Little Tikes Strikes a Deal with Moonbug for Little Baby Bum

Little Tikes, which plans to inspire families to “Play Big!” during its 50^th anniversary this year, just entered into a rare licensing deal. The division of MGA Entertainment is the exclusive master toy licensee for Moonbug’s Little Baby Bum — a YouTube hit that pairs classic nursery rhymes, stories, and songs with modern digital animation. Under the new deal, Little Tikes will bring Little Baby Bum’s signature characters to life for kids ages six months and up. Little Baby Bum’s videos have been viewed more than 23 billion times on YouTube alone, and are enjoyed by over 28 million subscribers. The videos have also moved beyond YouTube, with streamers such as Amazon and Netflix.

“For the past 50 years Little Tikes has created innovative products that have spanned generations,” says Isaac Larian, CEO and founder of MGA Entertainment. “Little Baby Bum’s exceptional content and vast online presence, combined with Little Tikes’ deep understanding of kids and parents, makes this collaboration a perfect match. We have accelerated the creative process to ensure products will be available at key retailers this fall. We have traditionally declined licensing deals, but we found Little Baby Bum to be a perfect fit for Little Tikes.”

“We are excited to launch a toy line together with MGA to offer kids around the world the opportunity to connect our much-loved nursery rhyme stories with tactile experiences, which will support their development,” adds René Rechtman, co-founder and CEO of Moonbug. “It is long overdue that digital IP, which has a vast global audience, is connected with the physical world.”

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.