Two new animated Barbie series, a Barbie special, an original one-hour special entitled Enchantimals and a live-action competition series called The Toy Box have all been greenlit by Mattel Creations
In line with the new division’s plan to broaden the global audience for Barbie, the first new Barbie series, Barbie Dreamtopia, targets younger preschool viewers, while the second, Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures, is a CGI sitcom goes after kids ages five to 11.
Barbie Dreamtopia builds on the success of Mattel’s CGI-animated TV movie of the same name which premiered this spring and has since sold to broadcasters including Cartoon Network (LatAm), Super RTL (Germany), Pop TV (UK), MiniMini (Poland), Karusel (Russia) and Media Prima (Malaysia).
Featuring animation from Tel Aviv, Israel-headquartered Snowball Studios, and Barbie Dreamtopia follows the journey of Barbie’s youngest sister, Chelsea, who travels with her big sis from their CGI-animated world to a fantastical 2D-animated land known as Dreamtopia.
Another new special, Enchantimals, is also set for a 2017 release. The nature-based project centers on the adventures had in the forest by a group of friends with extraordinary animal abilities.
Rounding out the new slate, Mattel Creations has greenlit The Toy Box, an all-ages competition-based series featuring toy inventors, a kids jury and host Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family).
Co-developed with Hudsun Media and Electus, the series is set to bow sometime during ABC Television Network’s 2016-17 season, and will be distributed internationally by Electus International.
Mattel will present all of the new content at MIPCOM next week, along with season 21 of Thomas & Friends, 70-minute movie Thomas: Journey BeyondSodor, season one of American Girl-based animated series WellieWishers, twoMax Steel specials and 70-minute movie Monster High: Electrified.
