Cookie Jar Entertainment entered the boys action arena with the launch of the 52 half-hour action-adventure series Spider Riders, a co-production between Cookie Jar Entertainment and leading Japanese advertising agency, Yomiko.
Representing Cookie Jar’s first Canadian-Japanese co-production in the popular boys action adventure genre, SPIDER RIDERS made its debut at MIP-TV. The company heads into the market with the company’s first sale to TELETOON, Canada’s all-animation channel, which will debut the series using an interesting mix of a movie premiere and weekly timeslots culminating in a daily strip show starting June 2006.
Together with Japan’s celebrated animation studio Bee Train, Cookie Jar Entertainment pays homage to the anim?© style, while taking the popular animation form to new heights of design and production, character and storyline with exotic and rich backgrounds and compelling adventures.
In addition to the groundbreaking television series, Cookie Jar Entertainment is also placing the full force of its acclaimed digital division into the SPIDER RIDERS brand. According to Cookie Jar Entertainment Senior Vice President of Digital Media, Ken Locker, the company will �immerse SPIDER RIDERS within both the online gaming and wireless worlds.� Designed especially for targeted kid audience, the SPIDER RIDERS online game at spiderriders.com, will be a positive competitive experience, with an emphasis on fantasy and adventure. Ultimately the game will become a �Massively Multi-User Online Game� (MMOG), a global online role play offering that will be enjoyed simultaneously by players throughout the world. The online game will extend to the wireless platform, as players will be able to continue play activity via their cell phones.
â€?SPIDER RIDERS is a bold new action brand that reflects the best in anim?©, yet adds exciting new dimensions to the genre that viewers have never seen before. The series calls out to the viewers to join the Spider Riders team and help defeat the Invectids. Viewers become part of the series and adventure through the online gameâ€? said Toper Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cookie Jar Entertainment.
�We are delighted to partner with Cookie Jar for Spider Riders, a series that will redefine an already highly-successful genre. The amazing animation from Bee Train perfectly blends the east with the west to create a brand that will appeal to all audiences worldwide. We are eager to use our creative and artistic resources to help SPIDER RIDERS realize the full potential the brand possesses,� said Iwasaki, Chief Producer Animation Programs Planning & Promotion Dept. TV Programs & Movies Planning Division Business Development HQ.
While following up on his beloved grandfather’s discovery decades before, 11-year-old Hunter Steele is suddenly transported into the fantastic subterranean world of Arachna, a land of eternal day where the sun is earth’s molten core and waterfalls flow towards the sky. Here evolution takes a different twist, where the insects rank as the dominant species – not only in number, but in size.
Trapped in this world, Hunter discovers a lost civilization struggling to survive. Locked in battle with the Invectids – giant insects determined to wipe out human life – the people of Arachna are defended by a group of elite warriors who ride on 10-foot tall giant battle spiders – the SPIDER RIDERS. The stage is set for an epic battle and quest that follows Hunter and the small team of warriors as they hone their skills to win their fight against the evil Invectids. In classic anime style, SPIDER RIDERS focuses on the everyday boy who must earn the trust and loyalty of a giant arachnid to become a great SPIDER RIDERS warrior encountering field battles, competition – and gains friends along the way.
�We were immediately captivated by the compelling storylines and striking designs that will raise the bar of action adventure series everywhere. We were excited to actively work with Cookie Jar in developing a series we are sure is going to be extremely popular with our viewers. TELETOON is thrilled to be the broadcast home in Canada for SPIDER RIDERS,� said Madeleine Levesque, Director, Original Production, TELETOON Canada Inc.
Cookie Jar Entertainment’s SPIDER RIDERS series is based on the book The Shards of The Oracle, written by Emmy award winning writers, Tedd Anasti and Patsy Cameron-Anasti and published by New Market Press. Steve Hodgins, Emmy award winning producer, serves the SPIDER RIDERS creative team as producer of the series. Funimation has also joined the burgeoning SPIDER RIDERS family and hold rights for U.S. video distribution.