Canuck kids’ shows, ya gotta love ’em. Grown in the shade of the u.s. limelight, new icons the likes of Dudley the Dragon have emerged to steal some of the pbs spotlight – not to mention extensive press coverage when the Canadian environmental crusader’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade adventures made cnn.

The limited-window scenario for kids’ shows in Canada makes natpe a crucial market for Canadians looking to produce competitively budgeted children’s tv, and like Dudley, armed with the sharper teeth and cunning of the underdragon, more Canadians are eyeing the fertile u.s. tv market.

Durable Dudley

Breakthrough Film and Television’s Dudley the Dragon is a natpe regular, and now with 38 episodes in the can and financing for another 27 underway, Breakthrough is looking at a strip for natpe consideration. In addition to the 245 pbs stations currently airing the show, producer Ira Levy says they’ve been approached by the newer u.s. commercial stations, and a second window is in the cards.

Fanning the flames, more Dudley product is launching in ’96, including an interactive cd-rom release with a major u.s. publisher this fall. A Hallmark seasonal card line sporting the big green guy begins with Valentine’s Day. Four additional Dudley videos will be released by GoodTimes Entertainment in the u.s. and Malofilm in Canada this year, and board games, puzzles and apparel follow the ongoing plush push.

Educational material is now being distributed and Dudley is on the curriculum in much of North America. This environmental kinship of Dudley is ‘the heart and soul of what Dudley’s all about – and why we make it,’ according to Levy.

Dudley the feature is also on the agenda, with next Christmas being the earliest possible release.

Goosebumps at Protocol

Toronto-based Protocol Entertainment is enviably the producer of the number one children’s series in the u.s., Goosebumps, based on the series of books from the weary word processor of prolific R.L. Stine. Protocol has 13 half-hour episodes and a one-hour primetime special in the can and has orders from its broadcasters, Fox and ytv, for four more one hours and another 13 episodes of the series.

A ton of Goosebumps merchandise is coming down the pike, and the licensing program already launched in the u.s. is destined to heat up when a major fast-food chain is tied into the Goosebumps feature launch slated for next fall.

ReBoot and Beast Wars

In addition to a planned third season for the Alliance/BLT Productions computer-generated ReBoot series, a feature is definitely on the slate, possibly for 1997. Electronic Arts, which has the interactive rights to ReBoot, plans a fall game launch, and Polygram, the home video rights holder, is releasing two episodes every quarter.

Some ReBoot product has launched in the u.k., u.s. and Canada, notably the Irwin action figures, with more significant impact coming to a shelf near you in ’96. Agents are being assigned worldwide, and Alliance merchandising and licensing administrator Helen Chapman says merchandising programs for Europe, South America and Pacific Rim countries are looking at a ’96 launch.

Another Alliance computer-animated entry, Beast Wars, will be introduced at natpe. Produced by Mainframe Entertainment (a partnership between Vancouver-based blt and Toronto-based Alliance) in partnership with Hasbro, the half-hour series features the new Transformers toy line.

Catalyst launches

Toronto’s Catalyst is launching a live-action time traveler at natpe. In Time Exposures, a 26-episode, half-hour series produced by Vancouver’s Artray Productions, a time portal in a family’s Victorian mansion transports them to adventures with the likes of Mark Twain, Captain Cook and Merlin.

Catalyst is also bringing more of the Thomas Tank Engine vehicle, Shining Time Specials, to market.

Mumfie, the animated short series from Thomas’ creator, Britt Allcroft of the u.k., which launched on Fox Cubhouse last fall, is the star of a long-term merchandising campaign rolling out this year, with licensing being handled through Allcroft’s New York office.

The animation for the 11-minute series and Christmas special was produced by Toronto-based Phoenix Animation Studios, a Catalyst-owned company which is introducing a new slate of animated specials, Bedtime Primetime Classics, at natpe. The 12 one-hour special series, produced with a division of Toronto’s Blye-Migicovsky Productions, is skedded for broadcaster delivery (cfcf in Canada) from May through to early 1997.

In addition to augmented versions of Moby Dick and The Count of Monte Cristo, the $12 million series includes some original tales, all in a new stylized animation design.

Puppet premieres

New looks are also up for grabs from Montreal-based The Multimedia Group of Canada, which is working on securing u.s. broadcasters for two new puppet series making their first natpe outing, The Big Garage and Kitty Cats Toons.

Since Garage has a funky design – the Prisma Productions, Montreal/Winchester Entertainment, u.k., coproduction uses latex rubber puppets – the merchandise mileage estimate is high, with Ideal Loisiers of France holding worldwide toy rights. The 26-episode, half-hour preschool series debuted in Canada in October (Global, Family Channel). The merchandising program is slated for a ’96 launch.

Kitty Cat Toons will build on the success of the internationally successful 260-episode Kitty Cats puppet show (number one kids’ show on The Learning Channel, u.s.). Themed by topic, new Prisma-produced footage of Charlie and the gang will wrap animated shorts in another packaging coup from Multimedia, which is working with Montreal merchandising company Walter Ego and will have Kitty Cat plush in addition to the Toon version pilot at natpe.

