, France, also rates well, with a strong green message and good pre-sales. But judges were concerned that the L&M of the last two entrants – The Happets from Anera Films, Spain, and Fuss Farm from Electric Circus, South Korea – might not be targeted at the right age groups.
The jury of L&M experts included Lisa Licht of Hasbro Studios, Jennifer Richmond of JAKKS Pacific, Neil Ross Russell of BBC Worldwide and Ignio Straffi of Rainbow.
The session was chaired by Simon Philips of Marvel Animation and moderated by co-organiser Tony Lisanti of License Global!
