Inside Comcast’s Kids Social media personalities Cartoon Forum—Promising pitches Zone walled garden p14 pooled for new toy line p19 headed to Toulouse this year p26 engaging the global children’s entertainment industry JULY/AUGUST 2015 US$7.95 in the U.S. CA$8.95 in Canada US$9.95 outside of & the U.S. in the U.S. US$7.95 A publication of Brunico Communications Ltd. CANADA POST AGREEMENT NUMBER 40050265 PRINTED IN CANADA USPS AFSM 100 Approved Polywrap CANADA POST AGREEMENT NUMBER 40050265 PRINTED IN USPS AFSM 100 Approved KS.25792.CyberGroupCover.indd 1 2015-07-15 2:31 PM HD CGI animation 52 x 7’ Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small Miffy and her friends are starring in a brand new TV show packed full of fun and adventure! Launching this fall at many TV stations worldwide all rights reserved Media bv, and Friends’© copyright Mercis ‘Miffy For information contact: Frank Padberg; [email protected] © Mercis bv KS.25945.BigTent.Ad.indd 1 2015-07-14 1:00 PM engaging the global children’s entertainment industry JULY/AUGUST 2015 2015 Cartoon Forum Promising projects vie for center stage in Toulouse 003KS_July15Cover.indd 1 2015-07-15 2:57 PM Early-bird entry fees in eff ect! Save $100 until August 14 AW AR Now offi cially accepting entries DS S Submissions due: September 18 D A As we head into our seventh year of celebrating excellence R in children’s television, we are launching a new set of Kidscreen W A A Awards categories to also pay tribute to the market’s best A digital media content, products and platforms for kids. What are you waiting for? Put your best work in the running now! AW AR DS S AWARDSD R A A Details on Categories, Fees, Eligibility, R Judging and Entering are available at awards.kidscreen.com W A A A KS.26728.KSA.HouseAd.indd 1 2015-07-16 12:10 PM Editorial July/August 2015 • Volume 19, Issue 4 www.kidscreen.com Can the holodeck be far behind? vp & publisher Jocelyn Christie [email protected] Here’s a $64-million word for editorial Lana Castleman Editor & Content Director you. Electroencephalography. [email protected] Jeremy Dickson Features Editor The term refers to a typically non- [email protected] Patrick Callan Senior Writer invasive scientific procedure that [email protected] Daniela Fisher Online Writer uses electrodes attached to one’s [email protected] Writers and Contributors Insight Kids (New York) head to record electrical activity Wynne Tyree (Jonesborough) of the brain along the scalp, business development and advertising sales measuring voltage fluctuations As we were going to press, the House of (416) 408-2300, 1-800-KID-4512 Mouse announced the next 10 tech startups Myles Hobbs Associate Publisher resulting from ionic current [email protected] set to take part in its second-annual Accelerator Nelson Huynh Account Manager within the neurons of the brain. mentorship program. A number of companies [email protected] Grace Li Marketing Coordinator A mouthful to be sure, but it’s from last year’s crop are already well on their [email protected] something in which Disney is way to being employed by various parts of the creative media empire. App ChoreMonster, for example, Creative Manager & Art Director Andrew Glowala apparently very interested. [email protected] launched a Disney/Pixar Inside Out takeover that Junior Art Director Kate Whelan unlocks characters from the film. Even more nota- [email protected] Production/Distribution Manager Robert Lines bly, robotics company Sphero, which produced the hit tech toy of the same name, [email protected] is set to manufacture the official toy version of the cute new BB-8 droid from audience services upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Manager, Audience Services Clearly the 11 startups from Accelerator’s first round were chosen for a reason, Christine McNalley [email protected] and many had seemingly actionable entertainment/consumer products applica- corporate President & CEO Russell Goldstein tions that Disney could access right away. What’s interesting about the second [email protected] group is that it includes several companies focused on neuroscience and artificial VP & Editorial Director Mary Maddever [email protected] intelligence applications that are, er, mindbending. Electroencephalography? Well, VP of Finance & Administration Linda Lovegrove that’s currently being practiced by Accelerator participant EMOTIV (emotive.com), [email protected] VP & Chief Information Officer Omri Tintpulver a bioinformatics company that uses the procedure to track mental performance, [email protected] monitor emotions and control virtual and physical objects with thoughts. FEMInc. VP & Realscreen Publisher Claire Macdonald [email protected] (fem-inc.com), meanwhile, purports to have developed an interactive personal- Customer care To order a subscription