LICENSEES FLOCK TO AARDMAN’S TIMMY  

New pre-school show secures master toy and publishing deals

Bristol, 2 June 2008. Aardman has secured a number of new licensing partners for its brand new stop-motion pre-school property Timmy including Vivid Imaginations as Master Toy partner and Egmont as Master Publisher.

Vivid Imaginations, the UK’s no.1 British toy company, has acquired master toy rights rights and worldwide manufacturing rights for Timmy  and will be launching products across plush, playsets, games, puzzles and outdoor toys for autumn/winter 2009.

Sean Clarke, Head of Marketing and Licensing at Aardman added: “It is fantastic that we already have three world class licensing partners on board for Timmy, and we will be actively looking to find partners in all other open categories for the UK and appoint international agents at the New York Licensing Show in June.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Aardman on such an exciting preschool show,” states Emma Sherski, Marketing and Licensing Director at vivid Imaginations. “The charming characters and creative story telling effortlessly translate into a great toy line with world wide appeal.”

Egmont UK Ltd has picked up UK and Commonwealth publishing rights and in a separate deal, Titan Magazines will be producing a monthly comic for the UK & Eire.

David Riley, Director of Egmont Publishing, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Aardman with this wonderful addition to our Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit portfolio. Timmy is already a huge star and we are thrilled to be launching an exciting range of books to support this brand.”

Currently in production, Timmy is scheduled for transmission in 2009 and Aardman will be looking for products to launch from autumn 2009. The 52 x 10-minute animated series has already been pre-bought by Disney Channels Worldwide, including the US and has also been pre-bought by CBeebies in the UK.