Moonzy and His Friends Bows in China

The Russian series Moonzy and His Friends, produced by the animation studio Melnitsa and Russia One, has launched on the CCTV children’s channel in China.

CCTV will broadcast 513 episodes of the series. Now that the winter holidays have commenced in China, the channel is set to broadcast nine episodes daily. The deal was closed with the support of SPB TV.

Sergei Selyanov, a producer on Moonzy and His Friends, said: “This is a great achievement. Our animation series are aired on Chinese public television with high ratings. Our animation is sold to many countries now, however, I will point out that Russian studios make only the first move here and we must take hold of the international markets next. It is an absolutely favorable moment as the quality of Russian movies and animation has been growing rapidly and foreign TV channels and digital platforms are getting much more commercially interested in Russian projects than previously. China is one of the most strategic partners for us and we are looking forward to the successful development of that cooperation.”

Anton Zlatopolsky, also a producer on the series, said: “We are very happy to continue the traditions of Russian animation. Created by talented professionals at the highest level of quality, our animation has become our love and honor at home so we would love to share our positive and kind cartoons with the whole world. China is not only our most important partner, but a state with a unique rich history of visual culture. And we are especially pleased that in China, the country with subtle art cultural traditions, kids will watch and love Moonzy as much as children in Russia.”

Kirill Filippov, CEO of SPB TV, commented: “SPB TV has been working with Chinese media with great success starting from 2013. We are constantly participating in Russian-Chinese business missions and joined structures growing our portfolio of contacts and strengthening our relationships with Chinese partners. We are very happy that our expertise and contacts help the unique Russian animation series enter the Chinese market and we strongly believe in further successful development of the project in China.”

Alexey Volin, Deputy Minister of Communication of the Russian Federation, added: “The Moonzy launch is the first step in Russian-Chinese media communication development. More than 10 Russian series have been launched in China recently, and it is an absolute breakthrough in movies. We release from 5 to 7 Russian films annually. Now it is the turn of animation. The Ministry of Communication considers Russian animation as a very prospective product for export.”