Latest news with #PJMasks
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From Brink Of Bankruptcy, TeamTO Unveils Six New Shows & Adult Animation Push At Annecy
Last year, storied French animation outfit TeamTO was on the brink of folding. Today at Annecy, its new owners unveiled reinvention and expansion. The PJ Masks outfit ran into financial problems after 20 years in operation and was bought in late 2024 by Italy's Riva Studios for €2.6M ($3M) after a 'highly competitive auction.' More from Deadline Neil Court Joins Coolabi As Chairman Amid 'Warrior Cats' Growth Push And M&A Opportunities "Je Suis Milhouse": Matt Groening Gets Emotional At Annecy As He Reveals The Motivation Behind The 800-Episode Longevity Of 'The Simpsons' Sola Media Posts First Deals For Annecy Title 'Captain Sabertooth And The Countess Of Grel' Six months on, new CEO Marco Balsamo unveiled a sextet of shows, a push into 2D and adult animation, and new technology. During an Annecy Studio in Focus event that has just finished, Balsamo showed audiences SKWAD!, TeamTO's first adult animated 2D comedy, which is set in the world of MMA, along with Infinity, a cinematic adult action-drama from acclaimed director Jay Oliva. Tapping into Balsamo's love for soccer – his family owns a soccer team in New York – TeamTO is also making Shadow Soccer, an anime-inspired sports drama with supernatural elements. Completing the sextet are What's Up, Eesha?, a whimsical preschool series co-produced with Maga Animation (Italy) and UMedia (Belgium), Greek mythology show Next Level: Odyssey and H.O.M.E., a sci-fi family comedy about a blended household living inside a retired intergalactic battle robot. Speaking to Deadline before the Studio in Focus, Balsamo said CGI will 'remain our bread and butter' but 'we've always wanted to branch out and show a variety of what TeamTO can accomplish, and that is in the 2D and adult animation space.' For the foreseeable future, the indie will take a roughly 50/50 split approach to its original IP work and production services, he added. Balsamo and his team became interested in acquiring troubled studio TeamTO initially to rescue some IP the pair were working on titled Junichiro Jackson – 'In our head it wasn't buying the studio but getting back our IP,' he said – but he quickly realized TeamTO was a 'turnkey' company. 'When we opened up the Pandora's Box there's this incredible team of people,' he added. 'It's a lot more than just CGI. And our job now is to optimize that and do the best we can to instil confidence within our team and our partners that we can re-establish ourselves as a premier animation studio.' Around 90%, or the 'core group' of TeamTO's circa-39 staff have kept their jobs, Balsamo said, although they were unable to retain the previous ownership 'for various reasons.' He said 'a handful of poor decisions at a bad time' combined with the 2023 U.S. labor strikes spelt the end for the previous iteration of TeamTO. 'They decided to expand into a huge studio that cost way too much money to sustain because they were under the impression that they were going to handle productions in double digits,' he added. 'When the service projects stopped coming in, the money dried up. It just boiled down to that decision.' Balsamo notes it is a rocky time for animation but said 'with that comes opportunity.' The new owner said he is equally happy working with local French players and major American studios, who are out in full force at Annecy this week, and he issued a rallying cry for the industry to come together in a time of strife and in the face of layoffs and the dangers of artificial intelligence. 'I think we're at an inflection point,' added Balsamo. 'Tribalism has to go. At the end of the day the robots are not going to support us or pay our bills. So studios, executives, partners and broadcasters really need to champion stories. Budgets and greenlights are harder to come by so we need to work together.' With this in mind, Balsamo's team will also unveil this week proprietary tech that it will shop to the market rather than keeping in-house including Tangerine, a real-time animation platform that it says increases animator productivity by up to 30%, and Yuzu, a new production management tool offering real-time visibility. Balsamo was speaking to Deadline at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Tired Mom Offers Kids Money To Go To Sleep, Laughter At What Happens Next
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A tired mom resorted to desperate measures at bedtime in a bid to her kids off to sleep, but it didn't have the desired effect. Parenting can be exhausting, not least when it comes to bedtime. Last year, a survey of over 1,500 parents conducted by the mattress retailer Sleepopolis found 71.91 per cent of respondents got less than 7 hours of sleep 3 nights a week or more. Nicole Bell from Fort Myers, Florida, is one of those parents. In many ways her life sounds like the kind most would dream of. "My husband and I have known each other since we were 6 as neighbors and I was and still am his sister's best friend," Bell told Newsweek. "We started dating when we were 16, and now we have 3 little girls, aged 7, 4, and 2 and a 13 year old dog." Nicole Bell offered her daughters money to go to sleep. Nicole Bell offered her daughters money to go to sleep. TikTok/thataverageparent However, as is often the case with young children, bedtime can occasionally turn into a nightmare. In Bell's case, the main culprit is their middle child. "The oldest is a decent sleeper, the youngest actually has been our best sleeper," Bell. "The 4 year old takes a solid hour and a half to fall asleep then wakes up at 3am to crawl into our bed." Matters came to a head one night recently. Bell's two eldest daughters, who share a room, were in bed but still very much awake. So, in moment captured on a nearby baby cam and later shared to TikTok under the handle @thataverageparent, Bell decided to up the ante. "Whoever's asleep first gets a dollar in the morning," Bell states as she leaves the room, hoping against all hope that it has the desired effect. But it's the hope that kills you. "At this point my husband had gone out for a run after putting the 2 year old to bed and I just wanted to get to bed myself so I was pulling out all the tricks," Bell said. "I went in, offered the dollar, then took a quick shower and came back to check on them." She hoped