Sophie "Kido" Prigent
Hari is experiencing exponential growth with flagship projects like "Grizzy and The Lemmings," located is among the top 10 most-watched animated kids series on Netflix, and "Mystery Lane," which has also traveled worldwide. "For many years, our strategy has been to produce premium productions in terms of storytelling, animation, and visuals. This has been rewarding indeed. The sales have been numerous and qualitative worldwide, and it has opened many opportunities with linear and non-linear broadcasters," Sophie "Kido" Prigent, Head of Distribution at Hari, told Señal News. To sustain this growth, the company has restructured its studio to produce twice as many shows per year, significantly increasing its talent pool.
"Grizzy and the Lemmings" has not only rocked on Netflix but is also one of the world's most broadcasted French animated shows. The non-dialogue, slapstick comedy resonates globally with preschoolers, older kids, and families. "It's nostalgic (like Tom & Jerry!), and each episode is just the right length to hold everyone's attention and facilitate those shared family moments of fun and laughter," mentioned Prigent. The show is flexible and offers a range of programming options to suit several different broadcasters across various age groups, for example, Tiny Pop, Pop, and Pop Max in the UK. "Since COVID, co-viewing content is more on-demand than ever, and parents are paying more attention to what their kids are watching, and keen to be part of these moments," Prigent stated. "For kids, the show is relatable. The lemmings display an attitude that 'you only live once' and are happy and enthusiastic, so they inspire and uplift young audiences. Due to these factors, the exposure has been maximized through linear, free, and Pay TV, video-on-demand, and YouTube, reaching kids wherever they are," she added.
On the other hand, "Mystery Lane" is perfectly paced and offers the right blend of action and comedy alongside aspirational and funny characters. And a variety of villains! "The show has been praised for its aesthetic and beautiful animation, characterization, and sound quality," said the Head of Distribution at Hari. The show follows two hamsters, Clever and Bro, who solve riddles from the basement of their pet shop that are befuddling Scotland Yard! The secret life of the two heroes echoes the imaginary life that kids invent for themselves. Small animals overcoming significant challenges are awe-inspiring for young audiences. The series offers a dual narration, Clever offers a more sophisticated narrative, and Bro a simplified version. The show works for older and young kids alike. "It reached one million views on Okoo (France Television's FVOD platform) in France in just six weeks. It's also performing brilliantly on Disney in Germany and ABC Australia, with ratings well above audience averages, and we closed deals with Rai (Italy), Youku (China), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), MTVA (Hungary), HRT (Croatia), SX3 (Spain) and TV3 (Latvia)." Prigent said.
NEW PRODUCTIONS
This year, Hari has started producing the 78x7 episode "The Weasy Family," which innovates the genre by combining slapstick comedy and a heartwarming narrative with emotional stakes at the core. "The cute and fun factor in this father-daughter relationship will resonate with a wide audience, including parents. It's been picked up by France Television, BBC, Super RTL, TeleQuebec, and more partners to be announced soon," Prigent stated. The show uniquely combines comedy action with emotional family moments and parent/child relationships. "It's the first-ever benevolent slapstick cartoon where no one gets hurt even when situations get out of hand! We have created an entirely new alchemy of characters and a unique blend of comedy and emotion," she concluded.
By Romina Rodriguez