Riki Group’s Kikoriki Returns

The first four episodes of the new season of Kikoriki, an animated series from Riki Group, premiered on the Kinopoisk HD SVOD platform earlier this month.

Returning ten years after the release of its last season, Kikoriki, following its launch on Kinopoisk HD, is set to broadcast on the leading kids’ TV channels in Russia and CIS in the fall. Along with the premiere of the new season, the “kids profile” feature will launch on Kinopoisk HD featuring personal recommendations based on a child’s age and interests. The list of cartoons and TV series in the profile will be regularly updated with new offerings.

The Kikoriki series originally premiered in 2003. Riki Group also produced three animated movies for the Kikoriki franchise in 2012, 2016 and 2018. The series and films have been broadcast in over 70 countries and translated into 15 languages.

The characters in the new season of Kikoriki are voiced by the original voice actors: Anton Vinogradov (Krash), Vladimir Postnikov (ChiChi), Sergey Mardar (Carlin, Olga), Mikhail Chernyak (Pin, Barry, Dokko), Svetlana Pismichenko (Rosa) and Vadim Bochanov (Wally). Artistic Director Anatoly Prokhorov, together with the directing team led by Denis Chernov, and composers Marina Landa and Sergey Vasiliev, continue to work on the series.

Julia Nikolaeva, the producer of Kikoriki, said: “The new stories still raise relevant topics for viewers of different ages—about life, friends, and mutual understanding. We call this format ‘double bottom’ stories, when the situations, behavior of the characters and their emotions are clear to both adults and children. Such multilayering reveals different levels of meaning, which is so appreciated by fans of the series. We wanted the new season to be as close as possible to the spirit of the original Kikoriki episodes from our childhood. To do this, a large part of the original team that created the series in 2003 was brought back together. We hope that we have managed to preserve the touching simplicity and sincerity of the project.”

In other Riki Group news, the company recently held an online licensing conference with the support of Yandex. During the event, Riki Group unveiled its rebranding, plans for the development of key brands and the launch of new animation projects. It also announced the launch of an accelerator for attracting innovative ideas.

Ilya Popov, founder and general producer at Riki Group, said: “We wanted to tell our partners not only about the changes that have taken place in Riki Group over the past year, but also about our strategic plans for developing and expanding our capabilities on online platforms, which were outlined thanks to our partnership with Yandex. Today it is necessary to search for new niches and forms of communication with the audience for successful sales, use AR/VR technologies and increase the audience’s emotional engagement constantly. We, as rights holders, view our licensees as partners with whom we are.”

Maya Moskvicheva, general director of the licensing agency Marmalad Media, added: “The relationship between licensors and licensees is a civilized form of market-based on respect for the results of other people’s work and intellectual property rights. That is why, in times of crisis, we consider it important to offer our partners new ways that will serve the common good. We rely on the development of technology and the digital direction. Now this is where a breakthrough in customer relations is expected. With a delicate and competent interaction with a viewer, we can instantly turn him or her into a grateful buyer of licensed products.”

Riki Group’s rebranding includes changes to the company logo, visual design and brand philosophy. The process is being carried out in stages over the course of 2021 and 2022, and will eventually cover all aspects of the company’s operations. The rebranding concept was prepared by the design team SKAM.TEAM, which was founded by Alexey Maslov and Vyacheslav Kuteyev. The new logo is formed of repeating elements based on elongated rectangles—in normal form they correspond to the Latin letter i, in folded form they correspond to the letters r and k. The logo is intended to be used in the form of stencil windows that can combine elements of any brands included in the portfolio of the “Riki” company.

Popov commented: “So many major events took place in the company’s life almost simultaneously that we have reached a new level, which demanded an updated approach to the style. First, we recently consolidated the shares of Aeroplane JSC together with its famous brand The Fixies, significantly strengthening the company’s position in the market. Second, both Kikoriki and The Fixies have released new seasons in Russia, and for Kikoriki it’s for the first time in ten years. Third, we have actually entered into a large-scale strategic partnership with Yandex. And we are still anticipating more changes that will support our updated identification.”