'Adventures of Pinocchio' to hit small screen by this year end

Italy's animation pioneerIginio Straffi has inked a co production deal with ToonzMediaGroup to produce a children's series based on Carlo Collodismasterpiece 'The Adventures of Pinocchio,' the fairy talewhich has inspired multiple generations of children worldwide.

The 26 x 12 CGI show is expected to hit the small screenby the end of 2021 and will target four to seven-year-olds, apress release from Toonz, established at Technopark here in1999,said here on Tuesday.

''The new Pinocchio I imagined speaks to children in alight-hearted, educational way and empowers theirdreams.

Families will love this compelling series and kids willfind their new TV hero in Pinocchio'', said Iginio Straffi,Founder and CEO of Rainbow Group.

''We are glad to partner with Toonz,combining the greatexpertise of both our solid and international teams, whichwill be indeed an asset of this great production for aworldwide audience,'' he said.

PJayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media, said they are happy tohave got a great partner in Rainbow to take up this challengeand deliver Pinocchio as a top-notchseries with very high-quality content.

Paying tribute to Collodis avant garde work, Straffireimagined a story that many studios have tried to adapt butwith fresh eyes and a modern twist.

Rainbows visionary transports the classic character intotodays world of bustle and smart phones,filling his worldwith adventure, comedy, fun and educational elements whilebringing out the essence of what makes the original characterof Pinocchio so inspirational and timeless.

Pinocchio is an enchanted puppet living in todays world,one where anything is possible.

He grows alongsidehis best friends Grandpa Geppetto,pirate doll Freeda and the Talking Cricket - as he dreams ofone daybecoming a real boy by following the advice of theFairy with Turquoise hair.

Characters from the originalstory are joined by new onesin the series.

While the pre-production, post-production and supervisionoperations will be done at Rainbow studios in Italy, theanimation - from 3D asset creation to final LRC (Lighting,Rendering & Compositing) - will be done at Toonzs studios.

Toonz will handle distribution rights ofthe show in theIndian sub-continent, South East Asia, Spain, and Portugal.

Toonz will also hold the Licensingand Merchandising(L&M) rights of the show in the Indian sub-continent.

Distribution and L&M rights in the rest of the world willbe handled by Rainbow.

Rainbow was established in 1995 by Iginio Straffi,President and CEO of the group.

The group comprises Emmy Award-winning studio BardelInc., Italys IvenGroup and publishing Tridimensional.

Ranging from creating animated and live action contentfor TV andcinema for kids and families, Rainbow also licensesand produces animated content for third parties.

Thegroup has a product portfolio aired in over 130countries through different broadcasters and ranksin the toppositions on the annual Top 150 Global Licensors List withmore than 500 licensees worldwide.

It has over two decades of experience and one of Asia'smost active animation production studios (over 10,000 minutesof 2D and CGI kids and family content peryear).

Toonz has worked with many leading entertainment studios,channels and networks, including Marvel, Nickelodeon, Turner,Disney and Netflix, and has several animationand live actionseries, as well as feature films to its credit.