Kids round-up: Quintet launch heralds ‘Ivor The Engine’ return; Sensical preps streamer; Wildbrain goes DTC with Samsung

Ivor The Engine

Quintet launch heralds Ivor The Engine return

Quintet Pictures – a cross-platform production company focusing on the development of family based film and TV content – has launched today and set a live-action adaptation of classic children’s animation Ivor The Engine as its first project.

The UK-based venture was set up by writer, illustrator and producer Daniel Postgate; writer, producer and columnist Justin Pollard and music-industry veterans Jessica Gerry and Alex Kennedy.

Postgate has more than 50 children’s books to his credit and is the son of original Ivor creator Oliver Postgate. He started his career as a cartoonist for UK national newspaper The Sunday Times and later expanding into TV production and scriptwriting, including work on children’s series The Clangers.

Pollard is a TV and film producer whose feature credits include Elizabeth, Atonement and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, while his TV work includes associate-producer roles on Time Team and Vikings, and historical consultancy on all four seasons of The Tudors. He also consults on Peaky Blinders and has written for 16 seasons of QI for the BBC.

Gerry founded Brissett Music in 2011, while Kennedy’s varied career includes founding start-ups and senior corporate roles. He co-created the TV series Sky Arts Sessions during his time at Sky TV.

Quinet is also developing content in association with Smallfilms, the production company established by UK animation veterans Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, who created Ivor The Engine, The Clangers, Noggin The Nog and Bagpuss.

In addition to the Ivor the Engine film, other upcoming Quintet projects include musical children’s TV series Animal Fantastical, 18th century country-house drama Burnt Norton, radio project I Don’t Like Cricket, a WWI children’s drama project and a Dark Ages collaboration project with Kevin Crossley-Holland.

Aside from the live-action Ivor feature, Quintet is also launching with a collection of audio stories based on the IP, titled Ivor The Engine And Friends, with proceeds from the sales going to LATCH, a a charity that supports the children and their families who are being treated at the oncology unit of the Children’s Hospital of Wales.

Visit  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/IvorTheEngineChristmasStories to donate to LATCH.

Eric Berger

Sensical kids’ short-form streamer announced

Common Sense Media’s for-profit affiliate Common Sense Network has announced the 2021 launch of Sensical, a new free streaming platform offering short-form content for 2-12-year-olds.

Headed by Common Sense Networks CEO Eric Berger, Sensical aims to  “answer parents’ essential need for entertaining, age-appropriate content that nurtures the specific emotional, social, and cognitive needs of their children”.

The handpicked library of content will be tiered into three distinct categories – preschoolers (ages 2-4); little kids (ages 5-7) and big kids (ages 8-12) and include shows such as Bounce Patrol, Mother Goose Club, StacyPlays and Super Simple Songs.

“Sensical’s mission is to ignite kids’ passions, fuel curiosity, build bridges between children and their parents and make everyone part of the learning journey,” said Berger.

Launching early 2021, the service will be available on streaming devices, smart TVs and mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as a free, branded ad-supported app and live-streaming channels on major OTT platforms.

Teletubbies

Wildbrain launches kids channels via Samsung TV Plus

Kids entertainment company WildBrain has partnered with Samsung to launch multiple new children’s channels featuring a range of series from its content library on AVOD service Samsung TV Plus.

The first new linear channels have now launched and include Caillou And Friends in Spain and France and Teletubbies And Friends in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These will be followed in spring and summer 2021 by Degrassi channels for teens in the US and Canada, plus additional kids’ channels across European territories featuring Strawberry Shortcake, Bob the Builder and others.

“All indicators show that connected TVs are the new choice for home viewing and that families are increasingly turning to ad-supported video services on this platform as a source of quality entertainment,” commented Deirdre Brennan, EVP, content partnerships at WildBrain.