WarnerMedia Kids & Family adds four shows to Cartoonito slate

Dylan is based on Guy Parker-Rees’s book series

WarnerMedia Kids & Family has greenlit one animated series and acquired three European shows for its soon-to-launch preschool programming block Cartoonito in the US.

Cartoonito will launch on WarnerMedia’s linear channel Cartoon Network and streaming service HBO Max this autumn, with the US media giant having announced a push into preschool programming earlier this year.

Dylan, a CG-animated interactive comedy based on Guy Parker-Rees’s book series, has been greenlit for Cartoonito. It follows a highly imaginative, multicolour-striped dog who is eager to play pretend across every career, from train conductor and nurse to astronaut.

Originally commissioned by CBC in Canada, Dylan is being developed by Toronto-based 9 Story Media and produced by 9 Story-owned animation studio Brown Bag Films in Ireland.

The acquired shows, meanwhile, are Bing, Odo and Pocoyo. Produced by London-based Acamar Films in association with Brown Bag Films, Bing follows a lovable preschool bunny as he experiences the world around him. Based on the books by Ted Dewan, it premiered in the UK in 2014 on BBC preschool channel CBeebies.

Created by Colin Williams and produced by Northern Irish prodco Sixteen South and Letko in Poland, Odo is about a little owl who believes he can do anything to which he sets his mind.

The series deals with themes such as immigration, racism, respect for others and how to cope with setbacks, while promoting the development of self-efficacy and encouraging kids to believe in themselves.

Pocoyo is created and produced by Spain’s Zinkia Entertainment and tells the story of a curious little boy discovering the world around him. It premiered in the UK and Spain in 2005.