Created by Alexander Bar, Wolf Joe is an animated pre-school series for kids 3-5 years old, which features young First Nations hero Joe and his three friends who carry out thrilling adventures in Ontario’s north. The concept and it’s setting are inspired by the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation located near Dryden, Ontario. Local education director Donna Chief has consulted on the project, along with Canadian filmmaker Adam Garnet Jones.

“We are delighted to be developing this special project with TVO”, stated Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice President at Amberwood.  “Wolf Joe is a truly unique and exciting concept, and we are thrilled to be working alongside TVO to help develop this project for young audiences”.

“Wolf Joe will be designed to teach kids about indigenous culture, heritage, and identity,” said Marney Malabar, Director, Kids TV, TVO. “The learning that will be presented in Joe’s adventures comes from his grandfather’s tales of local legends and heroes, inspiring kids and helping them get ready for school, for life and to take on the world.”

Wolf Joe is a TVOKids and Amberwood original production.

The Kuujjuaq Candy Drop is based on a book published by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum that offers insight into the community of northern Quebec. For 50 years, pilot Johnny May has flown over Kuujjuaq during the holiday season, dropping candy and other goodies for kids living in the region. The animated special is in development with a national broadcaster in Canada and is slated for December 2017.

“We are very excited to be collaborating once again with Kris on this special project,” said Jonathan Wiseman, the senior VP at Amberwood. “The Kuujjuaq Candy Drop is destined to become a heart-warming perennial classic that will entertain viewers in Canada and beyond.”

Pearn, who serves as creative lead on the project, commented, “Using an art form like animation to capture the beauty and magic of the far North, and to have the honor of participating in a film that celebrates the sense of community and human kindness in such a vast, wild part of our beautiful country, is very exciting. It is a uniquely Canadian story that will surely appeal to audiences all around the world.”

Entertainment One (eOne) has sold the US broadcast rights for the half-hour animated special, produced by Ottawa, Canada-based Amberwood Entertainment, to the net for its holiday slate.

eOne has already sold international broadcast rights to Hockey Skates to SRC in Canada, Disney Channel (Latin America, Brazil), France Télévisions, KiKA (Germany), SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark) and MBC (Middle East).

Based Allan Morgan’s book of the same name, The Magic Hockey Skates follows a young boy who gains self-confidence with the help of his skates.

The 52 x 11-minute series based on the multi-million dollar Mexican licensing brand is currently in development with Canadian pubcaster Kids’ CBC.

Brad Birch (Johnny Test) is on board as writer and executive story editor, tasked with creating the TV concept for the Fulanitos brand, which includes an array of fun-loving characters featured on thousands of SKUs across Mexico, Central America and South America.

Amberwood Entertainment intends to distribute the series worldwide.

“We are thrilled to be working with Thunderbird on this project”, stated Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice President at Amberwood, “Their strong team and experience make them the ideal partner to help bring The Magic Hockey Skates to the big screen”.

Thunderbird CEO Tim Gamble continues, “It’s exciting to be working with Jonathan and Amberwood on a project that explores every kid’s dream, to be able to wear a magic pair of hockey skates.”

The Magic Hockey Skates family feature tells the story of two brothers who connect with the spirit of a game, and find a way to connect with each other and become part of something bigger: a team, a community, and a family.

Details of the nominations are as follows:

• Best Animated Program or Series: The Magic Hockey Skates (CBC) – Craig Young, Jonathan Wiseman, Sheldon Wiseman.
• Best Direction in an Animated Program or Series: The Magic Hockey Skates (CBC) – Jason Boose, Sarah Mercey.
• Best Pre-School Program or Series: Rob the Robot (TVO) – Craig Young, Jonathan Wiseman, Sheldon Wiseman.
• Best Original Music Score for a Series: Rob the Robot (TVO) – Sheriff in Town, Serge Côté

Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice-President at Amberwood noted “We are very pleased for our amazing production teams, partners, and various broadcasters of both Rob the Robot and The Magic Hockey Skates.  We are delighted that their hard work is being recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.”

Both titles are being distributed internationally by Entertainment One Family.

For more information please contact:

Jonathan Wiseman
Amberwood Entertainment
T: (613) 238-4567
E: jwiseman@amberwoodent.com
W: www.amberwoodent.com

About Amberwood Entertainment

Amberwood is a Canadian-based producer, financier and distributor of high quality animated and live-action television series, specials and features.

About Entertainment One Family

Entertainment One Family is a leader in brand management, creating and coproducing family programming that airs on major international broadcasters including Nick Jr. (UK & U.S.), Channel 5, Cartoon Network and Teletoon. eOne Family also oversees international sales for the programs it coproduces including No. 1 UK preschool franchise “Peppa Pig,” and BAFTA award winning “Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom” fully created and produced by Astley Baker Davis Ltd, “Humf” and “Rob the Robot.” eOne Family’s Licensing and Merchandising team manages branding programs for each of eOne’s key family franchises notably “Peppa Pig” which now generates £200m in retail sales in the UK per annum.

“We are delighted to continue working with TVOKids”, stated Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice President at Amberwood. “They’re a strong broadcast partner and we are excited for Shutterbugs to join their lineup.”

Shutterbugs follows Flick the Firefly, an investigative reporter for the Murky Musenewspaper. With his pals Horace the horsefly and Opal the orb webbed spider, they help shed light on first time experiences.  Using careful calculation, their five senses, and a wide angle lens, Flick and his friends get to the bottom of everything from those little bumps in the night, to why the moon changes colour.

“Shutterbugs is designed to help equip kids for the 21st century learning environment while being wrapped in an entertaining and engaging story,” says Pat Ellingson, TVO Creative Head, Children’s and Parents’ Media. “It weaves digital literacy, science and technology, and at the same time models coping skills. And like all TVOKids content, Shutterbugs is based on the Ontario curriculum.”

