Netflix bags Boonie Bears

Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret

Global streamer Netflix has picked up an animated kids’ film and TV series from China.

Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret is the third instalment in the Boonie Bears film franchise, which is based on the animated series of the same name. The Netflix deal will see it launch in various languages around the world. TV series Boonie Bears Spring into Action (50×13’) has also been acquired.

Created and produced by China’s Fantawild Animation, the film and series are co-directed by Ding Liang and Lin Yongchang. The franchise is distributed by Viva Pictures in the US.

The Netflix acquisitions were announced at the Berlinale European film market over the weekend by Viva president Victor Elizalde and Fantawild’s Daisy Shang.

Since the franchise’s original release, there have been 200-plus episodes and two television movies created based on Boonie Bears, as well as five feature films. The fifth and most recent film, Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink, has just opened in China.