visit www.kidscreen.com/subscribe ized video platform based on neuroscience and psychology that maps the hows To make a change to an existing subscription, please contact us by e-mail: [email protected] and whys of the way content resonates with viewers. And while I have an inkling of Fax: 416.408.0249 Tel: 416.408.2448 Subscription rates how a content creator and distributor like Disney could use this technology, I can’t Kidscreen is published 7 times per year by Brunico Communications Ltd. say for certain how it would manifest. What’s crystal clear, however, is that the In the US: One year US$89.00 Two years US$159.00 Single copy price in the US is US$7.95. Please allow four industry is at the cusp of a revolution in how content is made and the form it takes. weeks for new subscriptions and address changes. Postmaster Notification Linear narrative and storytelling will always have a place—human beings are U.S. Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: Kidscreen PO BOX 1103 hardwired to crave them. But technology is moving in on these traditional struc- Niagara Falls NY 14304 Canadian Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: tures. Virtual reality specialist Oculus is getting into making original program- Kidscreen PO Box 369, Beeton ON L0G 1A0 Printed in Canada. Canada Post Agreement No. 40050265. ming, including animated content that literally puts the viewer in the picture. Now, ISSN number 1205-7746 Opinion columns appearing in Kidscreen do not necessarily reflect the Watch for views of the magazine or its parent company Brunico Communications imagine programming that uses all that neuroscience feedback to respond to a Ltd. All letters sent to Kidscreen or its editors are assumed intended the next issue of for publication. Kidscreen invites editorial comment, but accepts no viewer’s emotions and make changes on the fly, just like the holodeck depicted in responsibility for its loss, damage or destruction, howsoever arising, while in its offices, in transit or elsewhere. All material to be returned must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Nothing Star Trek. Am I dreaming? Beam me up, Scotty. may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission September 2015 of the publisher. © Brunico Communications Ltd. 2015. Street Date: ® Kidscreen is a registered trademark of Brunico Communications Ltd. September 7 Cheers, Lana July/August 2015 5 005_Editorial.indd 5 2015-07-16 4:35 PM Inside July/August 2015 moves 9 Stand-out products for kids and families that made the gaming grade at E3 HotStuff—Teen author Sean Fay Wolfe dishes on his Minecraft fan-fiction trilogy tv 14 A peek behind Comcast’s new Kids Zone walled-garden platform JustLaunched—One Animation’s Oddbods makes big international strides consumer products 19 Jazwares taps social media’s pool of popular personalities for new toy line Reinventing the wheel–Activision intros vehicles to keep Skylanders soaring kid insight 22 Research firm Smarty Pants looks into the specialization of summer camps in the US Curiosity Corner—What’s so great about...being messy? iKids 24 Startup Lost My Name turns personalized 19 publishing on its head Meet JeromeASF, one of 40 social media personalities lined up for Jazware’s new Tube Heroes toy line New Kid in Town—Germany’s Vai Kai blends connectivity with classic toy design Special Cartoon Forum 2015 Report A look at some of the promising projects headed to the annual toon pitchfest in Toulouse p26 New moves for Amazon Studios Singaporean toon Playmobil shoots German startup Mario among ups the ante Oddbods scores for expansion merges wooden 11 E3 highlights 15 with Wishenpoof!16 spot on Disney XD 20with NHL deal 24 toys and tech Cover Our cover features an ad for new CGI adventure series Zorro the Chronicles from France’s Cyber Group Studios, while our inside editorial cover sports an image of Sixteen South’s Cartoon Forum hopeful, 2D-animated Frankie and Doris. 6 July/August 2015 006_Contents.indd 6 2015-07-16 2:43 PM KS.25793.CyberGroup.Ad.indd 1 2015-07-14 3:13 PM KS.26724.ToyIndustry.Ad.indd 1 2015-07-14 12:55 PM moves The List Five things on our radar this month 1Disney gets teched out With a tweak to its business alignment and 10 new startups under its wing, the smooth- running Disney machine is not only keeping up with the times, it’s also preparing for the toy industry’s technology-laden future. In response to changing consumer preferences, the House of Mouse in late June combined its consumer products and interactive divisions—two areas within the global company that had increasingly been working towards similar goals. And in mid-July, Disney revealed the 10 fi nalists of its second-annual Accelerator mentorship program, which connects startups with Disney execs, investors and other entrepreneurs.