CG/live-action hybrid preschool series from FUN Union a massive success in just one week.
FUN Union‘s preschool program BabyRiki hit the main Chinese digital platforms on July 8th, and, in just seven days, the episodes have totaled more than 25 million views. Thirty out of 52 episodes have been published on Tencent Video, iQiyi, Youku, Mango TV and Beva.
BabyRiki is an animated series with content that covers all aspects of a child’s life. From physical wellbeing to social-emotional wellbeing and soft skills, the musical stories are based around age-appropriate experiences with educational concepts introduced in familiar surroundings and context for infants. The hybrid series uses a blend of CG animation and live-action footage.
FUN Union aims to bring uplifting, entertaining and educational content to children all over China. For CEO Christine Brendle, this success is no surprise. “BabyRiki resonates with toddlers and parents due to its appealing characters and beautiful setting,” she said. “The series was developed alongside child psychologists to ensure that children would learn through fun and engaging storylines. It has no violence or evil characters and focuses strongly on developing social-emotional skills.”
“This is a testament to the success of high-quality content with strong educational values in China,” added China director Zijing Wu. “Following our recent announcement about our co-production with CCTV Animation, we’re very pleased with these initial results.”
BabyRiki will launch across all digital platforms in China by the end of the summer (an additional 20 platforms) as a secondary round of digital distribution. Its licensing business in the region will kick off as well, with a strong focus on premium children’s products.
The co-production deal with CCTV Animation is for a new children’s animation series Krash and Hehe which is scheduled to premiere in 2019.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
