Licensing China - Preview ..........................................................................28

Licensing China, along with concurrent shows Toy & Edu China and Baby & Stroller China will now take place from 5 – 7 May 2022. The show dates have been pushed back from their original dates at the end of March, in order to support pandemic containment efforts. The fairs will still take place at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center

. Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd commented: “As part of the effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, the local government has mobilised designated areas of the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center as a temporary resource and cross-border transportation facility, to assist with pandemic prevention efforts, with this arrangement expected to last for one month. During this time, the concerned areas of the venue will be enclosed and will only be reopened after thorough disinfection. Therefore, in order to align with the pandemic containment and prevention efforts and to safeguard the health and safety of fairgoers, the organisers have decided to delay the three shows until 5 – 7 May.” Licensing China 2022 returns to Shenzhen from 5 - 7 May offering both physical and virtual business platforms for industry players worldwide. This year, the fair welcomes a number of leading and emerging Chinese licensing companies. Previously held annually as a highly praised licensing product zone in Toy & Edu China (Shenzhen International Toy & Education Fair), Licensing China expanded and upgraded to become an individual fair in 2020, mirroring the growth of the licensing industry in China. The fair co-organisers have significant experience in the consumer goods industry. Hence, Licensing China will offer an ideal one-stop platform for cross-industry collaboration and market information. Last year’s event, which took place live in late March attracted more than 1400 exhibitors and 82,000 trade visitors to Licensing China and its associated fairs – Toy & Edu along with Baby & Stroller. In terms of exhibitors, the show attracts a wide range of Chinese and international exhibitors.

Below are some of the highlights from Chinese exhibitors for this year:

Little Monk Yichan

With its healing content, the company’s original animation swept China after its premiere in 2016. This anime also promotes Chinese culture and passes on wisdom, hoping to enlighten viewers through inspiring content. Suzhou Dayu Network Technology Co Ltd

Fabulous Beasts

The Chinese mythology version of Pokémon, this story follows a group houses six exhibition areas with the showcases of cultural relics, mulberry planting, silkworm breeding, traditional silk weaving as well as modern applications of silk fibres. Beijing Qianli Culture Media Co Ltd

of mythical creatures who settle their lives on earth. They have lost most of their magical powers, living their daily lives just like everybody else. Beijing Fen-Z Hudong Culture & Communication Co Ltd

Royal Gardens: The Summer Palace

The royal palaces and gardens in the western suburbs of Beijing are collectively called the Royal Gardens, which were the temporary residence for emperors after the Liao and Jin dynasties. They are the masterpieces of Chinese landscape garden design and play a pivotal role in the world’s gardening history. Beijing Zhongchuang Tourism & Culture (ZCTC) Culture Development Co Ltd

Wuhuangwanshui

Featuring a cat (Wuhuang) and a dog (Bazahey), this IP has become a social media sensation with over 33 million online fans. The company has licensed out the cartoon IP to a number of brands which range across sectors such as IT, apparel, FMCG, automobile and more, including from Fortune 500 companies. Yijianyuzhou (Beijing) Culture Co Ltd

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Suzhou Silk Museum

Founded in 1991, this establishment is the first museum dedicated to silk production in China. Demonstrating the country’s 6,000 years of history on silk manufacturing, the museum

Genius Brands International recently announced the launch of season one of its flagship animated children’s series, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Executive Produced by and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Alibaba Group’s video streaming platform, Youku, starting March 2022, which is one of the top three streaming platforms in the Mainland China territory. Additionally, the acclaimed series will be available via the Tudou and Kumiao apps. “I have always loved bringing my latest projects to my Chinese fans, because they’re some of the most passionate fans in the world, so I can’t wait for them to see Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten,” stated Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten premiered on April 23, 2021 on Genius Brands’ Kartoon Channel in the U.S. and Canada and has since garnered over 75 million views. The company will continue to launch the series in key territories around the world in 2022. “Alibaba’s Youku is one of the most far-reaching media platforms for kids in the world, and we are excited to make Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten available to millions of kids across China. This unique action-packed series delivers all the elements that resonate with kids today, along with positive messaging and Arnold’s star power,” commented Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Genius Brands. “Genius Brands has done a tremendous job of creating a truly unique series that kids and their families can enjoy together. With Arnold Schwarzenegger driving Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, and the creative storylines and compelling characters, we have no doubt that we will be able to create an impressive fan base in China, building on the success of the series in the U.S. and Canada,” stated Aaron Liao, General Manager of Youku Kids. Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten is geared towards kids and families and focuses on the adventures of six unique kids who are learning to master their super skills, along with their ABCs, with the help of their teacher Arnold Armstrong (AKA ‘Captain Fantastic’, the greatest superhero to ever live!). It all began five years ago when Arnold Armstrong faced off in a final fight against his nemesis, the evil Dr. Superior, that left him powerless. Little did anyone know that during the fight, super-energy particles rained down on a group of unsuspecting toddlers. Now, those toddlers are kindergarten students at Greenville Elementary School who, with the help of Arnold Armstrong, must learn to control

