Including WildBrain looking to develop a YouTube strategy for the new Moominvalley.
The Source rounds up more news from the licensing industry across the globe from the week.
Disney’s The Lion King is continuing its number one reign at the UK and Ireland box office. The film has now been number one for 24 consecutive days since its release on July 19, the longest any film has spent at number one this year. In addition, Toy Story 4 has this week overtaken Incredibles 2 to become the second biggest animated film ever in the UK. Both films have now entered the top 20 films of all time with The Lion King taking £59.9m, becoming the 19th biggest film ever in the UK and Ireland, while Toy Story 4 became the 20th with £58.7m.
WildBrain has been appointed by Gutsy Animations to develop a global YouTube strategy for Moominvalley. In addition, the company will manage the library of past Moomin content on YouTube – including the series from the 1990s, behind the scenes material and other content created exclusively for YouTube by Moomin.com.
Endemol Shine North America has named experienced licensing executive Amber Sheppo as its new svp licensing. Amber – who has previously held roles at 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Saban Brands – will be responsible for the development of creative licensing partnerships and live events, while overseeing product development around the company’s non-scripted and scripted series in North America. Meanwhile, Tamaya Petteway will now serve as svp brand partnerships.
Numskull Designs has introduced Tubbz, a new collectable range of cosplaying duck figurines. The figurines represent some of the biggest video games, movies, TV shows and comic book brands… in duck form. The initial line-up includes DC Comics, Fallout, Ghostbusters, The Lord of the Rings and Street Fighter among others, with the collectables launching between September and early 2020.
Japanese retailer G.U has developed a new Chupa Chups range of pop and vintage t-shirts for girls.
CBS Consumer Products is bringing Guillermo del Toro’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie to retail with a strong line-up of merchandising partners across categories including apparel, accessories and publishing. Partners on board include Bioworld, Hot Topic, HarperCollins and Insight Editions.
Anime brand Crunchyroll has confirmed that Bananya – the kitty who lives in a banana – will return for a second season. To kick off the new season, Crunchyroll has partnered with Bioworld to create a new slate of products across categories including apparel, sleepwear, bags, wallets, headwear, footwear, accessories and desk collectables. Other recent licences granted include Bittyboomers for bluetooth clip-on speakers, Fabrique Innovations for fabric and CTC Foods for soft drinks. More than one million licensed Bananya products have been sold in the US to date.
Broad Street Licensing Group has brokered a deal for a line of shelf-stable meat snacks from Golden Nest for the Tony Roma’s restaurant brand. The snacks – which are prepared with the same ‘secret sauces’ behind Tony Roma’s famous ribs and BBQ meats – continues the brand’s growing retail presence across the US.
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