The Rastamouse Company, the rights holder for the Rastamouse brand, is pleased to announce it has begun production on the stop motion animated pre-school series Rastamouse (52x11') for CBeebies.
Press Release from The Rastamouse Company
The Rastamouse Company, the rights holder for the Rastamouse brand, is pleased to announce it has begun production on the stop motion animated pre-school series Rastamouse (52x11') for CBeebies. The show is scheduled to TX in early 2011.
The series will be produced by Greg Boardman and Eugenio Perez of independent production company Three Stones Media in association with award-winning animation company Dinamo Productions and publishers Little Roots. The programme was commissioned by Kay Benbow at CBeebies and executive produced by Jackie Edwards.
DHX Media subsidiaries DECODE Enterprises and DHX Licensing will handle worldwide TV sales (excluding UK), and worldwide licensing and merchandising.
EMI Music Publishing - Music Week's Publisher of the Year for the last fourteen years and Billboard's Publisher of the Year for the past twelve years - has recognised the potential of Rastamouse as a music brand and will be supporting and investing in the show. The impressive reggae inspired soundtrack will be produced by The Rastamouse Company and UK composer Andrew Kingslow. Further investment in the production comes from the Wales Creative IP fund.
Based on the books by Michael De Souza and Genevieve Webster, Rastamouse is a show with positivity and fun at its core. The main character, Rastamouse, together with Scratchy and Zoomer, make up the Easy Crew; a crime-fighting, mystery-solving, special agent, reggae band. Redemption not retribution is their motto, as the group set about helping the baddy rebuild their life 'making a bad ting good'.
The acquisition follows the success of The Rastamouse story books which have engaged children and parents alike, receiving wide critical acclaim and endorsement for their gentle, thought provoking narratives alongside the dynamic activities of the characters.
Greg Boardman, Producer, Three Stones Media, says: "The market is changing rapidly; it's about big ideas with the ability to transcend their originating platform. Rastamouse fits this concept perfectly and is an important property for our business. We are delighted about working on this project and look forward to developing the brand further."
Guy Moot, EMI Music Publishing President, UK & European Creative adds: "We're thrilled to be involved at this stage of the development of a project that we believe will appeal to both children and their parents, and that will introduce the musically and culturally important sounds of reggae to a whole new generation. Everybody working on Rastamouse is incredibly talented, and I really think that will come through in the final product."
Aron Evans, Managing Director, Dinamo Productions comments: "We at the studio are all really excited to be part of this fantastic and highly original show. Blending great design with enriching and amusing scripts, it's a pleasure to be associated with this wonderful series."
Kay Benbow, Controller, CBeebies adds: "The animated series of Rastamouse faithfully reproduces both the spirit and message of the wonderful Rastamouse books. We are delighted to have this intrinsically positive, distinctive, funny and uplifting show on CBeebies."
About The Rastamouse Company:The Rastamouse Company is the rights holder for Rastamouse designed to maximise the potential of the IP. The company is owned by the talents who have brought the project from a self published book into a happening TV production.
The Rastamouse Company will look after all aspects of the TV production and the potential of Rastamouse beyond the small screen.
About Three Stones Media:The Three Stones Media philosophy is simple; to combine the best emerging talents with established creatives to produce great storytelling and the highest quality products.
Formed in 2007, independent production company Three Stones Media is a collaboration between producers Eugenio Perez and Greg Boardman, entrepreneur Nick Dhandsa and accountant Kirit Doshi.
As freelance producers, Perez and Boardman had proven their talents making quality broadcast productions for companies including Carnival Films, World's End Television, Ecosse Films and Feelgood Fiction. Under the Three Stones banner and with the business support of Nick Dhandsa and Kirit Doshi, they bring their production experiences to a number of unique media properties, with a focus on big ideas that have the ability to transcend their origination platform.
About Dinamo:Having made its name in 2D and 3D digital animation since its establishment in 2004, Rastamouse is the first project to go through Dinamo's new state of the art stop-motion studio at its new premises in Trefforest, on the northern outskirts of Cardiff.
The production has helped Dinamo to invest in the latest stop-motion production equipment and to put together an accomplished team of animators for this high-profile and innovative series fro CBeebies. Dinamo has a track record of successful 2D and CGI series for CBeebies and several other UK and overseas broadcasters.
About DHX Media Ltd. DHX Media Ltd. is a leading international producer and distributor of television programming and interactive content with an emphasis on children, family and youth markets. DHX Media Ltd. shares are listed on the TSX, the Toronto Stock Exchange.
About EMI Music Publishing:EMI Music Publishing is the world's leading publisher of popular music, with more than one million copyrights including some of the best known songs ever written. Included in the EMI Music Publishing catalogue are iconic songs such as "New York New York", "You've Got A Friend", "The James Bond Theme", "Lady Marmalade", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Always On My Mind", "Over The Rainbow", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' In the Rain". Its current hit-making writers and producers include Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, James Blunt, Duffy, Norah Jones, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Pink, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse.
For more details, please visit http://www.emimusicpub.co.uk/
About the Wales Creative IP Fund:Since its inception in May, 2005, the Wales Creative IP Fund has made 34 investments, investing more than £10 million in 17 film, seven television productions, three new media projects, six factual documentaries and one music project. Finance Wales manages the IP Fund on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The IP Fund provides equity investment for feature films, television productions, new media and music projects. Applicants must secure a minimum of sixty per cent of their budget from third parties and must be able to demonstrate that a proportion of the production's budget will be spent in Wales.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
