Bandai’s Milo collection, launching in spring 23, will include play sets, figurines, role play, vehicles, educational electronic toys and plush.
Bandai has agreed a deal with DeAPlaneta Entertainment to be the master toy licensee for animated pre-school TV series Milo. The deal covers the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Spain with other countries such as France, Germany and Italy set to follow.
Nic Aldridge, managing director at Bandai UK, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be appointed as master toy licensee for Milo. From the moment we saw the animation, it really stood out to us with its fresh new look; bright, bold colour scheme and graphic style. We immediately felt that the series lent itself to having a strong product range to support the content. When we learnt more about the property, we were impressed by its core values and positive messaging around careers. Career role play is a key play pattern to our pre-school target age group, so we are keen to develop a product range to further reinforce the fact that ‘every job is amazing’.”
Ignacio Segura De Lassaletta’s, DeAPlaneta Entertainment chief executive officer, commented: “Our company is proud to have signed an agreement with Bandai, a leading company in the creation and distribution of toys from well-known and popular successful international productions. Bandai has fully understood the unique philosophy of the Milo series and together we will expand the brand into multiple territories and areas without ever losing any of the core elements”.
Milo, a pre-school TV series produced by Fourth Wall in association with DeAPlaneta Entertainment, recently won the 2022 Best Children’s Series at the prestigious British Animation Awards.
Together with his best friends Lofty and Lark, Milo uses role-play to explore the wonderful world of vocations – from doctors and mechanics to hairdressers, chefs and postal workers – introducing pre-schoolers to a variety of professions in a positive and entertaining way.
Since launching in the UK on Channel 5’s Milkshake! the series has enjoyed high ratings and is also available on the broadcaster´s on-demand platform My5. Since the launch in May 2021, Milo has reached 1m kids between 4-15 and 3.3m individual 4+ in the UK and already has more than 4m views on its official YouTube channel. It will soon be expanding on to new YT channels in other countries.
The series is also broadcast in Poland (MiniMini+), Italy (DeAJunior), Australia (ABCKids), Hungary (MTVA), Latin America (Cartoonito and HBO Max) and it is continuing its global expansion with a forthcoming launch in China (Senyu). This Spring, Milo also lands in Finland (YLE), Spain (Clan), Poland (Pulse TV) and the Czech Republic (Česká televise). This autumn, the series will also premiere on free TV in Italy (Rai Yoyo) and Sweden (SVT).
DeAPlaneta Entertainment holds and manages worldwide consumer product rights to the series and is working with Lisle Licensing in the UK to build a strong brand presence and licensing programme.
