Fantawild Animation Expo 2018 held by Fantawild Animation Inc. had its grand opening on Sept 25th at the Fantawild Resort in Zhengzhou. The event lasted for 3 days and was attended by around 500 professionals from different fields and industries. Fantawild is thrilled to be host to famous brand enterprises, film companies, TV media, new media, publishing companies, animation studios, and various sales channels at home as well as abroad.
Over the course of the event, Fantawild launched 6 new programs. This announcement featured four all new series based on the nationally acclaimed IP, Boonie Bears. These programs target different age groups. Boonie Cub Tune Club and Boonie Cubs 3 launch for younger viewers. Boonie Bears: The Adventurers 2 is jam-packed with excitement for older kids and the 6th Boonie Bears theatrical film, Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past, to be screened in local theaters during the 2019 Chinese New Year holiday, is fun for the whole family. Another series announced is an entirely new and thrilling animation about a group of young detectives called Tiger Team. To top it all off, Fantawild revealed a film about Chinese terracotta warriors called Realm of Terracotta. All six of these new programs announced at the Fantawild Animation Expo showcase the variety that composes Fantawild’s innovative and ground-breaking IPs.
Fantawild has invited over 10 special guests to speak across three forums at this expo, including Mr. Cao Xiaohui, professor at the Beijing Film Academy, Ms. Luo Lan, Production Director at AniWorld TV, Mr. Guo Weihua at Toonmax, and Mr. Josh Selig, President of the American television studio Little Airplane Productions. These experts exchanged ideas on the current situation and future of original animation industry through the lenses of story creation, globalization of business, and integration of IP industrial chains. At these forums, our speakers offered constructive advice for the animation industry and insight for the future.
The Animation Trilogy Targeted at 3 Different Age Groups Originates from the Nationwide Popular IP “Boonie Bears”
In 2014, Fantawild was the first in the Chinese animation industry to put forward the brand-new creative concept---“Right Animation for the Right Age”. Fantawild further developed the “Boonie Bears” IP and planned 3 new programs targeted at 3 different age groups. Boonie Bears: The Adventurers is about outdoor adventures targeted at children between 6 and 12 years old. Boonie Cubs is an edutainment program for younger children between 3 and 6 years old. Boonie Cub Tune Club is nursery rhyme music videos tailored for infants and toddlers between 0 and 3 years old.
Over the past 4 years, Boonie Cubs and Boonie Bears: The Adventurers have made a huge impact, receiving excellent ratings and reviews consistently. Since its premiere, Boonie Bears: The Adventurers has remained at the top of the ratings lists on major Chinese children’s TV channels, breaking the viewership record of CCTV Children’s Channel with a rating of 4.347%. This program has also garnered nearly 10 billion views on internet platforms. Boonie Cubs’ first two seasons were aired simultaneously on TV and internet platforms, also achieving high ratings. Each of the seasons consecutively ranked first on the Chinese TV animation ratings list when they were on air. Both appeared on the list of hit shows on all major digital media platforms.
At the animation expo, Fantawild unveiled the long-awaited nursery rhyme animation Boonie Cub Tune Club specially designed for infants and toddlers between 0 and 3 years old. The program includes uplifting children’s songs and trendy pop music elements to offer a refreshing and fashionable audiovisual experience popular among families. The music videos star the loveable characters Briar, Bramble, and Vick. Some of the songs are based on traditional nursery rhymes while others are original songs. All the songs are synced with animated videos and feature educational lyrics, which can delight as well as nudge babies and toddlers down the road of education and further learning. This program was well received by all attending the event.
Fantawild also launched Boonie Cubs 3 and Boonie Bears: The Adventurers 2. In Boonie Cubs 3, our little cubs are joined by some new characters including Babu’s father. Besides the educational elements and fine production, the show also features the over-arching theme of parent-child relationship, which further satisfies the needs of families who spend quality time with their children watching cartoons together. When it comes to Boonie Bears: The Adventurers 2, the show continues right where it left off in the last season and introduces some new characters including a human villain called Rex Vector, which adds more conflicts to the story. Besides Carly who was loved by audiences in Season 1, viewers will also meet their old friends in the previous films including adorable Neva, dignified Hugo, and the funny trio bear brothers and Vick. This time, faced with some new challenges and threats brought by Rex Vector, they will set off on a new thrilling escapade. According to the stills and trailers released on the scene, the new series of the two shows have been comprehensively improved in terms of storytelling and animation production, which makes them on a par with Boonie Bears films.
