Plus Licens is proud to now represent the merchandising and promotional rights to Chuggington in the Nordic countries, Poland and Hungary. A brand new global property targeted at children 3 to 6 (evenly balanced for boys and girls), Chuggington is primarily driven by a CG 3D-animated television series and a major interactive online presence. The show's creators and writers have an impressive track record in children's entertainment and preschool marketing, previously having developed properties such as Bob the Builder and Thomas and Friends/Thomas the Tank.
Chuggington is conceived to work across television, books and interactive view-and-play and is attracting an immense interest from around the world, with television sales in more than 120 countries even before the world premiere on BBC in September 2008! The first season of 52 x 10-minute episodes had a production budget of nearly 8 million dollars and season 2 is currently in development for 2010. In Plus Licens' territories, Chuggington has already been sold to TV channels in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland and Hungary. Local DVD partner has been appointed. Master toy licensee is Learning Curve, with a product launch planned for 2010, and international publishing partner is Parragon.
Chuggington is also the first preschool program to be conceived and developed from the outset to seamlessly integrate all aspects of entertainment. The web site at www.chuggington.com already contains a Virtual World Sampler (including a voice-over walk through), show clips, games and music. In January 2009 , the complete Virtual World will launch, presenting an immersive and entertaining world of Chuggington. The state-of-the-art site, graphically and texturally consistent with the television show, will allow children to create their own Chuggington identity and build additions to their virtual world using tracks, accessories, destinations, characters and items. Children can play alone as well as with friends and parents in a networked environment. "We wanted the online experience to be no less than expected on television - and it has the social and educational values running through every aspect", says chief operating officer Charlie Caminada. Local language versions are in the planning.
The Chuggington cast of characters is based on modern trains from around the world. The show follows the adventures of three trainee engines (or "Chuggers"), Wilson, Brewster and Koko, as they learn to ride the rails. Chuggington is set in a contemporary world with cities, villages and diverse cultures and geography, and deals with everyday issues, supporting children's social-emotional development. High creative qualities and long-term focus have been key issues in the development of the property: as in the case of international megahits such as Teletubbies and Bob the Builder, early-childhood psychology as well as media experts have been consulted from early on in the development of the show. "We looked at how children source their entertainment and wanted a show which would be commercially successful beyond television. We looked at different properties and saw opportunity to take trains and create a show", says Charlie Caminada.
The team behind Chuggington includes Sarah Bull - awarded with a BAFTA as Bob the Builder director and writer - and Don Toht, who has worked with design development on Thomas & Friends as well as Bob the Builder. Licensor is Ludorum, formed by Rob Lawes and Charlie Caminada who headed HIT Entertainment prior to its sale to Apax in 2005.
