Deer Little Forest Wins Pitch Session at CMC

Deer Little Forest, a preschool eco-comedy and lifestyle brand managed by Koko Rose Media, won the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is pitch session at The Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, U.K.

A panel of judges was presented with four five-minute pitches—selected from over 30 submissions—by Lisa Hryniewicz, managing director of Koko Rose Media; freelance author Paula Harrison; Emma Taylor and Alex Walker of Brickwall films; and Helena Mitchell of Chronically Creative.

The session was judged by a panel of U.S. judges via Zoom. The panel included Adina Pitt from Warner Bros. Discovery, Eryk Casemiro from Nickelodeon and Rick Clodfelter from Disney. It was moderated by TV presenter and entertainer Joanna Adeyinka-Burford, together with TV presenter, entertainer and podcaster Nigel Clarke.

All Deer Little Forest rights are held by Koko Rose Media, a joint venture between Hryniewicz and Creative Director Jo Rose. The property has a full bible and 70-page style guide. Koko Rose Media is currently seeking financial and co-production partners.

Lisa Hryniewicz, managing director of Koko Rose Media, said: “As the most popular and highly anticipated session of the conference, we were beyond excited to be chosen as a participant. Actually receiving a win at the hands of such fabulous judges was beyond thrilling. It reinforces how universally appealing this amazing cast of characters are.”

The CMC report of the session, written by Yosr Saber, stated: “Lisa Hryniewicz pitched Deer Little Forest, a preschool eco-comedy show about four friends who learn to use the power of curiosity to learn about the natural world around them and themselves, learning special skills along the way, such as how to assess and overcome fears, navigate friendships and how to take on challenges. The stars of the show include Barley-Crumb the badger, Rowan the introspective fox, Lockhart the loud and goofy red female deer, and Bodhi Bear, the friends’ connection to the universe and other worlds. Each episode starts with a nature-related question and an internal issue that a character is struggling with. This property has handmade art as its basis and has lots of potential for extensions into publishing and cross-promotion with forestry groups, environmental groups, Natural History Museum and art groups as well. The judges applauded the artwork and the innate diversity embedded within the story.”