“As our first proprietary production we have been very fortunate to partner with Amberwood,” says Rick Morrison, President of Big Jump. “And TVO is great at making learning fun so it’s the perfect home for Shutterbugs.”

Created by Big Jump’s Cory Morrison and Amberwood’s Craig Young and MCM, Shutterbugs is a fun-filled series that offers young viewers an opportunity to understand their world through science, comedy, discovery, exploration and reasoning skills.

For more information please contact:

Jonathan Wiseman

Amberwood Entertainment

T: (613) 238-4567

E: jwiseman@amberwoodent.com

W: www.amberwoodent.com

About Amberwood Entertainment

Amberwood is a Canadian-based producer, financier and distributor of high quality animated and live-action television series, specials and features.

About Big Jump Productions

Big Jump is an independent animation production facility located in Ottawa, Canada producing content from concept to post, from preschool to primetime delivering to clients and partners worldwide.

The series was created at Big Jump with conceptual designs by Kris Pearn (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2), and an educational curriculum developed by Barbara McKay-Ward. As well, writer Brad Birch has been tapped as the Executive Story Editor.

“We are very excited to be collaborating once again with Big Jump”, stated Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice President at Amberwood, “We’ve secured a strong team to date for this production and look forward to adding a commissioning Canadian broadcaster.”

Rick Morrison, President at Big Jump noted “Shutterbugs is our inaugural foray into proprietary content and we are very pleased to have Amberwood aboard. We look forward once again to delivering great, entertaining content to market.”

Shutterbugs is a fun-filled series that offers young viewers an opportunity to understand their world through comedy, discovery, exploration and reasoning skills.

For more information please contact:

Jonathan Wiseman
Amberwood Entertainment
T: (613) 238-4567
E: jwiseman@amberwoodent.com
W: www.amberwoodent.com

About Amberwood Entertainment
Amberwood is a Canadian-based producer, financier and distributor of high quality animated and live-action television series, specials and features.

About Big Jump Productions
Big Jump is an independent animation production facility located in Ottawa, Canada producing content from concept to post, from preschool to primetime delivering to clients and partners worldwide.

The series was nominated for the following categories:  Best Direction in an Animated Program or Series – Phillip Stamp, Director, and Best Original Music Score for an Animated Program or Series – Serge Côté, Composer.

Jonathan Wiseman, Senior Vice-President at Amberwood noted “We are delighted by the two Gemini nominations for Rob the Robot.  Both Amberwood and ONE are very proud of the series and we congratulate Phillip, Serge, and all those involved with the production”.

The Series, commissioned by TVO Kids, is a certified treaty co-production between ONE and Amberwood, with participation from the MDA, the CMF, and the Shaw Rocket Fund.  The first season is complete and currently launching worldwide and a second season is in production.

The CG animated series follows the adventures of Rob and his friends as they explore the fantastical planets of the Robot Galaxy which are ripe with humour and fun.

For more information please contact:

Jonathan Wiseman

Amberwood Entertainment

T: (613) 238-4567

E: jwiseman@amberwoodent.com

W: www.amberwoodent.com

Alexis Lewington

ONE Animation

T: +65 62731785

E: alexis@oneanimation.com

W: www.oneanimation.com

About Amberwood Entertainment

Amberwood is a Canadian-based producer, financier and distributor of high quality animated and live-action television series, specials and features.

About One Animation

Singapore-based One Animation is a producer and financier specializing in top quality CG Animation and Visual Effects productions for Film and Television.

eOne Family has an exclusive multi-territory sales agency deal with producer and distributor Amberwood Entertainment of Canada which sees it manage limited  international TV sales of Rob the Robot.

The 3D series targets children between 3-7 years and follows the adventures of Rob, the galaxy’s most curious and adventurous robot, as he explores the fantastical planets of the Robot Galaxy with his friends Ema, the alien linguist, TK the walking toolkit, and Orbit the quirky artist. Production is currently underway on the first cycle of Rob the Robot with 26 episodes delivered out of the 52 episodes slated for delivery this year. The show was commissioned by Canada’s TVO Kids where it is steadily attracting a growing audience and has already secured a second cycle commission.  Additional Canadian broadcasters include Knowledge Kids, Access, and SRC.  The series is a co-production between Amberwood Entertainment of Canada and One Animation of Singapore and is funded with the support of the MDA, CMF, and the Shaw Rocket Fund. In addition to Canada, Amberwood has also secured licenses with SVT in Sweden, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel in the Middle East, and Televix Entertainment in Latin America.

Olivier Dumont, Managing Director for Entertainment One Family said, “We’re extremely excited about the line up of new broadcasters we have secured for Rob the Robot in France, Norway and Korea. We are keen to further expand its reach into new territories and bring the adventures of Rob the Robot to audiences worldwide.”

Jonathan Wiseman

Email: jwiseman@amberwoodent.com Tel: (613) 238-4567 ext 57

About Entertainment One

Entertainment One (LSE:ETO) is a leading international entertainment company that specialises in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content.  The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Benelux, France, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, kids programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 20,000 film and television titles, 2,400 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.

The licensing arm of Entertainment One UK represents its own and third party intellectual properties drawn from numerous sources worldwide.  In addition to licensing, Entertainment One UK’s expertise lies in theatrical and home video distribution and TV production and distribution. The company operates across a number of genres, which include children’s, drama and General/Factual Entertainment.

About Amberwood Entertainment

Amberwood is a Canadian-based producer, financier and distributor of high quality animated and live-action television series, specials and features.

About One Animation

Singapore-based One Animation is a producer and financier specializing in top quality CG Animation and Visual Effects productions for Film and Television.