Nelvana has inked a first presale deal with Canal+ for its preschool series Millie Magnificent (52 x 11 minutes, pictured above), which was commissioned in Canada by Treehouse this past January. Both broadcasters have slated the CG-animated show to premiere in late 2024. 

Centering around the attempts of an inventive girl and her canine companion to build something truly amazing, the TV concept is based on Ashley Spires’ picture book The Most Magnificent Thing. Nelvana’s sister company Kids Can Press (KCP) published the lead title in 2014, along with two follow-ups—The Most Magnificent Idea (2022) and The Most Magnificent Maker’s A-Z (2023). Collectively, the franchise has sold more than 925,000 books to date.

Mellany Welsh, VP of Nelvana Enterprises and KCP, says Millie Magnificent represents the company’s growing focus on building full-fledged franchises from its publishing business. The Most Magnificent Thing was originally adapted in 2019 as a 22-minute film that was successful on the festival circuit and also scored pick-ups from France Télévisions, ABC Australia and Discovery Kids LatAm. 

These sales demonstrated a strong appetite for IPs from the bookshelf, Welsh says, and helped shape the company’s new strategy. “We’re really looking to expand on page-to-screen opportunities and then extend them into other product categories.”

The show’s first such move for Millie is a licensed board game called Make That Most Magnificent Thing (pictured left). KCP partnered with Nebraska’s Fat Brain Toys to develop the game, which will launch later this fall in Canada (Indigo) and next year in the US (Barnes & Noble). It challenges kids to follow prompts and build something unique out of 200 random pieces before time runs out. 

Welsh is looking for more licensing partners to build out the consumer products program. “Millie is very much an innovator and problem-solver. Such themes absolutely lend themselves to construction and building categories,” she notes, adding that role-play and plush are two other key categories the company is going after.