Angel’s Friends

TV Kids Weekly, October 7, 2008

ORIGIN: The series originated as a comic by Simona Ferri published in magazines from the Italian publisher Play Press.

DISTRIBUTOR: Mondo TV S.p.A represents worldwide TV and home-video rights.

CREATOR: Simona Ferri

TV SHOW: Angel’s Friends consists on 52 13-minute CG-animated 2-D episodes that can also run as 26 30-minute episodes, targeted at tweens. The latest project from Play Entertainment is a co-production with Mondo Home Entertainment (MHE) and Mediaset in Italy.

DESCRIPTION: This comedy adventure series is geared at kids aged 6 to 13. It focuses on five main characters: Gabi, Urié, Raf, Dolce and Ang-Li who live in the crowded metropolis Angie Town, where they attend special classes at school to become full-fledged guardian angels. In order to complete the final 1 percent of their training, the young fledgling angels must spend time on Earth. Their mission consists of following five lively Earthlings in their every-day life adventures. But they are not alone: five almost-devils, Sulfus, Kabale, Cabiria, Gas and Mefisto, are coming to Earth, to complete their own training.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Mondo TV, with Orlando Corradi as animation director.

MAIN BROADCASTER: Mediaset will launch the series in Italy in fall 2009.

TV SALES: At MIPCOM, Mondo TV is looking to score slots across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

MAJOR LICENSEES: Starbright is working on the licensing and merchandising plan in Italy, kicking off with a back-to-school program. Play Entertainment is taking care of the international licensing and merchandising campaign.

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT: The show will premiere on Mediaset in Italy in the third quarter of 2009. The Angel’s Friends toy launch will follow in late 2009, along with other merchandising categories. The series will debut in international territories in the fourth quarter of 2009, with a pay-TV deal already in advanced discussions for the Middle East, and other agreements in the works. Those will be followed by the roll out of merchandise programs in those markets.

The Angel’s Friends bible, a portfolio of initial art and a pilot episode will be showcased by Mondo TV at MIPCOM. "We would like MIPCOM to be [a time to close deals with] key broadcasters and a launching pad for our sales team to introduce the series to the rest of the world,” says Matteo Corradi, the international sales manager at Mondo TV.

To support the upcoming television launch, Play Entertainment has unveiled an Angel’s Friends social-networking website at www.angelsfriends.it. The site introduces the main characters and lets visitors submit blog posts, share post cards, play games, download screensavers and check their "Angelic" horoscopes. The next phase of development will provide additional social-networking capabilities and enable visitors to use avatars.