Disney+

Disney+ has snagged upcoming film Black Beauty (pictured) from Constantin Film and JB Pictures. Written and directed by Ashley Avis (Adolescence, Imagine Kids & Family’s untitled equestrian series), the drama revolves around a horse who was taken from her family, and a teenager who is grieving the loss of her parents. The streamer has not announced when the upcoming film will debut. Black Beauty is executive produced by JB Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, and Constantin’s Martin Moszkowicz, Edward Winters and Jon Brown. Dylan Tarason is co-producing alongside Moonlighting Films president Genevieve Hofmeyr.

Boat Rocker

Broadcasters are busting a move with Boat Rocker’s live-action tween drama The Next Step (206 x 30 minutes). CMORE (Scandinavia) and Dreamia (Portugal) both bought seasons six and seven from the Toronto-based prodco, while RTE (Ireland) and HOT (Israel) picked up season seven. Originally launched on UK pubcaster CBBC, the drama follows the ups and downs of a competitive group of dancers. Created by Frank van Keeken (Wingin’ It), the series is executive produced by Ivan Schneeberg, David Fortier and Shaleen Sangha, with global distribution managed by Boat Rocker Studios and BBC Studios.

One Animation

Singapore’s One Animation has signed a number of international broadcast deals for its animated preschool series Oddbods. New broadcasters to pick up season three (60 x seven minutes) include teleTOON+ (France), TV3 Catalunya (Spain), Turner Latin America and Mango TV (China). Bomanbridge Media, One’s distribution agent for Asia (excluding China), inked deals with broadcasters YoYo (Taiwan), Mediacorp (Singapore) and RTV (Indonesia). iQiYi (Taiwan) picked up seasons one and two, while Astro (Malaysia) acquired season one and a 22-minute special. Outside of Asia, ABC Australia bought season two (60 x seven minutes), as did AVOD platform Tubi to stream in the US, UK, LatAm and Australia. The non-dialogue comedy features seven cute pals who work together to survive the perils of everyday life.

RTVE

Spanish pubcaster RTVE is teaming up with Mondo TV Iberoamérica Group to co-produce 2D-animated comedy Annie & Carola. Mondo previously partnered with MB Prodducciones to develop and co-produce the series after it was presented at Cartoon Forum last year. Written by Txema Ocio and directed by Myriam Ballesteros, the buddy comedy stars a genius nerd without social skills, whose clone robot goes off the rails. Targeting a six to 11 audience, the series is expected to launch in the second half of 2022.

Licensing Link Europe 

Pipkins Productions has tapped Licensing Link Europe to represent L&M rights for its preschool puppet series Monty & Co. To start, the licensing agent will focus on toys, publishing, arts and crafts, role play and apparel. The series is distributed internationally by London-based Serious Lunch, and CBeebies previously picked up the first 34 x 11-minute episodes, which started airing this week. Created by Pipkins’ collective of artists, including executive producer Nigel Plaskitt and puppet designer Paul Jomain, Monty & Co features a diverse group of characters who tackle everyday issues together.