Roundups #113: Moonbug Kids' Blippi Expands Its Universe With New Content, Disney Junior Greenlit Two New Animated Series And Garbage Boy And Trash Can Still In Development On Cartoon Network

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Blippi expands its universe

Moonbug Entertainment is double-dipping into the world of Blippi, with a new franchise plan for his TV pal and co-host Meekah.

First up is a 28-episode live-action series based on the Blippi format of travel and education that’s airing now on AVOD platform HappyKids, and will go wide in December on Netflix. The series also features Move with Meekah, a segment in which the titular character learns about movement with Olympian Shawn Johnson joining as a celebrity guest.

But the real push will be in L&M. Moonbug is building a consumer products program around the bubbly character, working with existing Blippi licensees including Florida-based toyco Jazwares, which will launch a Meekah doll next year. The company has also partnered with Disguise for Halloween costumes that are due out in fall 2023, and with Amazon, which will sell signature purple-and-yellow Meekah T-shirts starting in December.

Sofia The First is getting more content

In honor of Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess 10th Anniversary, Disney Branded Television has announced two new Disney Junior shows on development from Electric Emu and Craig Gerber as part of his overall development deal, one of the projects expands the Enchantia-verse with a Sofia The First spin-off.

Dusty Dupree:

Revealed a year ago under Untitled Time Traveler Treasure Hunter, Dusty Dupree; follows Dusty a time-traveling treasure hunter who recovers lost family treasures.

Dusty Dupree is created by Kris Wimberly (Firebuds, Elena Of Avalor, SmokeScreen Productions) with Craig Gerber and Wimberly as Executive Producers with Disney Television Animation and Electric Emu Productions as production studios.

Royal Prep Academy (Working Title):

In this Sofia The First Spin-Off follows a new generation of princesses and princes attending the Royal Prep Academy, a school for princes and princesses in the fictional kingdom of Enchancia.

The series created and EP by Craig Gerber with Disney Television Animation and Electric Emu Productions as production studios.

GBATC creator provides an update

During the year, Warner Bros. Discovery had been making some radical changes to their portfolio which has led to several cancellations of content and a decline in review part of which had an affect on Cartoon Network Africa's upcoming show, Garbage And Trash Can.

Created by Moshod Shades Ridwan in partnership with African Animation Network follows,the comedy-driven toon is about a boy with imaginary superpowers who fights for justice with his trusty sidekick. Moshood was inspired to create the series by his experience being bullied in school. 

The series was slated to debut by the end of the year but I wouldn't be shocked if it was delayed for 2023 considering the reshuffle going on with the parent company either way the show is said to have almost wrapped production.

Hasbro To Sell eOne TV, But Keep Family Brands

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In a development that many saw coming, Hasbro has announced today that it’s initiating a sale process for eOne’s library and adult-skewing scripted and unscripted content businesses.

“As we execute Blueprint 2.0 [link] with a focus on strategic investment in key franchise brands like D&D, Peppa Pig and Transformers, we plan to expand our entertainment offerings across scripted TV, digital shorts and blockbuster films,” said CEO Chris Cocks in a statement.

Olivier Dumont, president of kids and family brands at eOne, has confirmed to Kidscreen that his division will not be affected by the sale. The eOne Family Brands portfolio includes high-performing IPs such as PJ Masks, Power Rangers and preschool series Ricky Zoom. PJ Masks, in particular, has a robust Hasbro-branded consumer products program spanning toys, playsets and costumes, as well as a broad range of licensed products from category-leading partners.

Assets that are for sale include eOne’s library content, unscripted series and non-Hasbro scripted series and films, as well as Hasbro’s stake in eOne’s film and TV distribution business.

The announcement builds on Hasbro’s most recent investment call, in which the company introduced a strategy to lean on its legacy IPs for brand-building, while using eOne’s studio capabilities to develop new ones like Kiya. In February, Hasbro hired Ruedilyn Cox as VP of global franchise strategy and management for this fledging TV-driven IP that centers around a young superhero and her best friends.

“The company plans to maintain significant development, production and financing capabilities to support its core brands across film, TV, animation and digital shorts,” according to Hasbro’s investor statement, which notes that its entertainment team will continue to operate under the eOne production banner until—and if—a sale is completed.

Power Rangers Actor Jason David Frank Has Died

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Jason David Frank was a key attraction to the Power Rangers franchise, debuting on the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series when it premiered in 1993. Frank was one of the most–if not the most–consistent presence throughout the franchise, appearing in 10 series and four movies. Although he primarily portrayed the Green Ranger, he would also later play the White, Black and Red Rangers through various iterations in the Power Rangers franchise, which has run almost consistently since the ‘90s, with one as recently as this September.

Power Rangers of course continues to have a major fanbase, which never really gave itself a chance to die down much since 1993. Going back to that time, basically everyone of that age had a favorite Power Ranger and took on that role during recess. And let’s face it, many of us argued over who got to be the Green Ranger.

In addition to his acting career, Jason David Frank was an accomplished martial artist. Frank was an 8th degree black belt and was even inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. He also had a short MMA career in 2010, with an amateur record of 3-0 and a professional record of 1-0, winning by submission.

Many have begun to send their thoughts on the news of Jason David Frank’s unfortunate death. Friend and trainer Mike Bronzoulis wrote on social media, “Jason was a good friend to me and I will miss him. Love n prayers for his wife Tammy and their kids, I pray that God gets yall through this difficult time.”

TheOdd1IsOut Presents Pitching A Show

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 Robert James Rallison (born May 14, 1996), known online as TheOdd1sOut, is an American cartoonist, YouTuber, animator, author, and voice actor. He is known for producing storytime animations on his YouTube channel and being the co-creator and co-star of the animated Netflix series Oddballs.

As of January 7, 2021, Rallison's main YouTube channel had over 16 million subscribers, and his secondary channel had over 2.7 million subscribers.

In 2017, Dave Trumbore of Collider named Rallison one of five YouTubers who were "poised for mainstream success". In 2018, Kristin Brantley of Culturess reviewed his channel and webcomics favorably, writing, "You’ll be glued to the screen watching all of these hilarious clips and reading all his great comics."

Review: Charlize Theron's Opinion Over The Afrikaans Language

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During the week, Hollywood star Charlize Theron made some bizarre comments about the Afrikaans language through a podcast. Taking to account that she was too raised in South Africa and moved overseas to have a better life.

The 47 year old actress stated that the language she grew up speaking was fading away and that only 44 people are still speaking the language. Implying that she isn't aware of the bulk of content coming to kykNET or the amount of people releasing books or poems in her native tongue.

Since the news of her offensive comments toward the Afrikaans language spread. She has recieved a ton of backlash while others choose to support her statement. From my perspective, I wouldn't say she's entirely wrong but her choice of words is what sets everyone back.

Afrikaans is the 3rd most spoken language in South Africa and sure schools may have seen a shortage in staff for this particular audience but that doesn't mean it's dying if anything it's reached a new stage in evolution.

Kind of like how you had SMS then Facebook and Twitter popped up both still can be messaging platforms the same case is currently happening with the Afrikaans language.

Sure there's a certain group of people who give the language a side eye not gonna point to race or anything but that's only cause they haven't found a way to enjoy it.

Honestly, I don't even watch Africa Magic the only way I can enjoy it is through tabloids to some extent and the same goes to sports where e-sports is another priority for me and everything else from soccer to wrestling I view through highlights and doccies.

Afrikaans has reached a new stage of evolution and it's popularity excelled following eMedia's and kykNET's investment toward Istanbul and platforms like Jou Afrikaans which is giving viewers another alternative to kykNET.