{"id":14451,"date":"2018-06-01T10:23:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T14:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/feline-frenzy-small-screen\/"},"modified":"2018-06-18T10:42:02","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T14:42:02","slug":"feline-frenzy-on-the-small-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/feline-frenzy-on-the-small-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"Feline Frenzy on the Small Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TV Kids<em>\u00a0speaks with executives from a trio of companies about cat-themed children\u2019s television programming.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s not to like about cats? They\u2019re fluffy, affectionate, much less maintenance than their canine counterparts, and when they\u2019re happy, they make the most delightful vibrating sound that is purring. While some kids may have succumbed to the wildly inaccurate misconception that all cats are evil, others realize that kitties are actually quite adorable and enjoy watching them as characters on TV.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps one of the most famous feline television personalities is Garfield, the lazy, lasagna-loving star <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/img\/2018-06-01-The-Garfield-Show.jpg\" alt=\"***Image***\" width=\"210\" height=\"177\" \/>of <em>The Garfield Show<\/em>. France-based Mediatoon Distribution has more than 214 episodes of the series in its catalog, as well as a number of specials. One of the company\u2019s in-house production studios is also working on a new show called <em>Garfield Originals<\/em>, which is slated for release by the end of this year. In addition, Mediatoon represents <em>The Week of the Cat<\/em>, an animated comedy for teens and young adults that is based on a Belgian graphic novel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCats are very cute and at the same time independent,\u201d says J\u00e9r\u00f4me Alby, the managing director of Mediatoon Distribution. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s something kids want to see\u2014even though at their age they cannot fully do what they want, their pet friend the cat can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCats are cute, curious and sometimes bashful, making them very similar to the mindset of young viewers,\u201d says Lisa Olfman, co-founder and CEO of <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/img\/2018-06-01-The-Cat-in-the-Hat-Knows-A-Lot-About-That.jpg\" alt=\"***Image***\" width=\"250\" height=\"180\" \/>Canada\u2019s Portfolio Entertainment, which represents the book-based show <em>The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!<\/em> \u201cKids and parents love and trust the iconic character and the Dr. Seuss brand&#8230;. Kids can connect with the enthusiastic, inquisitive nature of The Cat and are eager to follow him on his adventures while learning about the world around them along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Italy-based Rainbow, meanwhile, houses the new animated preschool comedy <em>44 Cats<\/em>, about a group of homeless felines who form a musical band in a garage. \u201cThe cats in the show, like kids, find creative solutions to everyday hitches by dealing with important themes like tolerance, diversity and acceptance,\u201d says Cristiana Buzzelli, <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/img\/2018-06-01-44-Cats.jpg\" alt=\"***Image***\" width=\"200\" height=\"220\" \/>the company\u2019s senior VP of licensing and acquisitions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids love cats because they are soft and fluffy, can be cuddled and are very entertaining,\u201d she continues. \u201cAlso, cats are very prevalent in society. The [2017-2018] National Pet Owners Survey, conducted by the American Pet Products Association, broke down the pet preferences of Americans and showed that cats are the second most common pets in U.S. households&#8230;. Cats are not exotic to children\u2014they live within the family\u2014so their on-screen adventures can easily relate to kids\u2019 everyday lives, and this is what makes cat\u2013themed programming so liked by preschoolers and other age groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mediatoon\u2019s Alby notes a strong demand for cat-themed TV content in Asia, birthplace of the mega-popular feline-esque Hello Kitty character, as well as the <em>maneki-neko<\/em> waving cat figurine (a good-luck charm that is often on display in many Japanese businesses). \u201cIt\u2019s more in the Asian part of the world where you really see cats a lot in animation series; they\u2019re very, very present there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Portfolio\u2019s Olfman echoes this observation. \u201cIn Asian territories, where cat culture is always booming, we\u2019ve seen a strong demand for <em>Cat in the Hat<\/em>, even though the books and original source material for the brand may not have had as much of a pop-culture presence,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have received a tremendous amount of interest from China in particular, [where] we signed our first-ever deal with iQiyi Kids\u2019 video-on-demand platform to bring the series to Mainland China.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regarding <em>44 Cats<\/em>, Rainbow\u2019s Buzzelli says: \u201cWe have had positive feedback from everywhere: both on the storylines, which boast well-rounded characters\u00a0kids can easily relate to, and on the really great quality of the animation,\u201d which she describes as cinematic. She notes that the company plans to add more cat-themed programming to the catalog moving forward, as are Mediatoon and Portfolio, so long as they are good series with the potential to travel around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>From being worshipped thousands of years ago by ancient Egyptians to taking the spotlight in some of the most-viewed content online\u2014with a 2014 article by <em>The New York Times<\/em> calling cat pictures an \u201cessential building block of the internet\u201d\u2014it\u2019s clear that young viewers will remain passionate about their feline friends, thus continuing the demand for and success of cat characters in children\u2019s television.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Executives from a trio of companies speak about cat-themed children\u2019s television programming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":14452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[231,141,383],"class_list":["post-14451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-mediatoon-distribution","tag-portfolio-entertainment","tag-rainbow","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - 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