Boonie Bears: The Adventurers 2, Boonie Cubs 3, and Boonie Cub Tune Club are expected to be released in the 4th quarter of 2018, first half year of 2019, and the 1st quarter of 2019 respectively.
“Boonie Bears” Guarantees Your Whole Family Endless Joy throughout the Spring Festival.
Boonie Bears will definitely guarantee you and your whole family endless joy throughout the Spring Festival. Going to theaters to watch a Boonie Bears film has become an essential activity for families with children to enjoy. Until now, Fantawild has released 5 Boonie Bears theatrical films, and audiences are deeply impressed by their heartwarming stories, good reputation and ratings, as well as the great fun they bring to all.
The 6th movie in the Boonie Bears series, Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past, is about to hit cinemas in the Spring Festival of 2019. This long-expected animated film was unveiled at the expo. This time, the bears and Vick accidentally travel through time and space only to find themselves back in the prehistoric age. When modern technology and primitive civilization come together, sparks will be created that will span the scope of time. Vick and the bears find themselves in a 10,000-year-old crisis but can they fix it? The answers will be revealed in cinemas soon.
At the expo, Fantawild disclosed that the new film features magnificent prehistoric spectacles including many mysterious creatures with hilarious and thrilling stories. It’s possible that, even though it took 10,000 years, Vick may have found love for the first time. This new film will exhibit the high quality of visual effects and animation that has come to be synonymous with Fantawild’s properties. Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past was a huge success for Fantawild at the expo and is sure to soar past expectations once it hits theaters.
Brand-New IPs Steal the Spot and Fantawild IP Formation Takes Shape
Outside of the TV series and films of the nationwide IP “Boonies Bears”, Fantawild announced 2 brand-new original IPs which drew considerable interest and attention from guests in attendance.
One of these new properties is the brand-new animated series, Tiger Team. Tiger Team is a globally known IP originating from the children’s book series by Austrian author Thomas Brezina. The books are about three talented young teenagers going on adventures and solving mysteries. The Tiger Team books were first introduced to China in 2001. They are extremely popular among young Chinese readers who really identify with compelling stories, intriguing knowledge, clever characters, and unique high-tech tools. In just 3 years, the Tiger Team books broke the sales record of 7 million copies held by the Harry Potter series. So far, there are altogether 83 Tiger Team books. They have been translated into 26 languages globally and have sold over 40 million copies. Tiger Team books have ranked first on the best-sellers list in the category of children’s book in China for 23 times. These books have become a must-have for any child’s library.
Fantawild has commenced the animation adaption of the Tiger Team project. Besides the in-house creation team, Fantawild has also hired professional script writing teams from Hollywood to undertake the work of writing innovative stories. Fantawild has joined with ZODIAK KIDS STUDIOS, a leading children’s media producer under one of the biggest media groups in France, BANIJAY GROUP, to distribute the show on the international market at the same time. Fantawild will integrate superior resources via its well-established distribution network, hold multiple marketing activities, and take advantage of its own theme parks to develop Tiger Team, which has gained a considerable fan base worldwide, into a super animation.
Fantawild revealed the progress of the Tiger Team project on this conference. This animation will be released at the beginning of 2020. Some concept videos about the show were released for the first time at the conference, giving audiences a glimpse at the suspenseful ambience as well as the elements of mystery solving and thrilling adventures. Audiences commented that the concept video was enthralling and that they expect the show to be even better.