to return to find them both fast asleep. However, as the clip posted online shows, that wasn't the case. "The 7 year old was fast asleep, as I expected, but the 4 year old- not so much," Bell said. Instead her 4-year-old was wide awake and ready to explain why that was the case. "I can't sleep because the ninjas got my sleeping power," Bell's daughter can be heard saying on the clip. "So can you just give me a dollar in the morning?" Read more Teacher's Award for Girl in seventh grade sparks debate: "Poor kiddo" Teacher's Award for Girl in seventh grade sparks debate: "Poor kiddo" As baffling as her reasoning may have been to the casual viewer, Bell knew exactly what her daughter was referring to. "Her favorite show currently is PJ Masks, which has a villain called the Night Ninja and his sidekicks are Ninjalinos which is where her comeback originated from," she said. Bell said this is only the second time she had tried bribing her kids to go to sleep. "I honestly wasn't expecting the 4 year old to fall asleep, but I hoped she would," Bell said. "Really the goal was to give the oldest motivation to stop talking, because once she actually tries to fall asleep, she is out fast and then I would only have one awake kid left." Bell shared the footage to TikTok because her daughter's response made her laugh and she figured others would find it amusing too. "She's such a big goofball with a huge imagination that that response didn't even phase me as out of the ordinary," Bell said. The clip appears to have had the desired effect, with over 400,000 views and counting since being shared earlier this month. "I hope people just see it for what it is, a mom trying to make it until the end of the day, and not look too deep into it," Bell said. "I hope parents know that whatever they are doing to get by, however many real or metaphorical dollars they need to bribe kids with, they are doing a great job!"
Broadcast Pro
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
TwelveP Animation and Powerkids Entertainment to co-produce first international animated series from Abu Dhabi
The show is currently in fast-paced production, with a tentative completion date by the end of 2025. Abu Dhabi-based TwelveP Animation has partnered with Singapore's Powerkids Entertainment to co-produce Adventures of Akira & Mowgli, a new spin-off of the beloved The Jungle Book animated franchise. This international collaboration marks a historic milestone as the first-ever animated co-production of its kind originating from Abu Dhabi, and one of the pioneering efforts in the UAE's animation industry. The upcoming series introduces a fresh twist to the classic tale, with Mowgli joined by a daring new female lead, Akira. Together, they embark on thrilling jungle adventures filled with emotion, comedy, and vibrant visuals designed to resonate with global audiences. Scriptwriting duties are in the hands of writers Jeff Sager and Eric Steinhart, known for their work on hit children's series such as PJ Masks, Super Wings, Paw Patrol, Dino Ranch and The Snoopy Show. Production is currently moving at a rapid pace, with initial episodes expected to be delivered by mid-2025. The project has attracted a consortium of high-profile co-producers, including BeIN (Qatar), De Planeta (Latin America), Telegael (Ireland) and Wall Peep (India), further reinforcing the series' global appeal and production muscle. Even ahead of its official release, Adventures of Akira & Mowgli is already garnering industry recognition. Powerkids CEO Manoj Mishra has been honoured with the Best Producer award at the ANN Award 24, and the series has secured a nomination for Best International Showcase at the Cartoon on the Bay Pulcinella Awards. Speaking about the partnership and the animated series, Katerina Pshenitsyna, General Manager, TwelveP Animation, said: 'We, as TwelveP Animation, are happy to be the pioneering company from Abu Dhabi to structure an international co-production in animation based on the world standards! This puts Abu Dhabi on the map for the International Animation Society as well as allows for more future collaborations in the field. It is also a milestone for TwelveP itself as we diversify our activity from distribution to co-financing and co-producing family-friendly projects with international appeal. We believe that Akira & Mowgli has everything to become a successful global IP.' Manoj Mishra, CEO, Powerkids Entertainment, added: 'This innovative show introduces Akira, a bold and fearless new female protagonist, who joins the beloved Mowgli in this new jungle adventure brimming with heart, humour, and stunning animation. Together, we'll share the enigmatic world of Akira and Mowgli with audiences, unfolding their story in a way that's full of adventure and excitement.' Latifa Abdulla Al-Mana, Director of Kids Content and Channels, beIN MENA, commented: 'We are delighted to co-produce Adventures of Akira & Mowgli, and are excited to exclusively bring it to millions of children across the Middle East and North Africa. This partnership further reinforces beIN's long-standing commitment to delivering high-quality, family-friendly Arabic content to young audiences in the region through our leading kids' channels – Baraem and Jeem TV.' Paul Cummins, CEO of Telegael, stated: 'Telegael is excited to partner with our colleagues at Powerkids Entertainment to bring the exciting adventures of Akira and Mowgli to audiences around the world. Building on the huge success of The Jungle Book series, Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Sherekhan and Kaa meet the fresh energy of our new protagonist, Akira, a fearless girl from a nearby village with a strong character. Together, our heroes Akira and Mowgli outsmart mischievous foes, uncover ancient jungle secrets and learn the true meaning of friendship, courage and nature's balance.' Carlos Biern – Content & Media Sales Director, DeAplaneta Entertainment, noted: 'At DeAPlaneta Entertainment, we are always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with leading studios worldwide, and Asia is a key region for us. This is a great moment to explore spin-offs of classic stories with universal appeal, bringing them to a global audience. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are thrilled to work with internationally renowned and award-winning studios like Powerkids, sharing our passion for storytelling and high-quality entertainment.'
