Riki Group Teams with Youku Kids for More Tina & Tony

Russian animation company Riki Group has partnered with Youku Kids, a division of Alibaba Group, to co-produce three new seasons of Tina & Tony.

Riki Group’s preschool series Tina & Tony made its Chinese premiere on Alibaba’s Youku streaming platform in 2018, followed by a second season in 2021. Due to its success in China—with more than 2.5 billion views to date—third, fourth and fifth seasons will be co-produced with Youku Kids.

“Our characters promote positive and safe behavior,” said Mark Zavadskiy, CEO of Riki Group. “Learning through play and healthy relationships with adults are two topics of preschoolers’ interest that we’ve chosen for the next season. Riki plans to deliver 52 5-minute 3D/2D animated episodes by July 2023. We are delighted that our series has received such strong recognition from the Chinese audience and happy to see the development of cooperation with Alibaba Group to bring Tina & Tony to China.”

“As a hit on the Youku channel, Tina & Tony has earned its reputation not in one day, and the popularity of our events among children and parents shows their dedication and trust to this project and brand,” said Lu Ye, producer at Youku Kids. “Youku Kids always strives to provide only high-quality content for Chinese families, and the Tina & Tony brand from its inception to development has consistently embodied the values and social responsibility of Youku Kids.”

Ye continued, “We are very pleased to have achieved a long-term cooperative relationship with the Riki Group and hope that through the joint efforts of both parties, Tina & Tony can become a global brand.”