Property Profile: YooHoo & Friends

ORIGIN: The original series was produced by Aurora and aired on KBS with the intent to promote plush sales.

CREATOR: David Feiss, the award-winning creator of such series as Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Konnie Kwak of Toonzone Studios.

TV SHOW: A total of 52 11-minute episodes will be delivered by end of Q1 2011, appealing to both boys and girls, 6 to 11 years old.

DESCRIPTION: This animated 2D, eco-action comedy follows the story of five greedy corporate executives on a mission to rob Earth of all its riches. Finally, Mother Nature can take no more and enlists her loving husband Father Time (played by rap legend Flavor Flav) to teach these executives a lesson. Father Time comes up with a brilliant plan and with his magical club he transforms these ugly, greedy executives into fuzzy, cute-as-can-be little creatures. He then traps their human forms within an emerald, crushes the green gem and scatters the pieces around the world. Now these furry five must find the gems, fix the world and have tons of fun all along the way. Thus begins the quest of YooHoo & Friends.

FUNDING: The series is funded by the L.A.-based venture capital group Animation Development Company (ADC). Ira Warren is ADC’s founder.

MAJOR TOY LICENSEES: From Aurora, one of the top five worldwide plush providers, YooHoo & Friends has sold $148 million worldwide, equating to a total of 9.8 million pieces—selling 272,832 pieces per month and 9,094 pieces per day. In the U.S., the property is sold in over 2,900 specialty stores. Globally, it is present in Croatia, Denmark, Belgium, the U.K., Qatar, Israel, Argentina, France and Hong Kong.

OTHER PRODUCTS: Toonzone Studios (TZ) is currently in negotiations with several international licensing companies to bring the brand from specialty outlets to the mass market. In addition, TZ is working with a major video game developer to create a game that will embrace both the eco-adventure and exploration themes of the series.

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT: Toonzone is looking to secure a broadcaster in the next few weeks. Konnie Kwak, the president and CEO of Toonzone, says that “through the use of such standout voice-over talent [as] Flavor Flav and the unique vision of creative director David Feiss, TZ hopes to create mass appeal for this property that will translate into unique licensing opportunities, top-tier QSR programs and huge web-based tie-ins.” She adds, “For this reason, TZ is being very selective when choosing their licensing and broadcast partners. They want them to truly embrace the property and think bigger and more creative when it comes to the final product.”        

To watch a clip of YooHoo & Friends, please click here.