their powers as they go on adventures. Arnold Armstrong’s mission is to train these kids to use their super-powers safely without revealing their identities. They learn the values of teamwork, health, diversity and anti-bullying while also protecting their town from rivals, and the nefarious Dr. Superior who has returned as Headmaster Danforth of the Academy for Superior Children across town. The series opens up the superhero genre for a whole new demographic and draws kids in with action and comedy, while parents can appreciate the quality of content synonymous with Stan Lee. Season one of the series includes 26 half-hour long episodes. Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten features Schwarzenegger, voice-directed by John Landis, one of the most successful movie directors of all time, with Steven Banks, former head writer for SpongeBob SquarePants, serving as head writer for the series. The series is produced by Genius Brands and Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment in association with Schwarzenegger’s Oak Productions. Gill Champion, CEO of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment; Andy Heyward,

Chairman & CEO of Genius Brands; Schwarzenegger; and Paul Wachter of Main Street Advisors serve as executive producers. Youku is a leading multi-screen online video sharing and streaming platform in China and forms a key part of Alibaba Group’s digital media and entertainment business, under its “Double H” (Health and Happiness) strategy. Youku Kids offers high-quality programming, covering a comprehensive range of categories including animation series, nursery songs, puzzle games, e-books, and preschool education.

Leading Russian animation holding Riki Group has partnered with the largest video hosting Youku Kids (Chinese analogue of YouTube) for the exclusive premiere of their new animation project Ask Tina. It is created based on the animated series Tina and Tony in co-production with Youku Kids (part of the Alibaba holding). In total, 12 episodes of 3 minutes each are planned in the first season in the technique of combining 3D and 2D. The project is dubbed into Chinese, English and Russian. The release of the series in Russia is scheduled for 2023.

Ask Tina is an animated series for children who are curious to explore various topics about everything in the world. Tina runs a video blog, where she answers the questions of the audience, relying on her own knowledge, which makes her stories funny even for little viewers. Why do we have two eyes and only one mouth, what is air, who is a real artist and many other important topics are analyzed by Tina and her friends. The project is aimed at preschool education of children in a playful interactive way, so that young viewers can learn by watching and benefit by playing. The series covers three main blocks of early education, including art, science, and interactive entertainment. “Chinese viewers will be the first to see our new joint project with Youku Kids and Alibaba Group. Ask Tina is created with the participation of methodologists, child psychologists and scientific consultants. This is a children’s encyclopedia about everything in the world, in which the baby elephant Tina, in a playful, child-friendly form, answers various questions that concern children. She tells little viewers about the phenomena of nature, teaches them to dance, discusses what is more interesting - to read or to watch a movie. Tina will help you understand what your own and someone else’s mood is, show you how to make peace if you quarreled, and much more. The project is aimed at developing the emotional intelligence and creative abilities of preschool children. Our characters promote positive and safe behavior. We are delighted that our series Tina and Tony has received such strong recognition from the Chinese audience and happy to see the development of cooperation with Alibaba Group to bring Ask Tina to China”, - says Mark Zavadskiy, CEO of RIKI Group. “Children in China like Tina and Tony very much, these characters can bring a sense of warm and safe companionship. We believe that they will become good partners for children around the world”, - Lu Ye, Youki Kids producer comments Cooperation between Riki Group and Alibaba Group (represented by Alibaba Cultural Media Co. Ltd) began in 2018 with the signing of an agreement at the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. The strategic agreement was an important step towards cultural exchange between China and Russia, and the series Tina and Tony by Riki Group was the first Russian animation project for preschoolers in the Alibaba Group portfolio. As the No. 1 children’s video platform on the Internet in China, Youku Kids covers the world’s top animation and education brands. The first season of the animated TV series Tina and Tony premiered November 2018 in China on Alibaba’s video-streaming platform, YouKu. After the huge success of the project, a new season was produced jointly to be delivered to Chinese audiences in July 2021. Tina and Tony performed excellently again surpassing all other animated projects on the platform in terms of popularity index. In just a few years, the total playback amount of the “Tina & Tony” series has exceeded 5 billion, becoming a hit in the industry. In October 2021, the development of three more seasons was announced.The layout of the Tina and Tony IP extends to 2025, the third season is slated for release in China this summer.

