Ahead of Licensing Expo 2023, Cartoon Saloon Brand Development, a division of animation studio Cartoon Saloon, announced a slate of new licensing partners for its leading brands, Puffin Rock, The Irish Folklore Trilogy, and My Father’s Dragon.
Based on the International Emmy Award-nominated TV series Puffin Rock, the new Irish animated theatrical feature Puffin Rock and The New Friends will premiere in Ireland this summer and rollout in select territories around the world later this year. An action-packed story that celebrates the puffin’s magnificent natural environment, the movie features character favorites from the animated series – Oona, Baba, May, and Mossy – as they team up with new island arrivals Isabelle, Phoenix, and Marvin to crack the mysterious disappearance of the last Little Egg of the season and bring it home safely before a looming storm hits.
With the movie’s focus on the natural world, Cartoon Saloon has signed multiple new licensing partners, including eco-design manufacturer GreenRe for a line of sustainable stationery products with distribution across North America, the UK and Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand; Snuggly Figs for an eco-friendly and socially responsible children’s clothing line made of bamboo for North America; and Value Add Games for an educational boardgame for the European Union. A new expanded range of sustainable plush will also be available for the release featuring the new characters.
“With Puffin Rock and The New Friends, which just debuted at the Cannes Film Festival Market with WestEnd Film, we are delighted to have signed our first licensing partners for apparel and products that will allow new and old fans alike to extend their engagement with the movie,” commented Cartoon Saloon Brand Development general manager Brian Tyrrell. “As we head into Licensing Expo, we’re excited to have such high-quality partners on board across our brands, and we look forward to sharing further information there on our evergreen properties with our current and potential partners.”
For the Annie Award-nominated Netflix Film My Father’s Dragon, a timeless and classic story with inspirational qualities which has been pleasing kids and adults alike across the globe for over 70 years, Cartoon Saloon has signed global deals with Titan Comics for a graphic novel and Abrams Books for the recently published The Art of My Fathers Dragon. Value Add Games and GreenRe are also on board for the same products and territories as Puffin Rock and the New Friends. Also available is a new range of My Father’s Dragon recycled Plush, featuring the main characters Boris, Elmer, Tiger and Pikas.
For The Irish Folklore Trilogy, the Academy Award-nominated features WolfWalkers, Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells, the studio has signed GreenRe for sustainable stationary products. They join existing partners, including Little Brown Young Readers (trilogy of graphic novels); Xist Publishing (beginner books – global); Pinfinity (AR enamel pin sets – global); and Gallery Nucleus (pin sets), as well as Trends International for posters in North America.
Additionally, Cartoon Saloon Brand Development will showcase its new brand Silly Sundays to potential partners, specifically in the toys, publishing, apparel and accessories categories, at Licensing Expo. This new preschool family-entered comedy series is set to deliver in late 2023 through 2024 with 78 x 7’ episodes for broadcast on Cartoonito in the US, Latin America and EMEA .