BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: GROM) (“Grom” or the “Company”), a media, technology and entertainment company dedicated to family-friendly programming, web filtering technology, and safe social media for kids, today announced that Curiosity Ink Media, Grom’s original content generator and prolific storytelling division, has acquired an equity stake in Hey Fuzzy Yellow!, an emerging original musical series and franchise entertainment brand for preschoolers. In securing the stake, Curiosity and Grom are partnering with international global production and distribution powerhouse, Toon2Tango GmbH & Co. KG, to co-produce the franchise’s centerpiece series. Hey Fuzzy Yellow!, created and developed by Måns Swanberg and Toon2Tango, expertly blends original music, comedy and edutainment curriculum for preschoolers, will pursue ancillary brand extensions that advance the show’s goal of imparting important and accessible life lessons while encouraging critical thinking skills through exploration and play.
Hey Fuzzy Yellow! has secured financing and programming commitments from several international broadcasters and is planned to enter production this year. Additionally, pre-sales for the property will continue in February, when the series will be offered to international program suppliers at the 2023 Kidscreen Summit conference in Miami, an annual gathering of global programming services and content producers.
A spirited take on early childhood edutainment, Hey Fuzzy Yellow! promotes independent thinking and self-expression through exploration and play. The series, expressed in interstitial-style short-form segments, aims to serve preschoolers and their parents through comedic storytelling, upbeat songs and music, and practical lessons viewers can embrace as they mature and develop. Curiosity and Toon2Tango will jointly co-produce each installment, overseeing scripts, animation, music, and global distribution as well as ancillary opportunities commonly associated with hit preschool properties. Curiosity Ink Media’s growing footprint in Kids Entertainment began when it opened its doors in 2017, prior to being acquired by Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. in 2021. Curiosity’s co-founder, Russell Hicks, previously served as President of Nickelodeon original programming and is widely credited with helping to usher in iconic global powerhouse entertainment brands including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Paw Patrol, among others.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with internationally acclaimed Toon2Tango to bring this series to life for a global audience,” said Russell Hicks, Chief Content Officer of Curiosity Ink Media. “Each episode will be developed and crafted to bring fun, excitement and catchy songs that grownups will love just as much as their preschoolers. Hey Fuzzy Yellow! is a series for younger kids that invites parents and caregivers in for a one-of-a-kind co-viewing opportunity rarely seen in programming today.”
Jo Daris, Chief Creative Officer of Toon2Tango, added, “Hey Fuzzy Yellow! is a true novelty series, combining a strong curriculum with a high entertainment value. It fully meets the demands of today’s Millennial parents.”
Curiosity’s ongoing collaboration with Toon2Tango builds on their expansion into original IP franchise properties, the thrust of its storytelling catalog. Toon2Tango, the Munich, Germany-based production company and specialists in development and distribution of kids’ and family content, enhances their global reach in animation production and brand building. In addition to Hey Fuzzy Yellow!, the collaboration also includes cultivating another preschool property, Baldwin, to market as well as teaming up to create Santa.com, an original holiday animated feature film inspired by Grom and Curiosity’s holiday-centric ecommerce and editorial site, for theatrical distribution.
About Toon2Tango
Toon2Tango is a boutique company specializing in IP creation, development, financing, production, distribution and brand building within the kids and family entertainment sector. The company is positioned as a worldwide operation working across all types of children’s and family entertainment IP. Toon2Tango also actively engages in co-financing and acquisition of quality programming with a strong international appeal. Its founders are Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris, two major names in the international television and movie arena.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Named as one of Business Worldwide Magazine’s “20 Most Innovative Companies to Watch” in 2022, Curiosity Ink Media is a global media company that develops, acquires, builds, grows and maximizes the short, mid, and long-term commercial potential of Kids & Family entertainment properties and associated business opportunities. Driven by a best-in-class leadership team, Curiosity Ink Media’s multi-faceted IP library is designed to amass ongoing value through strategic stewardship, partnerships, and highly targeted market entry. For more information, please visit https://curiosityinkmedia.com/.
About Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.
Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: GROM) is a growing social media platform and original content provider of entertainment for children under 13, which provides safe and secure digital environments for kids that can be monitored by their parents or guardians. The Company has several operating subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which delivers its content through mobile and desktop environments (web portal and apps) that entertain children, lets them interact with friends, access relevant news, and play proprietary games while teaching them about being good digital citizens. The Company also owns and operates Top Draw Animation, which produces award-winning animation content for some of the largest international media companies in the world. Grom also includes Grom Educational Services, which provides web filtering for K-12 schools, government and private businesses. For more information, please visit gromsocial.com or for investor relations, please visit at investors.gromsocial.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements, which may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Grom and members of its management team as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed throughout the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at www.sec.gov as well as the Company’s website at www.gromsocial.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or changes to future operating results.
Grom Social Enterprises/Curiosity Ink Media
Paul Ward
+1-917-0593-6066
Paul@gromsocial.com
Toon2Tango
Claudia Hennekemper
claudia.hennekemper@toon2tango.com
+49-89-2080-4710
Investor Relations
Brooks Hamilton
MZ Group - MZ North America
+1-949-546-6326
GROM@mzgroup.us
