Kids Can Press Kicks
Off 50th Anniversary Year with News of Second
Ashley Spires Franchise to Be Adapted into Animated Series
Kids Can Press to
Publish Third Book in The Most Magnificent Franchise in
Fall 2023
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TORONTO, Jan. 17,
2023 /CNW/ - Corus Entertainment's
Nelvana, a world-leading international producer,
distributor, and licensor of children's animated and live-action
content, today announced the greenlight and start of
production on its new CG animated series, Millie
Magnificent (52x11). The new series announcement kicks
off Kids Can Press' year-long
50th Anniversary celebrations. The award-winning
children's book publisher also revealed the cover of a third book
in The Most Magnificent franchise, to launch in Fall 2023. Inspired
by Canadian author-illustrator Ashley
Spires' The Most Magnificent Thing, and following the
success of the Nelvana-produced award-winning short film of the
same name, the original preschool series Millie Magnificent
has already received strong interest from international
broadcasters and is set to deliver in 2024.
The picture book The Most Magnificent Thing, about a
little girl who perseveres through a frustrating creative process,
released in 2014 and became the keystone children's book of the
maker movement. With close to 800,000 copies sold to date, the book
has been translated into 21 languages and continues to delight new
readers. Its follow-up, The Most Magnificent Idea, which
sees the same character working through a creative block, was
the runaway bestseller of the 2022 fall and holiday season, having
sold over 25,000 copies in just three months. In the original new
preschool series Millie Magnificent, eight-year-old Millie
is an avid inventor, creator, and problem-solver. With a spark of
imagination and endless determination, Millie and her Creato-crew
friends, Maya and Ben, together with her adorable canine assistant,
Wallace, strive to find the most magnificent solutions to their
neighborhood's challenges.
"We are thrilled to kick off our 50th anniversary
year with the news of yet another Kids Can Press franchise being
made into an animated series by our colleagues at Nelvana," said
Lisa Lyons Johnston, President and
Publisher of Kids Can Press. "The Most Magnificent Thing has
resonated and inspired thousands of children around the world to
foster their imagination and creativity, and we have loved watching
Nelvana expand the universe of Ashley
Spires' beloved book, first to the big screen and now as an
animated series."
The new animated series is the second Nelvana adaptation of an
Ashley Spires work published by Kids
Can Press. Her Binky Adventure graphic novels inspired the 3D
animated series Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, produced
by redknot, a joint venture company between Nelvana and
Warner Bros. Discovery, and now in its third season, airing on
networks around the world.
Millie Magnificent features Ruth Ramirez as Series Director, Sheila Rogerson as Head Writer, Jillianne Reinseth as Supervising Creative
Producer, Laurie Handforth as
Producer, Jelena Sisic as Art
Director and Eva Zhou as Design
Supervisor. The voice cast includes Kaia
Oz (Gisele's Mashup Adventures) as Millie,
Ian Ho (A Simple
Favor) as Ben and Tianna
SwamiNathan (Paw Patrol) as Maya.
"Both Ashley Spires' book and
Nelvana's short film have received tremendous accolades as it
captured the hearts and minds of audiences around the world and
motivated them to be like Millie — a creative thinker who always
goes out of her way to help others," said Athena Georgaklis, Head of Development, Nelvana.
"We're delighted to kick off production and onboard a female-led
team to work on the series, including our very own Ruth Ramirez to direct and industry-renowned
Sheila Rogerson as the head writer.
The initial interest for this series has been nothing short of
magnificent."
"I'm honored that Kids Can Press is kicking off their milestone
anniversary with the announcement of Millie Magnificent,"
said Ashley Spires. "I am so lucky
to work with a publisher with such close ties to an animation
studio. As a child, I dreamed of working in animation, and having
published with Kids Can Press, who have a unique relationship with
Nelvana, that dream became a reality — not once, but
twice! Now my role as an author-illustrator has expanded to
television writer and producer."
Today, Kids Can Press also revealed the cover of the third book
in The Most Magnificent franchise, releasing in the fall of 2023.
The Most Magnificent Maker's A to Z takes
readers on an inspirational alphabet journey, as our favorite
characters from The Most Magnificent Thing walk us through
all the words that little makers need to know. The new picture book
and future books in the franchise, together with Nelvana's
Millie Magnificent, are part of the companies' strategy to
expand the audience and help foster the next maker
generation.
