Crayola is launching Crayola Studios, a new division dedicated to creating content for kids and families.
The portfolio features a broad range of shows already in development. Each project explores the limitless possibilities of children’s creativity and leverages color as an intrinsic element of the story. One of the projects in the works is The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, in co-development with Mimo Studios.
Crayola’s Executive Vice President of Marketing, Victoria Lozano, will oversee the content slate along with support from Goatfish Agency. Crayola’s sister company Hallmark Media will also support the initiative.
“As world leaders in creative self-expression, the establishment of Crayola Studios is a logical next step for us; it builds on plans announced last year to develop entertainment content that inspires and nurtures the next generation and helps them develop lifelong creative mindsets,” says Lozano. “Our unique perspective offers an exciting opportunity for the industry as it searches for standout new and trusted content that has creativity at its heart.”
Cyma Zarghami’s Mimo Studios will co-develop and produce an animated adaptation of the award-winning kids’ podcast from Gen-Z Media, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian. The podcast was launched in 2016 and has released 12 seasons and 260 episodes. With more than 24 million downloads, the series is consistently number one on the iTunes Kids & Family chart. Finn Caspian is also a best-selling book series and was selected as Best Book 2020 by the School Library Journal.
“Crayola is synonymous with kids and color and we are so excited to collaborate with them to bring these beloved journeys to life through world-class animation and artistry,” says Zarghami. “We have been cultivating The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian since we first identified it and immediately saw the great potential and opportunity to tell rich stories [through] video the way Gen-Z Media did in the podcast. The combination of great characters, creativity, adventure, and information is something we can’t wait to bring to audiences worldwide.”
A science-fiction adventure story, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian centers on the titular character, an 8-year-old boy aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station. Together with his friends Abigail, Elias, and Vale, Finn forms Explorers Troop 301 to explore uncharted planets, help aliens, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the space station.
