After shutting down its production operations last year, Nelvana is showing signs of life with a handful of nostalgic licensing deals.

The studio paused its development and production work in September in favor of focusing on distribution and licensing of its existing IPs. Now the company has unveiled new deals ahead of Licensing Expo next week (May 19 to 21) to highlight to the industry its consumer products growth and the strength of its brands that appeal to both kids and adults.

The deals are meant to tap into nostalgia, which is a key aspect of Nelvana’s overall strategy moving forward. With these partnerships, there’s a focus on helping older fans “rediscover” IPs they grew up with, said Carly Slack, director of global licensing, retail & marketing at Nelvana.

The new deals are:

• Aykroyds & Sons: Babar apparel for retail in Europe (2026)
• Trevco: Print-on-demand Max & Ruby, Pippi Longstocking and Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear apparel and accessories (2026)
• Ploom Baby: Max & Ruby, Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear and Franklin the Turtle sleepwear and loungewear in North America (2026)
• Little Van Gogh’s: Babar wall art (Q2 2026)
• Penny Linn: Babar, Max & Ruby, Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear and Franklin the Turtle needlepoint canvases and accessories (2027)

The deals span North America and Europe. Earlier this year, Nelvana also signed three licensing partnerships for adult apparel with Undiz, Retrokid and Rowing Blazers.

It was nostalgia—as well as the strength these brands have to appeal to young viewers—that attracted Aykroyds & Sons, which has licensing deals with major kids brands like PAW Patrol, Bluey and Peppa Pig. “Babar is a timeless brand with strong recognition and multi-generational appeal,” said Robyn Cowling, head of licensing at Aykroyds & Sons. (The Clifford Ross Company co-licenses Babar, a series about a young elephant who learns about city life, based on Jean de Brunhoff’s nearly 100-year-old picture book series.)

Revenue at Nelvana’s owner company, Corus, has been steadily declining for the last couple years, and amid these declines the company halted Nelvana’s production and development work last September. At the time, there were some erroneous assumptions that this meant the company was completely shutting down. Corus was quick to tell Kidscreen that Nelvana would continue to exist, but was shifting to a focus on distribution, merchandising and management of its existing properties.

The list of properties it reps for licensing is strong. It handles Canadian deals for properties like Thomas & Friends, Bluey and Barney, as well as global deals for properties like The Fairy OddParents (excluding the US).