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Korea’s CJ ENM still fully committed to animation; "Robot Trains" shift to Italy’s Mondo TV is part of a “strategic alliance”, CJ says
09 September 2019
Korea’s CJ ENM may have handed majority control of the new Robot Trains season to Italy’s Mondo, but the conglomerate’s Seoul-based animation unit says the company’s ambitious focus on animation “remains unchanged”.
Earlier this month, the two companies said Mondo TV would own 90% of season three of the kids’ 3D CGI series, which was announced in 2015 as part of CJ ENM’s new global animation strategy.
This is the first time Mondo TV will be in charge of the whole production. The company invested in season two; the size of the investment has not been disclosed.
CJ ENM retains ownership of the original Robot Trains property and has a 10% stake in the third season.
A CJ ENM spokesperson said “CJ ENM anticipates building a strategic relationship with Mondo TV” through the new partnership for season three.
The spokesperson also said CJ ENM “still works as a major investor and producer of new animation, and several new projects are in our pipeline besides Robot Trains”. No details are available on the new properties.
Mondo TV will continue to take care of Robot Trains’ distribution worldwide (except Asia, but including China) for both audiovisual rights and licensing/merchandising.
CJ ENM will distribute the 52x11-minute series in Asia (excluding China).
Robot Trains, scheduled for an autumn/winter 2020 release, targets children between four and seven years old.
The show set in Train World, where all citizens are trains, but only some of them are special enough to be able to transform into robots.
The series was the tentpole of CJ ENM’s debut as an animation producer in 2015, with a team dedicated to developing the China animation business and an initial investment of US$15 million in year one.
The initiative pre-dated China’s block of Korean content because Korea supported the U.S. Thaad missile defence programme. At the time, the move was seen as CJ ENM’s effort to tap China’s young audiences in the wake of an easing of the country’s one-child policy.
CJ ENM animation is produced by wholly owned unit, Stu...
Korea’s CJ ENM may have handed majority control of the new Robot Trains season to Italy’s Mondo, but the conglomerate’s Seoul-based animation unit says the company’s ambitious focus on animation “remains unchanged”.
Earlier this month, the two companies said Mondo TV would own 90% of season three of the kids’ 3D CGI series, which was announced in 2015 as part of CJ ENM’s new global animation strategy.
This is the first time Mondo TV will be in charge of the whole production. The company invested in season two; the size of the investment has not been disclosed.
CJ ENM retains ownership of the original Robot Trains property and has a 10% stake in the third season.
A CJ ENM spokesperson said “CJ ENM anticipates building a strategic relationship with Mondo TV” through the new partnership for season three.
The spokesperson also said CJ ENM “still works as a major investor and producer of new animation, and several new projects are in our pipeline besides Robot Trains”. No details are available on the new properties.
Mondo TV will continue to take care of Robot Trains’ distribution worldwide (except Asia, but including China) for both audiovisual rights and licensing/merchandising.
CJ ENM will distribute the 52x11-minute series in Asia (excluding China).
Robot Trains, scheduled for an autumn/winter 2020 release, targets children between four and seven years old.
The show set in Train World, where all citizens are trains, but only some of them are special enough to be able to transform into robots.
The series was the tentpole of CJ ENM’s debut as an animation producer in 2015, with a team dedicated to developing the China animation business and an initial investment of US$15 million in year one.
The initiative pre-dated China’s block of Korean content because Korea supported the U.S. Thaad missile defence programme. At the time, the move was seen as CJ ENM’s effort to tap China’s young audiences in the wake of an easing of the country’s one-child policy.
CJ ENM animation is produced by wholly owned unit, Studio Bazooka, which backed The Haunted House (aired on CJ ENM channel Tooniverse); Papadog; Rainbow Ruby (announced 2015, aired 2016/7); New Pucca, which leverages Korean company Vooz’s character Pucca and was part of grand ambitions to transform Pucca into an “Asian Mickey Mouse" (the series is believed to be in production but no updates have been confirmed); and second seasons of existing animation series.
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