Q&A: Moonscoop’s Cynthia Money

The Moonscoop Group has been on a constant growth trajectory for the past few years. The company was born from the merger of Antefilms Production and France Animation and the subsequent acquisition of a majority stake in Mike Young Productions and Taffy Entertainment. Earlier this year, Moonscoop announced its foray into live action and its intention to expand its animation work-for-hire business in the U.S. All of this activity bodes well for Cynthia Money, the company’s president of worldwide consumer products and marketing, as she can work with a wide range of properties that target various age groups.

TV KIDS: What has been your merchandising strategy for a preschool property like Chloe’s Closet?
MONEY: The overall philosophy for Moonscoop is to make quality content that kids like to watch. That’s a consistent philosophy for any brand we work on for any demographic. That said, when we are creating a preschool property versus one for boys 6 to 11, there are different ways we go about connecting to the audience. For a beautiful show like Chloe’s Closet, it’s all about Chloe going on adventures and using her imagination—it’s an incredibly sweet property. We’ve got Bandai America on board as our master toy licensee, and they will begin launching some of the toys in 2011, following the launch of the show in many territories this year.

TV KIDS: In a boys’ property like Hero:108, games are very important, aren’t they?
MONEY: Hero:108 has been really interesting because it’s a co-production between Cartoon Network International, Moonscoop, Telegael Teo and Gamania Digital Entertainment, which is one of the largest MMOG [massively multiplayer online game] companies in the world. Hero:108 is a multiplatform property. There are Flash games we are releasing through multiple websites that kids can play and identify with the property, social-networking sites, and the MMOG, which is going to launch this summer. In addition, we’ve got our first publishing partner on board, Atlantyca Entertainment, which is creating books loosely based on the TV series. Playmates Toys will also be releasing a unique toy line in the fall that ties back to the MMOG with exclusive codes. With Hero:108 we want to provide a transmedia experience. It’s more a world than simply a TV show.

TV KIDS: And comedy is really important?
MONEY: Comedy is really important. For example, Wild Grinders is based on [TV star, entrepreneur and skateboarder] Rob Dyrdek’s experience as a kid growing up and it’s a show that includes skateboarding but it’s not just about skateboarding. If you’ve seen Rob on TV you know his sense of humor, and a lot of that comes across in the show. Although it’s all very authentic—the characters, their moves and their personalities are very true to form—there are a lot of comedic elements directed at skateboarders within the stories that all audiences will find funny. Rob is very involved in the development of the show, and any skateboard tricks that they have to do must be authentic. Even though the show is being created for a very large-scale audience, Rob wanted to make sure the true skateboarding fans look at it and know the moves are what they are supposed to be. He insists on being accurate. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to work with him. Also, you’ll see that comedy plays a huge role in the appeal of Hero:108. The producers have come up with some incredibly funny and bizarre battles for the action sequences.

TV KIDS: What would you say are the major challenges and opportunities in the next 12 to 24 months?
MONEY: The challenges that we all face are in the retail channel. Retailers are consolidating their shelf space and carrying fewer brands, and are very cautious about the brands they select. Although this presents challenges, we are really fortunate because this is a time of opportunity for us. We are in a good position because we have several new and interesting properties coming out. Hero:108 launched on Cartoon Network worldwide in many key territories this spring, the MMOG launches this summer, and toys [will be introduced to the market] this fall. And then we’ve got an established brand like Geronimo Stilton, which has a huge fan base of kids who love the chapter-book series. On top of this, we have brands like Wild Grinders, which I think is very timely, and Chloe’s Closet, launching in Europe and debuting on PBS Kids Sprout in the U.S. this summer. It’s an incredibly exciting time for all of us at the company.