{"id":25270,"date":"2023-06-08T08:51:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-08T12:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/showcase-magic-light-pictures\/"},"modified":"2023-06-08T08:52:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T12:52:19","slug":"showcase-magic-light-pictures-623","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/showcase-magic-light-pictures-623\/","title":{"rendered":"Showcase: Magic Light Pictures"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Michael Rose and Martin Pope formed Magic Light Pictures back in 2003, both had a strong interest in family entertainment and set up producing for a broad family audience. They started producing feature films in live action and animation while they developed the project of a longer-term animation IP. Then along came The Gruffalo<\/em>, which changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cA key turning point was when, after the success of The Gruffalo<\/em>, the BBC drama department came to them and said they would like more specials based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler\u2019s work,\u201d explains Muriel Thomas, international distribution director. \u201cWe have just announced our 11th, an animated adaptation of Tabby McTat <\/em>for Christmas 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magic Light has become known for half-hour films that have \u201can incredibly high-quality threshold, enduring classics, viewed again and again, which deliver enormous pleasure to our family audiences,\u201d Thomas continues. \u201cAlongside that, Magic Light has built a company with wonderful values. Those values cascade through its work and through all the people who work with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magic Light has been growing gradually over the years, building a successful company \u201cunderpinned by integrity and quality,\u201d Thomas says, \u201cand first and foremost, always wanting to profoundly delight audiences. It makes us all very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company is currently in expansion mode across all areas, including sales, she notes: \u201cIn terms of our distribution strategy, we have close relationships with a multitude of broadcasters around the world for our specials, but we want to expand our portfolio of partners, consistently widen the audience and make Magic Light\u2019s content as accessible as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur busy distribution team continues to grow Magic Light\u2019s footprint internationally. Pip and Posy <\/em>does well for us in multiple territories. We\u2019re constantly renewing the rights for The Gruffalo <\/em>all over the world, while Room on the Broom <\/em>is popular in the U.S., especially at Halloween.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Magic Light works with a variety of partners, from public broadcasters and pay-TV networks to streamers and smaller independent companies. \u201cMagic Light has built up such a reputation for quality now that buyers take presales of our new content, confident that it will be of a very high standard,\u201d Thomas says.<\/p>\n

The company is forging ahead with the consumer-products program for the preschool brand Pip and Posy<\/em>. The first products have started to appear at retail, including tie-in publishing from Nosy Crow, as well as puzzles from Ravensburger, dress-up with Amscan, audio figurines with Tonies and home accessories. Season two recently launched on Milkshake! and will hit Sky Kids later this year. There\u2019s also Pip and Posy Let\u2019s Learn<\/em>, a new off-shoot of the hit show debuting in October. In the series, viewers are invited along with Pip, Posy and their friends as they use their sense of fun, imagination and rhyme to explore a range of subjects.<\/p>\n

In terms of experiential activations, there is a new Superworm Trail bringing families together through interactive activities in Kew\u2019s Wakehurst Gardens as well as a new Gruffalo Trail launching at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Magic Light recently launched a multimillion-pound family attraction with Merlin Entertainment on Blackpool\u2019s seafront to create the world\u2019s first The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse.<\/p>\n

Magic Light also has a \u201chighly ambitious and robust\u201d development slate covering series, specials and family dramas, \u201cwhich will allow us to bring wonderful new projects to the screen and ensure we have a constant production pipeline,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cWe are in the final stages of development of our next preschool property, which we will announce this year, and have a number of other projects that are on the verge of being ready to announce\u2014so watch this space!\u201d<\/p>\n

Of particular importance for the year ahead is Tabby McTat<\/em>, narrated by Jodie Whittaker and starring Rob Brydon. \u201cWhat we have found with our previous half-hour specials is that, while the films premiere in the U.K. at Christmas, they are timeless with universal appeal and can be viewed all year round, which helps drive their success on multiple platforms,\u201d Thomas says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, our priority is our content,\u201d she adds. \u201cOur aim has always been to enrich the imaginations of children and families worldwide by producing content experiences, products and activities of the highest quality that will be cherished for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said, we\u2019ve been proactively working to expand our audience\u2019s engagement with our existing brands by expanding our experiential portfolio with both seasonal and permanent attractions; it now covers a variety of settings\u2014from zoos and castles to theme parks and forest trails. Our range of activations are suitable for all families, and we know how important these interactive experiences are for our fans in giving them additional touchpoints to engage with their favorite characters in the real world while creating family memories at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

See Magic Light Pictures\u2019 Showcase here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Muriel Thomas, international distribution director at Magic Light Pictures, on new highlights across the slate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":25271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[4189,7150],"class_list":["post-25270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-magic-light-pictures","tag-muriel-thomas","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nShowcase: Magic Light Pictures - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/showcase-magic-light-pictures-623\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Showcase: Magic Light Pictures - 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