The film The Most Magnificent Thing marked Nelvana's
first ever animated short and has since earned nearly 30
nominations and awards and been officially selected to participate
in nearly 100 international film festivals. Nominations and awards
include winning Best Short Film for Children at ANIMAYO 2020, the
Golden Sheaf Award Winner for Children's & Youth Production at
Yorkton Film Festival, 1st Prize
Children's Jury Award for Best Animated Short Film at Chicago
International Children's Film Festival, and it was recently
shortlisted for the BolognaRagazzi 2022 Crossmedia Award. The first
television broadcast was on International Day of the Girl in 2019
on YTV in Canada, and it currently
airs internationally on SRC (French Canada), France Television
(France), ABC (Australia), TVNZ (New Zealand), Discovery Kids (LATAM), CzechTV
(Czech Republic), RTVS
(Slovakia), NRK (Norway), SVT (Sweden), YLE TV2 (Ireland), HOP (Israel), RTS (French Switzerland), JEI TV
(South Korea), NHK (Japan), True Corp (Thailand), WeKids (China) and Radio Television HK (Hong Kong).
Kids Can Press is familiar with
franchise cross-media success; in addition to the aforementioned
Binky Adventure series spin-off, they are home to Franklin the
Turtle, one of the most successful Canadian children's book
franchises, with over 65 million copies in print, including
international brand licensing and Nelvana's animated TV series that
continues to air around the world.
"We will have more news, milestones, promotions and events to
share throughout our anniversary year, to showcase our successful
partnerships and our dedication to advancing diversity, equity and
inclusion as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals," added Lyons Johnston. "Watch for highlights on some of our
newest picture books, graphic novels, YA and nonfiction, and
previews of other exciting projects in the pipeline. Looking ahead
to what this anniversary year holds, I think Millie would say it
best — 'IT'S GOING TO BE MAGNIFICENT!'"
For Millie Magnificent broadcast and licensing
opportunities email Nelvana.Distribution@corusent.com.
About Kids Can Press
Kids Can
Press, part of the Corus Entertainment family, is
celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2023. A recipient of the
distinguished Bologna Prize for the Best Children's Publisher,
North America, Kids Can Press is
known for its acclaimed literary picture books, character-driven
franchises with global and crossover appeal and award-winning STEM–
and social issues–based nonfiction. The publisher's catalog
includes an active list of over 700 titles for children and young
adults enjoyed by young readers around the world. Kids Can Press is among some of the industry's
leading publishers distributed by Hachette Client Services and is a
proud signatory of the United Nations Publishers Compact. For more
on our books and creators visit kidscanpress.com.
About Nelvana
Entertaining kids for over 50 years,
Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor
of children's animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a
stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on
comedies, preschool and action series, and ancillary consumer
products programs. Nelvana's content airs on Corus Entertainment's
kids' channels in Canada and in
over 180 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well
over 4,800 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major
international program awards including the Emmys® and Canadian
Screen Awards. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.
About Ashley
Spires
Ashley Spires
has written and illustrated dozens of books for children and is
known for her character-driven picture books and graphic novels.
Most notable is the bestselling The Most Magnificent Thing,
which, combined with its recent follow-up The Most Magnificent
Idea, have sold close to a million copies. Her Binky Adventure
graphic novels inspired the Nelvana animated series Agent
Binky, seen around the world. Ashley lives in British Columbia with her dog and a growing
army of felines.
About Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and
content company that develops and delivers high quality brands and
content across platforms for audiences around the world. Engaging
audiences since 1999, the company's portfolio of multimedia
offerings encompass 33 specialty television services, 39 radio
stations, 15 conventional television stations, digital and
streaming services, animation software, technology and media
services. Corus is an internationally-renowned content creator and
distributor through Nelvana, a world class animation studio expert
in all formats and Corus Studios, a globally recognized producer of
hit scripted and unscripted content. The company also owns
full-service social digital agency so.da, lifestyle entertainment
company Kin Canada, leading 2D animation software supplier Toon
Boom and children's book publishing house, Kids Can Press. Corus'
roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network,
HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, Magnolia Network Canada, The
HISTORY® Channel, Showcase, Adult Swim, National Geographic, Disney
Channel Canada, YTV, Global News, Globalnews.ca, Q107, Country 105,
and CFOX, along with streaming platforms STACKTV, TELETOON+, the
Global TV App and Curiouscast. Corus is the domestic advertising
representative and an original content partner for Paramount
Global's Pluto TV, the world's leading free ad-supported streaming
television (FAST) service. For more information visit
www.corusent.com.
SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.