US-based art products’ company Crayola is launching Crayola Studios – a new division dedicated to creating multiple genre content, for kids and families. The company aims to explore the possibilities of children’s creativity and leverages colour as an intrinsic element of the story.
The studio has a pipeline of shows already in development, the first project being The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, which will be co-developed and produced by Cyma Zarghami’s Mimo Studios. The 52 x 11” animated series will be written by Brad Birch.
Crayola is actively partnering with production companies, animation studios and IP owners such as Mimo, to create engaging content that will air on leading kids broadcast platforms around the world.
Overseeing the content slate is Crayola’s EVP marketing Victoria Lozano, with support from Goatfish Agency founded by Rick Glankler. Glankler was previously Fremantle’s president and general manager kids & family entertainment. Crayola’s sister company Hallmark Media will also support the initiative.
Crayola’s Lozano said, “As world leaders in creative self-expression, the establishment of Crayola Studios is a logical next step for us, it builds on plans announced last year to develop entertainment content that inspires and nurtures the next generation and helps them develop lifelong creative mindsets. Our unique perspective offers an exciting opportunity for the industry as it searches for stand out new and trusted content that has creativity at its heart.”
Crayola Studios’ The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian is an animated adaptation of the award-winning, kids podcast Gen-Z Media’s The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian which is written and performed by Jonathan Messinger, the author of Hiding Out and former web editor of Time Out Chicago Kids. The podcast was launched in 2016 and has released 12 seasons and 260 episodes. With over 24 million downloads, the series is consistently number one on the iTunes Kids & Family chart. Finn Caspian is also a best-selling book series and was selected as Best Book 2020 by the School Library Journal.