Chuggington

A property profile of Ludorum’s successful preschool series.

ORIGIN: The series is based on an original idea.

DISTRIBUTOR: Ludorum

CREATOR: Ludorum

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Charlie Caminada, Rob Lawes, Dick Rothkopf and Don Toht

DIRECTOR: Sarah Ball

COMMISSIONING BROADCASTER: CBeebies

TV SHOW: There are 78 10-minute episodes in total. The second season, of 26 10-minute episodes, is launching at MIPCOM. It is currently in production and will be available for broadcast in the summer of 2010. The series is produced in high-quality 3-D CGI animation and targets preschoolers.

DESCRIPTION: Chuggington II is an exciting follow up to the original series and expands on the strong themes of adventure, humor and life lessons established in series one.

The second series of Chuggington sees the introduction of brand-new characters, including Hoot n Toot, a brother and sister ‘push-me-pull-me’ engine. Hoot n Toot have two very distinct personalities and so being joined in the middle can sometimes lead to disagreements—not to mention brother and sister rivalry! Hoot n Toot join trainees Wilson, Brewster and Koko as they learn to ride the rails. Chuggington fans can also look forward to meeting one of the fastest steam trains created when Speedy joins the Chuggington cast. A friend of Old Puffer Pete, Speedy is a very experienced engine and is able to mentor the trainees.

Chuggington II also introduces new wagons and rolling stock, including snow ploughs and a rubbish wagon, as well as brand-new machines which the trainees must come to grips with! In series two the excitement and adventure of urban life is a central theme as viewers are introduced to the city of Chuggington. For the first time we are shown urban life in Chuggington by joining the Chuggers as they negotiate their way through city rails, which are woven and incorporated into every building and even the underground.

TV SALES: Chuggington has already been sold to more than 165 countries around the world. A major all-rights agreement was announced in March to license Chuggington to Fuji Television in Japan. Other key territories, in addition to the U.K. with CBeebies, include the U.S. (Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney block), Germany (SUPER RTL), France (TF1), Australia (ABC) and Canada (Treehouse).

MAJOR TOY LICENSEES: Chuggington licensed product will be available from spring 2010. RC2/Learning Curve holds the global master toy license.

OTHER PRODUCTS: Parragon has been appointed as a long-term publishing partner in all English-speaking territories (except the U.S. and Canada) and in Germany, Scandinavia and Benelux.

Chuggington’s first DVD release, Let’s Ride the Rails, was released by 2Entertain in the U.K. in March and is the number one selling preschool title of the year so far. Two further titles will be released in the U.K. this fall.

In the U.K., there are more than 25 licensees covering all key product categories. The major licensed product international rollout begins in the spring of 2010.

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT: "Our strategy has been to create a series which has a first-class creative execution, raising the bar in every aspect and which stands out in an otherwise highly competitive marketplace," says Charlie Caminada, the COO of Ludorum. "By doing so, Chuggington has attracted the attention of leading broadcasters, consumer-products partners, home entertainment and multimedia partners in key markets around the world. The strategy has always been to build a long-term franchise and that means getting the creative right and only working with first-class partners such as, for example, our licensees, whose own strengths in design, retail and marketing are second to none."

To watch a clip of Chuggington, please click here.