Two new Cinar entries

Montreal-based Cinar, the folks who produce Arthur (pbs) and The Busy World of Richard Scarry (Nickelodeon), hopes two new series, The Little Lulu Show and Wimzie’s House, will pick up some new broadcasters at natpe and also be successfully merchandised. Cinar is looking for a second window for Little Lulu, which airs on hbo in the u.s. and now on ctv in Canada, and is looking to add a u.s. airdate to Wimzie’s broadcast roster (the show airs on Radio-Canada and Radio-Quebec in Canada).

Beyond the obvious toyetics of Lulu, the distinctive puppet creations of Wimzie are also on the merchandising block. Licensing programs for both Lulu (which has sold into Latin America, Asia and Europe) and Wimzie (sold in Asia) are in the works. Western Publishing holds Lulu merchandising rights, and Cinar has the rights to Wimzie.

Bonjour Timothy and The Whole of the Moon are among the family feature titles Cinar has packed for natpe.

Live action from Nelvana

Toronto-based Nelvana, Canada’s other animation giant, also has some live action at natpe. New series with youth appeal include 13 one hours of Jake and The Kid, a rural period piece based on W.O. Mitchell tales and coproduced with Alberta-based Great North Productions; and the heroes of the much-collected mystery novels Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys are present in a 26-episode, half-hour series and also feature in a merchandising program. The youth sleuth series is a Canada/ France coproduction – Nelvana and Marathon Productions.

Another title likely to be popular with kids which Nelvana is distributing is Attack of the Killer B Movies, a featurized half-hour series of colored and repackaged b&w movies.

Paragon packs Kratts’

Paragon International’s Kratts’ Creatures series, new to natpe, is 50 half-hours of cool animal facts presented by the entertaining brothers Kratts, Martin and Chris, and geared to the eight-to-12 set. Designed from day one as a merchandising show, Paragon president and coo Richard Borchiver anticipates exponential licensing potential for this unique nature vehicle. Broadcasters are pbs in the u.s and tvontario in Canada.

Kratts’ first deal is with Scholastic books, which Borchiver says paid the largest upfront advance for something of this nature, and sets the tone for a classy licensing program. The book product will be released mid-year. Polygram is signed on for video (probably for ’97), and toy and multimedia deals are in the works.

In addition to other irons in the licensing fire with pbs, Paragon is into the syndication fray. Ken DuBon, vp u.s. sales for Paragon Entertainment, is looking to start the syndication ball rolling with the company’s durable preschool title, Lamb Chop’s Play-Along (pbs/ytv), and will be considering acquisitions and new productions exclusively for the syndication division of Paragon.

Also being distributed by Paragon in the hopes of a second u.s. window and international sales is Hammytime Productions’ cult fave Once Upon A Hamster, which airs on Encore. It has 26 new episodes wrapped, as does the very likable Insight Productions tween series Ready or Not.

Cine-Groupe’s Flying Bears

Montreal-based Cine-Groupe is hoping its award-winning animated series The Little Flying Bears will be as popular in the u.s. as it is in Europe, where it has sold more than 84 licences. Merchandise includes flying teddy bears, coloring books and sweets. Young kids are helped to appreciate ecology by the darn cute winged defenders of the environment in 39 educational half-hours.

New from Cambium

New for natpe from Cambium Releasing, Toronto, is the half-hour pilot of Brenda’s Room, a mixed bag of entertainment for the five-to-nine crowd. Also new: The Adventures of Nilus the Sandman, now a half-hour animated series featuring the dream-dust sprinkler previously seen in specials; Kids’ works, 50 two-minute fillers comprised of stop-motion animation created by kids; and a package of 26 one-hour, after-school network specials addressing topical issues.

Both Brenda’s Room and Nilus have natural merchandising potential; a licensing program is in development for Nilus, with potential agents and master toy licensees being sought at natpe.

From myna birds to a Toothbrush Family

Blair Peters of Vancouver-based animation company Studio B Productions is bringing a half-hour series, D’Myna Leagues, tales of an old 1930s/40s bird baseball team as told to a young myna. Discussions about using the animated characters in baseball advertising are underway, and the show would be formatted with baseball-related bumpers. Licensing talks for the eight-to-12-geared project are also in the works. Another Studio B series in development is Banjo Boys, which skews a little older, a kind of animated road show starring a bear and a beaver.

And ripe for some sort of dental tie-in is Toothbrush Family, a 65 by five-minute preschool animation series making its first visit to natpe with CBC International. The ‘healthy adventures of the toothbrush family’ is a Film Australia/cbc coproduction deemed to have great merchandising potential; first stop is finding a u.s. broadcaster to add to the package, with pbs the obvious target.

In addition to offering Bubbie Break (a talk show for and about grandparents with 52 episodes in the can), Toronto-based JAMS Productions is unveiling The Collecting Kids, a kid-hosted magazine about junior consumers geared to the eight-and-up crowd.