What’s more, an oriental themed animated film, Realm of Terracotta, was unveiled at the conference. This film is based on China’s historical and famous attraction, the “terracotta warriors”, which is also an iconic cultural treasure of human civilization. It depicts a fantastical world, blending the elements of adventure, love, growth, good, and evil. To better present Chinese culture, Fantawild burrows deep into the Chinese legends, myths, and historical relics, taking tremendous effort to reproduce the oriental style, scenes, and characters. “A special research team was dispatched by Fantawild to the mausoleum of Emperor Qin to thoroughly study the terracotta warriors for months in order to recreate the magnificent scope of the prosperous Qin dynasty.”
Fantawild has been making the film Realm of Terracotta for three years and the movie will be premiered in the summer of 2019. Before the official screening, comics with the same name will be published on mainstream comic platforms leading up to the film debut. The film combines the longstanding Chinese history with the popular fantasy elements to recreate the Qin dynasty. The attendees of the expo were thrilled and activated by the reveal of Realm of Terracotta.
Professionals Gather at Forums to Talk about the Future of the Industry
Fantawild invited more than 10 professionals, including Cao Xiaohui, the Deputy Dean of China Animation Academe; Luo Lan, Production Director of AniWorld TV; Guo Weihua, General Manager of Toonmax TV; and Josh Selig, the president of Little Airplane Productions to attend forums with about 500 representatives from top companies operating famous brands, media platforms, film groups, e-commerce platforms, retail industry, publishers, game companies, and other concerned fields from home and abroad. The forums centered on topics like “Telling Amazing Animated Stories and Presenting Fine Artwork”, “The Globalization of Animation”, and “Integrating Industrial Chains and Forging Top-Tier IPs”, and guests shared views on the development and future of the animation industry.
At the first forum, professionals spoke on “Telling Amazing Animated Stories”. China’s animation industry has boomed in recent years, and significantly shaped the market and development of the industry. As more and more animations pop up, high quality shows with good content become increasingly important. Industry experts from different channels and segments shared their experience on content creation. Leon Ding, Senior Vice President of Fantawild, stated that “A good story is the core of high quality animation. We need to create works which are thought-provoking and artistic, and understand the characteristics of animation to create a world which is both imaginative and life-like”.
Besides high quality stories, the strategy of “going global” is also crucial to expanding our influence. Global cooperation will become a major trend in the animation industry. In the second forum about “The Globalization of Animation”, based on the current situation of China’s animation industry, professionals from home and abroad analyzed the opportunities and challenges it faces when interacting with the international market. Josh Selig, president of Little Airplane Productions, thinks that “the gap between Chinese animations and those in the international market is small. However, it is crucial to choose a suitable topic and tell the story in a way that worldwide audiences can understand and accept. We also need to choose the right way and channel in order to go global.”
In the third forum about “Integrating Industrial Chains and Forging Top-Tier IPs”, experts from the fields of broadcast media, brand companies, e-commerce, and theme parks came together to exchange opinions. They agreed that different industries are not isolated and do not develop in a linear way. As parts of the IP industrial chain, different industries need to cooperate in creative ways and give play to their own resource advantages. Only in that way can they give a brand or IP new vitality.
These professionals also approved of the IP formation comprised of the 6 new programs Fantawild released. They agreed that both the in-depth exploitation of current shows for targeted age groups and the new IPs aimed at the international market are smart moves for further development of Fantawild and the industry with optimistic prospects. The all-round exploitation and development of Fantawild in the fields of brand licensing, theme park, and crossover cooperation set a leading example in China’s animation industry.
This conference also summarized Fantawild’s performance in brand licensing over the past year. Many licensees were selected for their good performances and received awards. Outstanding licensees, such as Mengniu Dairy, received Fantawild’s annual award for licensing.
The new shows revealed at this conference are all highly anticipated by all of Fantawild’s guests at the expo. Fantawild’s complete industrial chain and excellent licensing services ensure a promising future. Daisy Shang, Senior Vice President of Fantawild Holdings Inc. and General Manager of Fantawild Animation Inc., described Fantawild’s future development, “Fantawild will keep innovating and creating better animations. We will develop in depth, current animations, while adding to and expanding our IP formation so as to build a more extensive Fantawild animation kingdom. We will contribute to China’s animation industry, bring more joy and happiness to global audiences, and spread Chinese culture on the world stage.”
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