Corus & Bento Box Align for Toronto-Based Animation JV

CANNES: Corus Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment have partnered to create Bento Box Canada, an animation production company based in Toronto with output targeting the 18-to-34 demographic.

The two previously signed a multiyear co-development deal. Now, Bento Box and Corus will be working together to develop and produce a slate of original prime-time animated series for Corus networks. Bento Box Entertainment will hold the international distribution rights for the projects to come from the new studio.

This fall, production will begin on the first Bento Box Canada series, The Pandas. From creators Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler, The Pandas is an irreverent, animated family comedy with a mix of biting satire and heart.

“Over the past year, our teams at Corus and Bento Box Entertainment have been collaborating on a creative pipeline that will see a raft of edgy new animated series come to light for 2016,” said Scott Dyer, the president of Nelvana, which is Corus’s animation studio. “We’re excited to be bringing two world-class teams together to produce fresh new content for the savvy, Millennial demographic.”

“Bento Box Entertainment is thrilled to be joining forces with Corus to develop a creative slate of prime-time animated programming,” said Scott Greenberg, CEO and co-founder of Bento Box Entertainment. “The Pandas is an ideal first project to launch this collaboration as it brings together a team of strong creators in Wulff and Morgenthaler as well as the production expertise of both Bento Box Entertainment and Corus.”