Arthur series creator Marc Brown is bringing his next kids show to Max. The streaming service has given a series greenlight to new animated preschool series Hop. The series order is part of a return by Max, the company behind the Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera libraries, to the kids space.
The series also marks Brown’s first television show following last year’s finale of the beloved Arthur series following its 25-season run on PBS.
Co-created by Brown and Arthur alums Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown, Hop hails from producers Epic Story Media and Loomi Animation. Epic also has brought on board RespectAbility – the advocacy nonprofit organization fighting stigma and advancing opportunity for people with disabilities – to consult on the series.
Hop follows an eclectic group of besties whose comedic adventures teach preschoolers about embracing their own uniqueness. Led by Hop, an enthusiastic, empathetic frog with one leg shorter than the other,...
The series also marks Brown’s first television show following last year’s finale of the beloved Arthur series following its 25-season run on PBS.
Co-created by Brown and Arthur alums Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown, Hop hails from producers Epic Story Media and Loomi Animation. Epic also has brought on board RespectAbility – the advocacy nonprofit organization fighting stigma and advancing opportunity for people with disabilities – to consult on the series.
Hop follows an eclectic group of besties whose comedic adventures teach preschoolers about embracing their own uniqueness. Led by Hop, an enthusiastic, empathetic frog with one leg shorter than the other,...
- 6/12/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The creator of Arthur is creating another world of anthropomorphic animals for TV.
Max has greenlit a preschool series called Hop from Marc Brown, whose many Arthur books were the source material for the beloved and long-running PBS series, and Arthur series veterans Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown. The series order comes a year after Arthur concluded a 25-year run on PBS.
Hop, targeted at preschoolers, will center characters with disabilities, including its title character, a 6-year-old frog with one leg shorter than the other.
“Even before Arthur ended, I was nurturing a new project about a little frog named Hop, for a younger audience,” Brown said in a statement. “As Hop’s world grew in my imagination, I drew inspiration from the great work my friend Fred Rogers had done. With Arthur, we occasionally introduced characters with disabilities, but they never became part of the ensemble cast in any meaningful way.
Max has greenlit a preschool series called Hop from Marc Brown, whose many Arthur books were the source material for the beloved and long-running PBS series, and Arthur series veterans Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown. The series order comes a year after Arthur concluded a 25-year run on PBS.
Hop, targeted at preschoolers, will center characters with disabilities, including its title character, a 6-year-old frog with one leg shorter than the other.
“Even before Arthur ended, I was nurturing a new project about a little frog named Hop, for a younger audience,” Brown said in a statement. “As Hop’s world grew in my imagination, I drew inspiration from the great work my friend Fred Rogers had done. With Arthur, we occasionally introduced characters with disabilities, but they never became part of the ensemble cast in any meaningful way.
- 6/12/2023
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Julia Sawalha has shared an open letter via her social media profiles expressing disappointment and anger at being left out of Aardman Animations’ upcoming “Chicken Run” sequel, confirmed as a Netflix pickup at June’s Annecy festival. Sawalha voiced Ginger in the Oscar-nominated original, which remains the top grossing stop-motion feature ever, 20 years after its release.
“To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement,” she said in the letter. “I feel totally powerless, something in all of this doesn’t quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags.”
According to Sawalha, she was informed about the decision last week by her agent, who speculated it was because her voice now sounds “too old” after receiving a letter of dismissal in which it was indicated that Mel Gibson would not be returning as Rocky for that very reason.
Sawalha says that voice...
“To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement,” she said in the letter. “I feel totally powerless, something in all of this doesn’t quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags.”
According to Sawalha, she was informed about the decision last week by her agent, who speculated it was because her voice now sounds “too old” after receiving a letter of dismissal in which it was indicated that Mel Gibson would not be returning as Rocky for that very reason.
Sawalha says that voice...
- 7/10/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Bron, which has invested in films including The Front Runner and Fences, has acquired a minority stake in kids production company Epic Story Media.
The company has made the investment through its Bron Ventures division and will take a seat on the board. It will allow the company, which is run by veteran kids TV exec Ken Faier, to further invest in high-end children’s IP.
Epic Story Media, which was launched in 2017, has a slate of kids projects in development and will launch two of them – Haley and the Hero Heart and Dolph N Fince at next week’s Mipcom.
It is the latest production investment for Bron, which is based between Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, and follows deals for Media Res, Blackhand Media and New York based Animal Kingdom. Bron was set up in 2010 by Aaron L. Gilbert and Brenda Gilbert.
