Nelvana’s “Babar and the Adventures of Badou” Will Make Its U.S. Debut on Disney Channel
via Corus Entertainment press release:
NELVANA’S NEW BABAR SERIES TO DEBUT IN U.S. ON DISNEY CHANNEL
(Toronto, Ontario) – Nelvana Enterprises’ CGI-animated series, Babar and the Adventures of Badou will make its broadcast debut in the U.S. on Disney Channel’s learning-focused Playhouse Disney programming block for preschoolers.
Babar and the Adventures of Badou is an updated version of the classic Babar, and introduces King Babar’s eight-year-old grandson, Badou, and his friends, including Chiku the monkey and Zawadi the zebra, all full of energy and ready for adventure as they explore the exotic world of Celesteville. The show is for kids aged 4-7 and is a Canada-France co-production from Nelvana Studio and TeamTO, in association with The Clifford Ross Company.
“Babar has been revamped for the 21st century and the marvelous new look of the show and engaging storylines will make it a favourite with kids, parents and grandparents everywhere,” said Lynn Chadwick, Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Distribution, Nelvana Enterprises. “We are delighted to be able to introduce it to viewers in the U.S. first on Playhouse Disney.”
The series will premiere on YTV in Canada this November during the popular PLAYTIME block, and is also set to air on TF1 and Playhouse Disney in France, Playhouse Disney in Japan, Disney Channel in Italy and Spain, KI.KA in Germany, ABC TV in Australia, TV2 in Norway, YLE 2 in Finland, DR TV in Denmark, Thai PBS, SRC for French Canada and M-Net in South Africa, amongst others. Licensing opportunities are also available through Nelvana Enterprises.
About Nelvana Enterprises:
Nelvana Enterprises is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children’s book publishing and children’s animation. The company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, CosmoTV, VIVA, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW, CFOX, CKOI, 98,5 FM, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) exchange. Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.
About TeamTO
Based in Paris and Valence in France, TeamTO is an independent animation studio focused on producing innovative TV series and feature films. The company has partnered with Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Nelvana, TF1, France Télévisions and Canal+ and has earned numerous awards and nominations, including Emmys® and Cartoons on the Bay Pulcinella awards.
About The Clifford Ross Company
Founded in 1985 by artist/photographer Clifford Ross, The Clifford Ross Company focused on three classic properties during its early years: the works of Edward Gorey, Tom Swift and Babar. After optioning the rights to Babar in 1986 directly from Laurent de Brunhoff and the de Brunhoff family, CRC entered into a working relationship with Nelvana on all aspects of the property. For over 20 years, the companies have worked together producing both television and feature length movies featuring the Babar characters and developing a worldwide licensing program. Ross recently completed “Harmonium Mountain”, an animated, computer generated landscape video, with an original score by Philip Glass.