Kartoon Studios is all set to leverage AI technology to generate more animated content in less time and reduce expenses, while staying true to their core focus on human creativity and positive content. Their package of original full-length animated features will debut exclusively across the Kartoon Channel USA streaming platforms in 2024, as well as being distributed to broadcasters and streamers globally.
“We have observed a strong appetite for recognised brands that began in either television, toys, video games, or publishing, to become full-length animated feature films,” said Kartoon Studios CEO Andy Heyward.
“We have seen this with top brands like Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, Spiderman, the Grinch, and Hotel Transylvania, which were translated into animated movie hits. Much of our catalogue has such roots and pedigree, with a number of brands coming from successful books like Llama Llama or Rainbow Rangers and from brands and pedigrees like Stan Lee.”
Multi Emmy winning producer/director, Mike Maliani who will oversee creative mentioned, “By using both AI, human creativity, and the existing assets that have already been developed with the brands, production costs will be reduced, while upholding the highest levels of quality. Previously the costs of producing an original full-length animated feature for a streaming service were prohibitive, however with the advent of AI technology, and using existing key materials, footage, and animation cycles already in place, we now have an incredibly cost-effective model that we believe is a game changer, which will enable quality animated films to be brought to the consumer for a fraction of what it would have previously cost.”
“We can do all this while maintaining our focus on content written by proven industry creators. We like this model, because we are investing in our own brands, as we additionally drive awareness for consumer product sales, as well as viewership for our channel, and creating an evergreen asset that can be used again and again,” Maliani added.
“Full-length animated features have consistently been one of the most successful genres of all entertainment, and are very attractive to broadcasters worldwide,” said Kartoon Channel! Worldwide president Paul Robinson. “They steadily over-index, attracting large audiences. Whether the timeless classics from Disney, or hits from Pixar, DreamWorks, and Illumination, we know they perform well. The films will be family friendly, non-violent, and embrace positive themes. We view the animated feature film business for global services as the game changer catalyst to propel the channel forward to significant earnings.”
Films slated to debut in 2024 and 2025 reflect the importance of the Stan Lee brand in the Company’s future, as well as the importance of pre-sold recognisable properties, including:
- ‘Stan Lee’s Cosmic Crusaders’ (featuring Stan Lee)
- ‘Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten’
- ‘llama’s Big Adventure’ (Llama Llama)
- ‘An Omaha Yankee In King Arthur’s Court’ (Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club)
- ‘Fix And Foxi’
- ‘Rainbow Rangers Hot Concert To Cool Global Warming’ (Rainbow Rangers)