“Bron is a like-minded,...
The company has made the investment through its Bron Ventures division and will take a seat on the board. It will allow the company, which is run by veteran kids TV exec Ken Faier, to further invest in high-end children’s IP.
Epic Story Media, which was launched in 2017, has a slate of kids projects in development and will launch two of them – Haley and the Hero Heart and Dolph N Fince at next week’s Mipcom.
It is the latest production investment for Bron, which is based between Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, and follows deals for Media Res, Blackhand Media and New York based Animal Kingdom. Bron was set up in 2010 by Aaron L. Gilbert and Brenda Gilbert.
“Bron is a like-minded,...
- 10/9/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Bron Ventures has bought into Epic Story Media, the content firm set up by former Dhx Media exec and kids TV veteran Ken Faier. He set up Epic Story last year to work up new kids programming and franchises. Bron, which has backed films including “The Front Runner,” “Fences,” and “Tully,” has taken a minority stake in the business.
Epic Story remains an indie after the Bron investment and will continue to partner-up on the kids properties it is working on, which was its strategy from launch. It will use the new backing to invest in more high-end kids IP, which it will take out internationally.
Bron launched investment division Bron Ventures earlier this year. It has already bought into Brooklyn-based producer Animal Kingdom.
Bron will take a seat on the Epic Story board after the deal with Faier’s firm. “I have known Ken a long time and have witnessed first-hand his many achievements,...
Epic Story remains an indie after the Bron investment and will continue to partner-up on the kids properties it is working on, which was its strategy from launch. It will use the new backing to invest in more high-end kids IP, which it will take out internationally.
Bron launched investment division Bron Ventures earlier this year. It has already bought into Brooklyn-based producer Animal Kingdom.
Bron will take a seat on the Epic Story board after the deal with Faier’s firm. “I have known Ken a long time and have witnessed first-hand his many achievements,...
- 10/9/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Bron Ventures, a subsidiary of Bron Media Corp., has acquired a minority stake in Epic Story Media, a kids TV company launched by veteran executive Ken Faier last year.
Financial details weren't disclosed.
Bron's production division Bron Studios is known for such features as Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, Tully with Charlize Theron and Jennifer Kent's Venice Film festival entry The Nightingale.
Bron Ventures has numerous strategic investments and production partnerships in place with such companies as L.A.-based Media Res and Blackhand Media, as well as New York-based Animal Kingdom.
Faier, whose production credits ...
Financial details weren't disclosed.
Bron's production division Bron Studios is known for such features as Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, Tully with Charlize Theron and Jennifer Kent's Venice Film festival entry The Nightingale.
Bron Ventures has numerous strategic investments and production partnerships in place with such companies as L.A.-based Media Res and Blackhand Media, as well as New York-based Animal Kingdom.
Faier, whose production credits ...
- 10/9/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Jerusalem Film and Television Fund’s animation event The Hop, Skip & A Jump is aiming to grow the city’s fledgling animation scene.
The first edition of a new event aimed at Jerusalem’s nascent animation industry – called The Hop, Skip & A Jump – kicks off on the fringes of Jerusalem Film Festival on July 13. The three-day meeting, comprising mentoring sessions, master-classes and the pitching of 14 new Israeli animation projects, has been put together by Jerusalem Film and Television Fund director Yoram Honig, who says it is the third stage in his fund’s campaign to build an animation industry in Jerusalem.
The first stage was direct investment in Israeli animation features Including Albert Hanan Kaminksi’s Being Solomon [pictured] and Gidi Dar’s Legend Of Destruction which are currently in production (Being Solomon was also part of this year’s Pitch Point event). The second stage was the introduction of a 30% rebate for every dollar spent in Jerusalem...
The first edition of a new event aimed at Jerusalem’s nascent animation industry – called The Hop, Skip & A Jump – kicks off on the fringes of Jerusalem Film Festival on July 13. The three-day meeting, comprising mentoring sessions, master-classes and the pitching of 14 new Israeli animation projects, has been put together by Jerusalem Film and Television Fund director Yoram Honig, who says it is the third stage in his fund’s campaign to build an animation industry in Jerusalem.
The first stage was direct investment in Israeli animation features Including Albert Hanan Kaminksi’s Being Solomon [pictured] and Gidi Dar’s Legend Of Destruction which are currently in production (Being Solomon was also part of this year’s Pitch Point event). The second stage was the introduction of a 30% rebate for every dollar spent in Jerusalem...
- 7/13/2016
- ScreenDaily
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