Canada’s WildBrain has partnered with Hangzhou Younuo Animation to handle global distribution for Younuo’s 2D-animated preschool show, Hey Toma (excluding Mainland China and Russia).
The agreement was signed in Cannes by WildBrain’s commercial and corporate strategy EVP Anne Loi and Younuo Animation CEO Zhang Lei during an on-stage ceremony at MIPCOM 2024.
Hey Toma (26 x 8’) follows the comedic adventures of four unique “Colour Boos,” who use their colour-changing abilities, creativity and sincere hearts to help the rest of the Colour World solve their everyday challenges. Promoting themes of empathy, teamwork and diversity through colour psychology, the series sparks imagination and creativity to help kids gain a deeper understanding of their emotional expression and the power of colours.
The series is produced by Younuo Animation, directed by Dalton Grant Jr. (Shrek 2, Duck Tales, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run) and written by Dan Clark (Yo Gabba Gabba!, We Be Monsters) who also served as creative consultant, featuring music composed by Italian composer Gigi Meroni. It has been picked up by Chinese streaming platform MangoTV.
The series was in development for nearly five years with the collaboration of animation artists from China, the USA and Italy, including several Emmy Award winners. The creative team created a worldview with a complete setting and a background integrating pandas, ink and watercolour, murals and other Chinese elements to convey traditional Chinese culture and spirit for international audiences.
WildBrain content partnerships senior manager in China shared, “China and APAC are a huge priority for WildBrain as we continue to grow our content and licensing business across the region. Globally, we’re seeing strong demand for preschool content with themes around empathy and teamwork—Hey Toma is an engaging series that delivers on these themes, with colourful characters sure to delight preschool audiences and their families.”
Wildbrain is known for projects like The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Camp Snoopy, Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, Sonic Prime, Chip and Potato, Teletubbies Let’s Go! among others.
Younuo has created a number of original animations, such as the Xiajiang series, The Wolo Family: Save The Elf, Rice Fish, Good Killer and more.