SHANGHAI and BEIJING — Canadian kids and family entertainment company WildBrain announced today a partnership with Chinese online entertainment service iQIYI to produce Jonny Jetboy, a new original animation series from Keith Chapman, creator of Paw Patrol and Bob the Builder.
The action-packed Jonny Jetboy series, comprised of 40 11-minute episodes, is targeted at kids aged 4-7 and is currently in production with delivery slated to begin in 2023, says a WildBrain press release.
“WildBrain Studios in Vancouver and China’s WinSing animation studio are working together to create the exciting new series, which follows the adventures of 10-year-old Jonny, the youngest member of the hero family, who are secretly the ‘superteam’ known as JetForce,” the release explains.
WildBrain will act as supervisor on the development and production of the series and will be handling its global distribution and licensing business outside of Greater China. The animation production for the series will be done by WinSing Animation Studio.
The creative team behind the show includes Chapman and Michael Vogel (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Berry in the Big City), who will serve as executive producers, and Jinming Lu (GG Bond) from WinSing Animation Studio.
Jonny Jetboy marks the first global partnership for original China IP struck by WildBrain’s China team, based out of Shanghai.
“Previously, iQIYI and WildBrain mainly collaborated over content acquisition,” said Xiaoxuan Yang, iQIYI’s vice-president, in the press release.
“As for Jonny Jetboy, it marks collaboration from creative stage for both parties. Together with first-class teams from both international and domestic, as well as WildBrain’s strength in international distribution and licensing in global market, this is a key step for iQIYI in building an internationally recognized IP.”
Jianbo Wei, WildBrain’s managing director for China, said Jonny Jetboy marks “a major milestone” for the company’s dedicated China team.
“With the combined creative genius of the team behind the show, coupled with high-energy storylines and heroic characters, we’re certain Jonny Jetboy has the right stuff to speed into the homes and hearts of families around the world,” Wei said.
Chapman added: “I’m thrilled to be working with Mike and Jinming and the talented teams at iQIYI and WildBrain to build Jonny Jetboy into a global super-brand. It’s going to be an awesome ride!”
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