Bluey’s first museum partnership is happening in an Australia exhibition 

Australia’s ACMI museum, which is focused on the country’s TV, film and media history, has secured a deal with BBC Studios ANZ and producer Ludo Studio to launch a Bluey exhibition. The exhibit, set to open in the Melbourne museum in mid-2027, will focus on the behind-the-scenes creative process of the series. ACMI has exclusive global rights to the exhibition, with the rights to take the exhibition around the globe, according to a release. Bluey, first presented to market at Kidscreen’s Asian Animation Summit event, is now one of the biggest kids shows in the world. 

Aardman taps CAA Brand Management to drive Asia licensing 

The UK studio has tapped the licensing and CP division of Creative Artists Agency to handle licensing, partnerships, live experiences and promotions in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The partnership officially started April 1, and now CAA Brand Management is tasked with growing the presence of brands like Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit across these markets. Previously, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation in Japan and UYoung in China handled Aardman’s licensing. 

Vertical picks up US rights to The Magic Faraway Tree 

Neal Street and Elysian Film Group’s indie fantasy adventure film now has a US distributor, following a UK theatrical release that has drawn US$11 million after only 11 days in theaters. This reportedly makes it one of the most successful starts for a live-action UK family film since the pandemic. Vertical has already lined up the film for a US release on August 21. The film, based on Enid Blyton’s same-name book series, is about a family that discovers a magical tree, which transports them to a fantastical land.

Ms. Rachel kicks off shoe partnership with Stride Rite 

The footwear company has signed a multi-year deal with Ms. Rachel to launch a new kids collection. The shoes for infants and toddlers are already available online in the US, and Walmart will launch an exclusive range on April 21. Popular preschool educator/entertainer Ms. Rachel (19.5 million YouTube subscribers) has already signed Spin Master as a master toy partner, and she has CAA Brand Management repping her. 

Sandbox Group launches PlayKids Learning app onto VIZIO OS

Sandbox Group has secured a deal with smart TV maker VIZIO to get the Sandbox edutainment app PlayKids Learning onto its TVs in the US. These smart TV users can now subscribe to PlayKids for access to kids programming such as Numberblocks, Alphablocks and Pocoyo. The app has 150 games, 60 original titles and more than 1,600 hours of content. 

Image courtesy of ACMI.