Thursday, May 31, 2012

Nickelodeon Acquires The Global Broadcast Rights To Zodiak Kids' Brand New Animated Preschool Series "Quick, Quack, Duck!"; Set To Premiere In 2013

From Broadcast:
Duck lays $9m golden egg for Zodiak with Nick Jr deal

Zodiak Kids has secured a global pre-sale to Nickelodeon, for a series whose budget is thought to be in the region of $9m (£5.7m).

Under the deal, pre-school animated series Quick, Quack, Duck! will air on Nick Jr channels in more than 100 countries around the world from 2013, including the UK and US.

Quick Quack Duck, Based on Bafta-winning short film The Happy Duckling

The 52 x 11-minute 3D animation is being produced by Zodiak indie The Foundation, in partnership with creator QQD and Korean animation studio High 1 Entertainment.

It follows the adventures of an inquisitive seven-year-old boy called Remi and his devoted duck Quack. The duo live in a unique "pop-up world", where they can use tabs, pulls and other devices to trigger popups that create an interactive story.

Zodiak Kids senior vice-president of global sales and co-production Karen Vermeulen brokered the deal with Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Groups senior vice-president of global acquisitions and international programming Jules Borkent.

Zodiak MEAA/UK family and kids chief executive Nigel Pickard said a deal “of this scale” would significantly enhance the indie’s relationship with Nick Jr, following the launch of The Foundation’s pre-school series Tickety Toc on the UK channel earlier this year.

Quick, Quack, Duck!, which is based on Bafta-winning short film The Happy Duckling, is currently in pre-production.

The short's director Gili Dolev co-created the new series with Yvette Kaplan (Ice Age, Beavis & Butthead). Pickard will exec produce with The Foundation's ["Summer In Transylvania"] Vanessa Hill, alongside Kaplan and QQD’s Ronen Shani. Simon Spencer is the showrunner.
Also, from C21Media:
Nick Jr out for a Duck

Global kidcaster Nick Jr has signed an international pre-sale deal for a new animated series from coproducers in the UK, Korea and Israel.

Quick Quack Duck!

Quick Quack Duck! (52x11′) is being produced by Zodiak Media-owned UK prodco The Foundation, alongside Tel Aviv-based format creator QQD Limited and Korean animation studio High 1 Entertainment. The toon will air on all of Nick Jr’s channels worldwide once it is completed.

The CGI animated series, co-created by Yvette Kaplin (Ice Age, Beavis & Butthead) and Gili Dolev, follows an inquisitive seven-year-old boy and his duck friend as they adventure through a world in which everything is pop-up.

As part of the pre-sale acquisition, Nick Jr will work with The Foundation and QQD on the creative development of the series, which is currently in pre-production. Zodiak Kids, Zodiak Media’s children’s production and distribution arm, brokered the deal and retains worldwide rights to the property.

The Foundation's latest preschool series, Tickety Toc, launched earlier this year on Nick Jr in the UK.

Nico Franks
31-05-2012
©C21Media

TAGS: Acquisitions
GENRES: Animation, Children's
SHOWS: Quick Quack Duck!, Tickety Toc
PEOPLE: Gili Dolev, Yvette Kaplin
COMPANIES: High 1 Entertainment, Nick Jr, Nickelodeon, QQD Limited, The Foundation, Zodiak Kids, Zodiak Media
SECTIONS: C21 Kids
COUNTRIES: Israel, Korea, UK