American Greetings looking for copro partners at MIPCOM

The production and distribution arm of American Greetings is travelling to MIPCOM looking for coproduction partners on two new products.

The US social expression products company recently sold its two key TV properties – Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake – to Cookie Jar Entertainment for $195m following the Canadian company’s recent acquisition of DIC Entertainment. But management at American Greetings remain fully committed to its Creative Studios division and the production and distribution of kids content for TV and digital platforms.

"We formed around three years ago with the goal to create new IP and to support Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake and most of the focus was on these two," says Jeffrey Conrad, senior VP of American Greetings Properties’ Creative Studio. "Now the focus for us is creating lots of new IP and the company is still focused on that side of the business. The mother ship is very committed to us coming up with new properties."

As well as a handful of finished shows for MIPCOM, American Greetings will be scouting for coproduction partners and networks to come on board two new projects at the market.

First there is Packages from Planet X (WT) a half-hour boy-skewed action comedy for 9-to-14-year-olds about a 13-year-old boy who mysteriously receives a range of puzzling packages and what he goes on to do with them. There is also Yonderhood, an 11-minute preschool show about the Fairy Goosemother who has writers’ block and enlists the help of kids to find endings to her stories.

The company will also have several finished shows including 52x11mins Maryoku Yummy, Taffy, DQ Entertainment coproduction Twisted Whiskers and short form series Tinpo, which ran as interstitials on CBS and which American Greetings is developing as a digital property.