Netflix is returning to the world of popular Japanese animated character Rilakkuma with a new show called Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure that’s lined up to debut in 2022.
The stop-motion anime series (eight x 15 minutes) is about three animals who venture to a theme park on the eve of its closure to meet the people who work there. Japanese studio Dwarf is co-producing the project with stationery manufacturer and brand owner San-X. It’s the second outing for the little bear, who made his on-screen debut in Rilakkuma and Kaoru, which premiered on Netflix in 2019.
The streamer unveiled Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure during its two-day Netflix Japan Festival, where it also announced greenlights for a number of older-skewing live-action and animated titles.
Japan is one of the key countries Netflix is targeting for growth, according to a release. Not only is the streamer looking to expand its Japanese subscriber base, but titles from the region have proven they can resonate worldwide. The Seven Deadly Sins and Record of Ragnarok cracked the top-10 lists in 50-plus countries, and more than 120 million international households watched at least one anime title in 2020, which is more than double the genre’s audience in 2018, according to the SVOD.
Netflix has been feeding this demand of late, most recently acquiring Studio Ghibli’s latest film Earwig and the Witch and greenlighting a new Ultraman movie.