Uncommon Threads Media—a new production and distribution banner—is looking to import kids IPs from different parts of the world to English-speaking markets.

Based in LA, it’s a joint-venture between indie directors Danny Prussman and A.J. Tesler, who set up the company earlier this year. They’re looking to build English-language YouTube channels based on kids brands from other countries, as well as distributing localized content to other platforms beyond YouTube.

Uncommon’s first project is a localized version of preschool series Joze the Giraffe, a popular YouTube IP from Georgia (the European country, not the US state) about a happy-go-lucky giraffe who likes to sing (pictured). With 362,000 subscribers, the six-year-old channel’s top-performing video has racked up more than 47 million views.

While Joze is popular domestically, it’s virtually unknown outside of Georgia, Prussman notes. This presents a unique opportunity to take a kids brand with a proven track record and adapt it for consumption in the US. 

To do this, Uncommon has dubbed all of the content into English and is localizing music and some other other cultural elements. For example, crows were changed from gray to black because their plumage is darker in the US. And it’s easy to swap colors or tweak backgrounds since all of the content is 2D-animated, Tesler adds. The first two localized videos will debut tomorrow (November 3) on Joze‘s new English-language YouTube channel.

“While Joze is a needle in a haystack, there must be other needles out there waiting to be discovered,” Prussman says, outlining the company’s broader strategy. “We plan to search less-scoured countries that may be difficult to translate or that are likely to be passed over in favor of more easily translated languages.”

Uncommon’s execs are interested in connecting with international producers that own kids IPs with a strong following in their home country, and they are open to all kinds of genres, although Tesler adds: “The real sweet spot is educational animation with a strong central character.” 

In terms of their collective experience, Tesler directed the 2021 family feature Hero Mode, which was produced by Lost Trail Productions, Real by Fake, Particular Crowd and Peak Curiosity. He is also working on a yet-to-be-announced kids movie that’s slated to start shooting next year. Prussman was an animator at Headsprout, an online program in the US that teaches kids to read using Applied Behavioral Therapy.