With the launch of latest animated collection “Barney’s World” on Max and Cartoon Community and the preparation of a live-action “Barney” film with Daniel Kaluuya, Mattel will increase into non-preschool premium live-action TV collection to develop its Manufacturers and Belongings Mattel Chief Franchise Officer Josh Silverman introduced Sunday in the course of the MipJunior Management Keynote on the Cannes Movie Pageant, titled “Past the Toy Field: Shaping the Way forward for Gaming.”
Silverman additionally confirmed a launch date for Netflix’s Thomas & Associates: The Christmas Letter Categorical one-hour vacation particular, which will likely be launched globally on November twenty first within the U.S. and will likely be broadcast and streamed throughout a variety of channels together with Milkshake Carried out on media platforms! It airs on Channel 5 and Nick Jr. within the UK and Cartoonito in Italy.
“We have been doing very well in kids’s animation. We have now some nice merchandise on the unscripted facet,” Silverman stated kind.
“As we transfer ahead, one space that we actually wish to double down on — and we’ll positively be sharing extra about it within the coming months — is our deal with growing and creating actually high-quality, premium scripted live-action content material. That’s It’s an space that we haven’t actually been concerned in and invested in earlier than, not less than not in a significant manner,” he added.
At MipJunior Silverman additionally delved into Mattel’s technique, adopting 4 ideas: model proposition, consumer-centric innovation, cultural relevance (“We’re timeless and well timed,” he famous), and a franchise mentality.
“Barney’s World” is simply the tip of the iceberg. “Once I joined Mattel, one of many issues that struck me was the unbelievable breadth and depth of our mental property and product portfolio. We have now unbelievable manufacturers and franchises, characters and tales, Like multi-generational and universally iconic, 99 p.c, 100% consciousness so we have now an unbelievable toy field of toys to play with,” Silverman stated in Cannes.
He additionally detailed Mattel’s dramatic enlargement into movie and tv, with 14 movies and 14 TV collection in manufacturing by 2024, with 13 at the moment in manufacturing and 35 in improvement.
In its intensive protection of Mattel, kind Delved into Mattel’s movie based mostly on the “American Woman” doll line, which additionally included “Pet Sematary” screenwriter Lindsay Anderson Beale, and teamed up with Amazon-MGM Footage to launch the big-budget adaptation of “Universe” “The Grasp” In June 2026, Travis Knight directed “Lacking Hyperlink”.
Skydance Media, Apple Authentic Movies and Mattel will develop Matchbox, a live-action movie starring John Cena and directed by Sam Hargrave.
A live-action “View-Grasp” film based mostly on Mattel’s 3D graphics toys can also be in manufacturing.
Silverman used the display screen show to spotlight 9 Mattel merchandise on the Cannes Movie Pageant: “Barney’s World,” “Rio Polly’s Pocket Adventures,” “Thomas & Associates: All Engines Operating,” Sizzling Wheels, Barbie Mysteries: The Nice Horse Chase, House Monsters: Revolution, Monsters Excessive, Scrabble and Image E-book.
Silverman teased that Mattel will announce the brand new product on Monday.
Mattel is on the forefront of leisure in some ways. Silverman believes that “Barney’s World” is a present that speaks to the zeitgeist, conveying the message of dinosaurs’ love for themselves and others.
“At its core is love, self-love, caring, thoughtfulness, compassion, friendship. That is the true Barney. As everyone knows, the world we dwell in is a really complicated one. It all the time has been. It is an incredible addition to the great instructional factor and A really unusual, sincere interpretation of emotions that enables preschoolers to specific love, compassion and kindness, however in a enjoyable and musical manner,” Silverman stated on stage at Mip Junior.
One of many recurring characters is 6-year-old Mel, who’s Korean-Mexican and speaks three languages and loves sharing her tradition together with her associates.
“I might use the phrase authenticity. The staff definitely has Barbie as its model goal, and the model goal of inclusivity, effectively, does mirror the world and the communities by which we dwell and function,” Silverman stated.
“Thomas and Associates: The Christmas Letter Categorical” is a coloration 2D animation produced by Nelvana of Corus Leisure. In it, mail engine Percy discovers a baby’s letter to Santa forgotten within the backside of his mail truck on Christmas Eve; he’s decided to ensure the letter is delivered.
On November 21, the particular will air in the US, Canada, Greece, Spain, Benelux, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan
It’s going to reportedly be obtainable in different markets together with the UK, Latin America, Italy, France, Poland and Turkey by 2025.
Mattel will have a good time its eightieth anniversary subsequent yr. “We’ll have a extremely nice model marketing campaign. We’re very pleased with our continued development as a efficiency toy firm,” Silverman stated. “There are such a lot of unbelievable parts, the tactile nature of the toys, the toy parts, the globally iconic manufacturers and franchises and the characters and tales that actually resonate with our multi-generational and international viewers. We have now an unbelievable There’s a toy field to play with,” he added.
“As a efficiency toy firm, the longer term course is to increase leisure merchandise and actually turn out to be an IP firm throughout each stage of the enterprise to actually join with our followers,” Silverman stated.
