Global animation powerhouse Toonz Media Group and kids and family entertainment leader Driver Studios have joined forces to co-produce The Blahs. This new, original 3D animated series is designed to delight and engage three to eight year-olds watching on YouTube, where 86 per cent of US kids watch entertainment.
The Blahs was created by visionary storytellers Rob Kurtz and Dan Markowitz, the team behind Driver Studios’ award-winning Cool School YouTube channel, where The Blahs will launch on 31 March 2024. The 30-episode series will also be promoted on Toonz’ ChotoonzTV YouTube Channel, reaching 11.1 million subscribers.
The series is centred around original characters known as The Blahs; their rulers King Gray and Lord Blue and their neighbour Joy who spreads light everywhere she goes. Each hilarious and upbeat episode delivers high-quality kids and family entertainment with fun antics and giggle-worthy mayhem that empowers and encourages a child’s imagination and curiosity.
“YouTube today is the leading platform where kids ages two to 12 discover content. In fact, streaming platforms look to YouTube for content acquisition and licensing opportunities,” said Driver Studios founder & CEO Scott Weitz. “At Driver Studios, we’ve been ahead of this trend, developing high-quality kids and family entertainment designed specifically for this platform.”
He further mentioned, “Our in-house team created this original content and built it for where data tells us our viewers are watching. When you lead with human vision and support it with technology and data insights, the outcome is the ability to create and produce captivating content that scales. It’s an inspiring journey, and we’re thrilled to partner with the visionary Toonz team because they share our passion for creativity and driving innovation.”
“Leveraging the insights from deep viewership data with award-winning creative talent to drive storylines for animation places this partnership at the leading edge of the industry. Combining Toonz expertise in 3D animation and Driver Studios’ pioneering approach to content creation, programming is now built intentionally to meet viewers where they are,” said Toonz Media Group chief executive officer P Jayakumar. “The possibilities are endless, and we’re delighted to collaborate with Scott, Rob, and the Driver Studios team.”
The executive producers are P. Jayakumar, Bruno Zarka of Toonz Media Group, and Driver Studios’ Scott Weitz, Diana Horowitz, and Ross Venokur, the award-winning writer and director of Rally Road Racers (from the producer of Shrek). Gigi Meroni, the Emmy Award-winning composer of projects such as What’s New Scooby Doo?, Norm of the North 2-3 and Lala Oopsies, composed the music for the series.
For this collaboration, Toonz led the 3D animation while Driver Studios developed the original characters, concept art and visualisation, and scripts. In addition to the animated series, these delightful characters and their world will be a source of merchandising and licensing opportunities in 2024.