Julia Nikolaeva
UAE-based Animotion Media Group was launched a year ago to foster the production and distribution of top-notch animation. Julia Nikolaeva, General Manager, is in charge of content development and international business and spoke with Señal News about the latest company achievements and Mipcom launches. "In Animotion, we create characters that can live within any environment and resonate with children so that we keep having fun regardless of age, culture, or nationality," she affirmed. The company focuses on expanding its international broadcasting deals and enhancing its YouTube presence. "The streaming platform remains the main way kids access video content, and we strive to strengthen the presence of our content in various languages," Nikolaeva said.
An example of that strategy is the deal reached with El Reino Infantil, the largest Spanish-language YouTube channel worldwide, boasting over 60 million subscribers, which has picked "Beardy Bodo" and "Tina&Tony." As part of the cooperation, "Tina&Tony" will get its channel to expand the brand's reach across the Spanish-speaking world. Furthermore, GHI Media has picked up "The Fixies" and "PinCode" to launch and develop YouTube channels in Hebrew, further diversifying the brand's audience reach in the transmedia landscape. Animotion is also expanding its successful cooperation with WildBrain for French and Polish versions to complement the existing English, Spanish, and German channels. "By the end of the year, we also plan to launch the project channel in Arabic," Nikolaeva anticipated. In addition, three seasons of "The Fixies" are now live on HappyKids in North America, and the animated series also landed on all the platforms of Indosiar: the free-TV Indosiar channel and Mentari TV, Vidio platforms and Nex Parabola. BoClips, the subject-rich platform with safe-for-classroom videos curated by teachers, added the project to its library. "Our project consistently confirms its educational value, which parents and teachers highly appreciate. Discovery Education's latest report indicates that the number of interactions with the content from students and teachers on the platform exceeds one million," she underlined.
An additional business line, Animotion Music, produces music and teams with artists whose work targets kids, teenagers, and families. "Our label works with its catalog and helps develop the musical direction of other animation studios," Nikolaeva said. Animotion Music has now joined forces with 3Beep to work on the music for the "BabyRiki" brand. "The auditions just finished. We've selected the voices for the upcoming albums and aim to have the first 20 tracks ready by November," she said.
MARKET PREMIERE
Animotion Media Group will introduce "Detective Finnick," the new 3D TV series, as an exclusive Mipcom premiere. The successful launch of Finnick's first feature film in theaters of 50+ countries and the project's presence on leading platforms such as Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, beIN, and Etisalat allowed the company to continue the development of the franchise. "As of now, there are already two seasons of the series and a second feature film in production," Nikolaeva stated.
The series is set in a seemingly quiet and calm town of Berg, full of secrets and mysteries. Absolutely unexplainable incidents constantly occur in it. Suddenly, all clocks stop working, or all the streets get filled with strange micro-dogs. Fortunately, the town is being watched by its invisible keepers - finns. They have the ability to see and hear everything that happens in it. If something mysterious occurs, the finns know precisely who to ask for help. The legendary savior of Berg will come to the rescue, mastering his very own "trial and error" method - Detective Finnick with his motley team of finns. Motley, not only because everyone has a different fur color but also because they know how to do something better than the others. Finnick is a rookie detective. He is full of unexpected and often paradoxical theories; not always does he make correct decisions, but he is ready to admit his mistakes and find a solution in every crisis. "Our animation catalog has also been expanded with another story for fans of investigations. Created especially for young puzzle enthusiasts everywhere, the dialogue-free 'Mr. Dogood' series features everything viewers love about detective stories: the mystery, the clues, the suspects, and that unexpected twist. Using his proprietary trial and error method, 'Mr. Dogood' not only unravels secrets and mysteries but does it all in a good mood," she concluded.