In The Night Garden

TV Kids
Weekly, July 17, 2007

ORIGIN: This landmark children’s series, from
the creative partnership behind Teletubbies, has been specially created to appeal
to preschool children. It is a modern interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture
book.

When asked
where the inspiration for the program came from, Anne Wood, the executive
producer, said, “The program is Ragdoll’s response to the anxious times we seem
to live in today. It is a warm enfolding program, funny and reassuring. I had
also become increasingly interested in children and adults’ differing responses
to sleep. The universal experience of drifting into sleep or daydreaming seems
to me to be so important and yet so little understood, it is presumably where
imagination resides and there is nothing more important.”

Andrew
Davenport, producer and writer on the show, added, “I felt drawn towards
creating a program that embraced more traditional ground. I wanted to invest
this new show with a tangible, literal sense of childhood, to directly reference
a pivotal moment in a child’s experience: bedtime—that universal time of
formative imaginative intimacy, of pictures and thoughts. Importantly, I wanted
In the Night Garden to
be accessible to all—to be able to be enjoyed equally by children and parents—to
be funny for everybody.”

DISTRIBUTOR: BBC Worldwide has cross-media rights
(excluding North America), including global program distribution, merchandising
and DVDs.

CREATORS: Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport,
Ragdoll Productions

TV SHOW: In The Night Garden takes children on an imaginative
journey to meet a host of wonderfully silly characters living together within a
happy and caring community. It is both funny and reassuring, with a capacity to
relax and entertain. Filmed in real woodland, the setting is breathtaking and
the program weaves together the very latest technical innovations in
live-character costume technology and computer animation to create a stunning
and compelling experience for young viewers. In The Night Garden is completely universal in its appeal
and has a breadth of scale that establishes a new standard for preschool
television.

Despite having
only just launched on CBeebies in the spring, In the Night Garden looks destined to become a classic—and
has already become “must watch” viewing for children and parents alike. This
innovative live-action series consists of 100 30-minute programs and is aimed
at very young children aged 1 to 4.

EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER: Anne Wood

PRODUCER,
WRITER, COMPOSER:
Andrew Davenport

COMMISSIONING
BROADCASTER: CBeebies

TV SALES: BBC Worldwide is currently talking to
a wide range of partners and has so far licensed the program to territories
such as New Zealand, South Africa and Latin America.

MAJOR TOY
LICENSEES:
Hasbro, Inc. has the rights to develop and market products across a broad range
of toy categories, including preschool toys, infant and toddler toys, games,
jigsaw puzzles, creative play, proprietary interactive formats and ride-ons.

OTHER
PRODUCTS: Stand-alone
website, DVD and magazine.

STRATEGY
FOR ROLLOUT: In the
Night Garden launched
in the U.K. in spring 2007 and has already won the hearts of millions of
children.

Under the
multiyear global master toy license, Hasbro has acquired the rights to develop
and market products across a broad range of toy categories. Hasbro is due to
launch the first product line in summer 2007, which will include plush,
beanies, Play-Doh, games and puzzles and figurines.

Complete
Control was appointed to create the series’ official website, which went live
earlier this month, and BBC Worldwide will be publishing a magazine to
accompany the series in the U.K. The first U.K. DVD will be released in
September with the second due for release in November.

“Building on
experiences gained through the placement of Teletubbies, we’re focusing on securing the most
appropriate TV partners for the preschool series,” said Annette Banham, BBC
Worldwide’s marketing director for children’s. “Following this, we will seek
international licensing partners, in line with the potential of each
market and awareness levels of In the Night Garden, as the program starts to roll out
across the world.”