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British-made children’s property Moley has announced the appointment of Bulldog Licensing as its global licensing agency.

The new animated children’s property, Moley follows the adventures of a fun-loving mole who lives deep in a burrow in the bustling city of MoleTown. This lovable character, voiced by Warwick Davis, fi nds himself on a series of exciting escapades as he explores the world around him with accompanying magic, comedy and adventure.

Bulldog will be launching the brand to the licensing world at a star-studded event, including talent from the series, at Chelsea’s Physic Garden this July.

Alongside Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Malefi cent), the voice cast includes Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Paddington, Billy Elliot), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Crown), Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe, Saint Trinians), Richard E Grant (Withnail and I, Logan) and Togo Igawa (Mama Mia, Star Wars).

Rob Corney, MD of Bulldog Licensing, said: “We are delighted to add Moley to Bulldog Licensing’s carefully selected portfolio of brands. Moley has an endearing appeal which really connects with children and their families.’’

Guess what…

Bulldog has also signed a deal to represent Marcus & Marcus in Europe and is looking to translate the popular characters, including Marcus the lion cub, Lola the giraffe, Ollie the elephant, Lucas the hippo, Willo the whale and Pokey the piglet into a wide range of licensed products including toys and gifts.

WildBrain picks up knockout deal

WildBrain CPLG will manage the licensing programme for Moose Toys’ Akedo – Ultimate Arcade Warriors, launching Fact! this summer. The name Akedo

Combining realistic battling action fi gures at a micro- comes from the collectable scale, Akedo marks the toymaker’s biggest Japanese word boys’ launch to date and will be backed by a full-scale for arcade marketing campaign. The initiative kicked off with the release of a trailer for a new animated series, produced in partnership with WildBrain’s premium kids and family AVOD network, WildBrain Spark. Nickelodeon has joined the team with The Akedo Super Ultimate Ultimate Tournament, a branded programming video showcasing an exclusive bracket-style tournament that fans can watch on Nickelodeon’s YouTube Channel. Derived from the Japanese word for arcade, Akedo has a retro gaming look and combines it with kids battling oneon-one with 39 warriors including ninjas, robots, gladiators and Vikings, alongside teddy bears, a dinosaur and clowns.

BLE Licensing awards fi nalists revealed

The fi nalists in the product, property and retail categories for the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2021 have now been revealed.

In the Best Brand Licensed Children’s Product or Range category, the fi nalists are:

• Classic LEGO Bricks Collection from

Adidas • Crayola Bathtime Range from H&A • Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing

Gen2 car and Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy

Speed Champions from LEGO • Mother & Baby All Gold Mattress from

CuddleCo • Nadiya Hussain Bake Me A Story

Children’s Bakeware range from Wilton

Bradley • National Trust Woodland Wanders

Range from Frugi • Natural History Museum + The Roald

Dahl Story Company Extraordinary

Explorers from Marks & Spencer • Nerf Christmas Range from Fashion

UK Global Licensing • Mini Brands from Zuru

The B&LLAs 2021 Awards event will take place this month at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London.

Each entry was judged by a panel that comprised entirely of retail buyers from right across the spectrum, including John Lewis, The Very Group, Tesco, HMV, TJ Morris, Matalan, FatFace, Sainsbury’s, DFS, Toymaster, Morrisons, Smyths Toys, Pets at Home and Asda.

Minions take over top card game

Exploding Kittens, the hit tabletop game creator, has announced the launch of its fi rst licensed game, Exploding Minions, in collaboration with Illumination and Universal Brand Development.

Inspired by Minions, billed as the most successful animation franchise of all time, the themed edition of the fl agship Exploding Kittens card game is easy to learn, quick to play, and fun for kids and adults to enjoy together.

“We’re excited to combine one of the biggest card games with Illumination’s global pop-culture phenomenon, the Minions, to create a new family game night essential,” said Elan Lee, co-creator and CEO of Exploding Kittens. “Exploding Minions marries these two universes to create a simple yet strategic game for all to enjoy.”

Suitable for players aged seven and up, Exploding Minions is a family-friendly spin-off of the core Russian Roulette-style game that includes new card types and fun illustrations of Minions as imagined by The Oatmeal.