Netflix monkeys with King Kong

US video streamer Netflix has teamed up with former Marvel Studios boss Avi Arad for a new cartoon series based on the tale of giant ape King Kong.

Kong – King of the Apes

Kong – King of the Apes is Netflix’s latest original animated kids’ series, due for release in 2016, and Arad, whose credits include the Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron-Man franchises will exec produce.

A full-length CGI feature will be followed by 12×30′ episodes, made by 41 Entertainment and promising a “fresh and modern take on the classic King Kong story” set in 2050.

The series will see Kong, on the run after escaping from San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island, attempt to save mankind from a hoard of gigantic robotic dinosaurs unleashed by an evil villain.

Arad served as an exec producer on the recent Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventure animated series, produced by 41 Entertainment, which Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said has been “very popular on Netflix around the world.”

“I always loved King Kong. This is a unique opportunity to introduce him in brilliant CGI animation to kids worldwide with the power of Netflix,” said Arad.

41 Entertainment was set up in 2010 by Allen Bohbot, the former CEO of defunct kids animation outfit BKN International, and has seen its Pac-Man toon air around the world with broadcasters including Disney Channel and Disney XD.

Netflix has commissioned a spate of children’s series in 2014, including a Winx Club spin-off, a toon based on Saban Brands’ Popples and a series featuring characters from Mattel’s Ever After High franchise.

The company also has a lucrative content deal with DreamWorks Animation, which will see the Shrek producer create 12 animated series for the SVoD platform, totalling 300 hours of content, before 2017.

Netflix earlier this week announced its first move into original movies with a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the works for simultaneous release in IMAX cinemas.

Today, the streamer announced it was expanding its movie-making plans after signing a deal to produce four feature films with Happy Gimore actor Adam Sandler.

Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions will work with Netflix to develop the yet-to-be announced titles, which will premiere exclusively in the nearly 50 countries where Netflix operates.