King Features Syndicate recently announced that it is growing its global licensing programs for Popeye and Olive Oyl with a slate of new partnerships. The expansion extends across the promotions, food and beverage categories and includes new territories, partners and product lines.

Popeye is well-established in the food space. In the 1930s, spinach growers credited Popeye with increasing the

POPEYE IN PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

United States consumption of spinach by 33%. Olive Oyl has recently been given a refresh by King Features who unveiled a fresh new look and brand positioning for the character. Building on the success of these previous launches, King Features has shifted its licensing focus to the expansion of the promotions and food categories to grow the brands globally and build upon its robust footprints in Asia and North America. In China, the sailor will take part in a promotional campaign featuring glass cups, recycling bags, brooches, face masks, T-shirts and stickers, which will be sold across the territory by Guangzhou Circleplus Culture Co. Ltd. and South Korea-based Sunwoo & Company began a worldwide launch of limited-edition Popeye theme packs for Android, version 9.0 and higher, via the Samsung Galaxy store. Additional theme packs will be released in 2022. The new partnerships in Japan were brokered by King Features’ agent in the territory, Medialink Animation Ltd who brokered the deals in China, Singapore and Indonesia.

Cloudco Entertainment, owner of iconic entertainment property Care Bears, has launched its new Care Bears: Unlock The Magic animated series on China’s CCTV14 public broadcasting network. The content launch come in tandem with new toy deals in China that will support the new TV series as well as the Care Bears’ forthcoming 40th anniversary in 2022. Following the immense success experienced in the US, Europe, and APAC, CCTV14 Children’s Channel in China

started streaming Care Bears: Unlock the Magic across the country in October. The all-new 2D animated series produced by Cloudco Entertainment includes 48 x 11’ episodes and 2 x 22’ shorts. Early next year, Care Bears will introduce a new line of toys and collectibles with POP MART, in China. The deal was brokered by IMG China and will feature a range of figurines, blind boxes, and novelties for teens and young adults. The toy line will debut at POP MART and rollout to online and brick and mortar retailers across the country as the brand celebrates its 40thAnniversary and 40 years of sharing and caring across the globe. Care Bears: Unlock the Magic follows Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear, Good Luck

Bear, Funshine Bear, and Share Bear as they embark on a new adventure from Care-A-Lot to the Silver Lining, a beautiful, strange world inhabited by the Whiffles, a group of innocently happy creatures that plant seeds to keep the magical land of Care-A-Lot growing. Throughout the series, Care Bears use their belly badge powers to spread messages of sharing, caring, friendship and courage while making sure to have laughs along the way. Roubina Tchoboian, VP of International Licensing, Cloudco Entertainment, said: “We’re delighted to bring the Care Bears franchise back to China, just in time for the brand’s 40th Anniversary in 2022. Parents and kids alike will be thrilled to see the Care Bears explore brilliant, brandnew adventures.” Xu Xiaobing, Head of IP Development and Management of POP MART, said: “We are very happy to cooperate with Care Bears, which have been popular all over the world for many years. Both sides have a highly consistent understanding of IP and the concept of delivering happiness for consumers. We look forward to working together to create more excellent works in the future and continue to create a better consumer experience for global users.” Ian Lambur, EVP, Content Strategy & Co-Productions, Cloudco Entertainment, said: “We are very excited to extend our reach in France via Gulli and welcome a whole new audience in China through CCTV. We look forward to announcing additional deals in the near future.”

ETRO CELEBRATES NEW YEAR WITH KUNG FU PANDA CAPSULE COLLECTION

In order to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Tiger, Etro launched an exclusive limited edition capsule collection dedicated to the Tigress, a key character in DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda. Created in collaboration with Univer-

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sal Brand Development and DreamWorks Animation, the collection of unisex fashion and accessories reinterprets the symbolism of the tiger in a playful and cheerful way for the Chinese New Year. Portrayed in their kung fu moves, the characters of the film are featured on t-shirts, sweatshirts, shirts, foulards and a selection of bags, accessories and small leather goods crafted in iconic Paisley print. The capsule collection is currently available in a limited edition at the Etro boutiques in Europe, the United States, China, Japan and Singapore, at etro.com and in selected international retailers.