The new animated TV series Gigantosaurus has received a prestigious Pulcinella Award in the Best Upper Preschool TV Series category at one of the animation industry’s most important events – the Cartoons on the Bay Festival.
Produced by Cyber Group Studios and directed by Olivier Lelardoux, Gigantosaurus, a full-CGI 52×11-minute action-comedy series following the adventures of a group of young dinosaur friends, has been airing in Italy on Disney Junior since January to an enthusiastic response. Maurizio Distefano Licensing, which has been appointed to manage the show’s licensing programme, sees enormous potential for this new series among young children in Italian-speaking markets in a number of product categories.
Celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year, Cartoons on the Bay – held this year from 11-13 April at Turin’s Museum of Risorgimento – is an international television and cross-media animation festival taking place every year in Italy. It enjoys strong international awareness and support and its Pulcinella Awards are among the most highly regarded in the animation industry.
Based on the book by popular kids’ author Jonny Duddle, Gigantosaurus is an innovative and entertaining new series which follows the adventures of four young dinosaur friends – Rocky, Bill, Tiny and Maz – as they explore their world and try to find the Gigantosaurus – the biggest, fiercest dinosaur of all.
Themes of fun, friendship and facing your fears, plus endearing characters, witty scripts, attention to historical detail in the animals and landscape and, of course, a lot of dinosaurs, make this a potent player for licensing partnerships across multiple categories.
Showing on Disney Channel US since 18 January and on Disney Junior worldwide (excluding India, China and Taiwan), Gigantosaurus is also set to premiere on a number of major broadcast networks, including RAI in Italy, France Télévisions, Germany’s Super RTL and SRC (Canada). Gigantosaurus will also appear on Netflix in most territories. The potential of the property has been further boosted with the announcement that a second season is already in development and scheduled for 2021.
The show has already also inspired a toy line that will be created in partnership with brand owner Cyber Group Studios and the master toy licensee Jakks Pacific, Inc. In addition, a video game for kids and families, created by Outright Games in partnership with Cyber Group Studios, will feature the four dinosaur heroes in a new action- packed story, bringing players directly into the world of Gigantosaurus, as they zoom through the stunning series- inspired locations and engage with the storylines.
MDL is targeting a number of other categories, including homeware, apparel, gifts, games and stationery, as it introduces Gigantosaurus into the Italian merchandising market.
Pierre Sissmann, Chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios says: “It’s a great honour to receive a Pulcinella Award. This is our second such win in five years and a major endorsement of our work and its quality. We at Cyber Group Studios are humbled by such a distinction and thankful to the team and great artists who made it happen.”
Maurizio Distefano, founder and President, MDL Licensing, says: “This award underlines the enormous potential of Gigantosaurus in the broadcast market as it continues to grow its audience across the world. It is now perfectly poised to build on that success in the licensing market, where we are certain it will enjoy a very positive response.”
