Variety is the spice of life for Jetpack Distribution

Dominic Gardiner, CEO of UK-based Jetpack Distribution, explores the breadth and variety of the company’s catalogue and showcases his MipJunior highlights via C21’s Digital Screenings this week.

 

Kids and family distributor Jetpack Distribution is showcasing 10 series via C21’s Digital Screenings this week, all of which will be heading to MipJunior next month.

 

The 10 series cover a wide range of genres, age groups and styles, as the company strives to offer a catalogue that “has something for everyone,” according to Dominic Gardiner, CEO of the UK-based company.

 

“We work with 47 producers across the world, picking up shows from action-adventure series to comedies, for children of all ages,” he adds. “We think we’ve got everything covered and that’s been our watchword really, to make sure we’ve got a lot of variety to our content.

 

“The size of the catalogue is also really important for us, so we not only have a variety, but the volume too. We’ve now grown to 2,600 half-hours of quality content. Last year, we sold into 150 territories, and we have a really eclectic set of shows we’re very excited about bringing to market.”

 

One of the newest additions to Jetpack’s slate, and which features in its Digital Screenings playlist, is Kung Fu Pork Choppers (104×11’), a CGI comedy and action show for four- to eight-year-olds. The series centres on a team of five intergalactic out-of-this-world pigs in space and comes from licensing company Centa IP.

 

Kung Fu Pork Choppers follows on from original series GG Bond (meaning ‘pig hero’ in Chinese), which is produced by Winsing Animation Group in China, where it premiered in 2005 and currently airs on more than 100 channels, including CCTV and Kaku.

 

Racking up 700 million views across all online platforms, the series has been consistently in the top-five-rated shows every year since its launch, on average holding five of the top 10 kids’ slots each week.

 

Winsing Animation Group has committed to at least 300 episodes of Kung Fu Pork Choppers, which will see multiple seasons being produced.

 

Another new addition to Jetpack’s slate is Viking Skool (27×22’), a 2D animated action-adventure and comedy series co-produced by French prodco Samka and Cartoon Saloon in Ireland.

 

Aimed at six- to 10-year-olds, the series is set in a school for Vikings and is due to premiere on Disney Channel and Disney+ across EMEA and on France Televisions. At MipJunior, Jetpack will be hoping to sell Viking Skool to buyers in Asia, North America and Latin America, while looking for second windows in Europe.

 

Also headlining Jetpack’s playlist is Mimi’s World (40×11’), a blended live-action/animation edutainment preschool series produced by UK-based Adastra Development. The show centres on Mimi, who takes care of a group of diverse kids, helping them deal with their emotions, build confidence, engender wellbeing and nurture friendship, inclusivity and cooperation.

 

Mimi’s World debuted on Channel 5’s Milkshake! block in May, where it is the top commercial kids’ show in its time slot.

 

Reimagining the classic Oxford Reading Tree phonics books of the same name is live-action, family-focused comedy drama Biff & Chip (25 x 11’). Produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions, the show is aimed at four- to six-year-olds and their parents or carers and currently airs on UK preschool channel CBeebies.

 

The Biff & Chip books have been teaching kids in the UK and further afield to read for decades. More than 800 titles have been published in over 130 countries.

 

Mini Kids (28×16’), meanwhile, is a live-action preschool show commissioned and produced by Norway’s NRK Super. Featuring real-life toddlers, combined with animation and music, the curriculum-based series’ objective is to inspire positive interactions among children and stimulate activity and development.

 

The first two seasons have aired in the Nordics to critical acclaim, delivering a strong performance, particularly on broadcaster-backed VoD platforms. Jetpack has created an English-language version of the series, which Gardiner says two international broadcasters have already boarded.

 

With Halloween just around the corner, Jetpack is also showcasing Spookiz (75×2’30”), a 3D animated series produced by Keyring Co in Korea, and a movie (83’) targeting six- to 11-year-olds. The non-verbal slapstick comedy follows humans and monsters who never actually meet. Each night at school, when all the kids are gone, monsters creep out of their hideouts and unexpected events occur.

 

Spookiz has amassed more than four million subscribers and four billion views on YouTube worldwide. Jetpack previously licensed the series to the BBC, which aired it last Halloween.

 

Elsewhere on Jetpack’s playlist is Alice’s Diary (52×5’), a 2D animated copro between Portugal-based Sardinha Em Lata, Spain’s Alice AIE and Brazil’s Geppetto Films. The series follows a girl who tries to understand the world through her own art. It targets upper-preschool boys and girls and is currently in production.

 

Alice’s Diary is set to air on Portuguese pubcaster RTP, Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE and Disney Junior in Latin America.

 

From Animonsta Studios in Malaysia is 3D animated comedy and action series Mechamato (26×22’). Aimed at kids aged six-plus, the show follows the adventures of a kind and creative young boy who inadvertently becomes the master of MechaBot, a robot with the ability to mechanise everyday objects into high-tech devices.

 

Mechamato features a diverse cast of characters who use their wits to solve problems and inspire young viewers to be creative and innovative. It is due to air on Cartoon Network in South-East Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea this December and in Japan next March.

 

Completing Jetpack’s playlist are two spoof animal shows: Silly Animals (20×6’) and Critters TV (26×11’). Silly Animals is a clip show commissioned by Sky Kids in the UK and coproduced by Rebel Television & Media and Silver Star Productions. English comedian Alan Carr narrates the series, which is aimed at five- to 12-year-olds. The producers describe Silly Animals as “You’ve Been Framed meets David Attenborough but presented by a talking dog.”

 

From Dublin-based Turnip & Duck, Critters TV is a spoof documentary. Made in 2D Flash animation and live-action, it is aimed at four- to eight-year-olds and their families. Like an animal version of Gogglebox, the series features animated animals watching real-life nature documentaries on TV.

 

Beyond MipJunior and Mipcom this year, Jetpack is investing in its acquisitions department, having expanded the team to help work with the many producers it partners around the world.

 

“We want to bring on more shows,” Gardiner says. “We can grow the hours in the catalogue but at the same time maintain a very high-quality service for producers and buyers, making sure things are effective and fast.

 

“We don’t want to be hanging around; we want shows to come in and sell quickly. So we will definitely be investing in that. Further into the future, we’re looking at how we can grow into new areas.”