Newly minted global distribution company GD Multimedia is making its NATPE debut this week with a new animated series titled Going Wild. Produced by Japan’s Tokyo Kids, the comedic adventure show is available to U.S. and international broadcasters as a package of 26 half hours. GD Multimedia is handling U.S. and European distribution for the show, and will also exercise first-look rights to future productions by Tokyo Kids.
Intended for kids 6-11, Going Wild is an environmentally-friendly toon that follows a group of city kids who are suddenly transplanted to the country. where they meet an eclectic group of country kids who ultimately teach them about nature and themselves. In one episode, the local dentist/mad scientist invents a solar battery that flies and the kids all inadvertently trample a neighborhood garden in their efforts to capture the device. Forced to replant the garden, they come to appreciate the role fruits and vegetables play in their lives.
Going Wild is the first of three new animated television series produced by Tokyo Kids. With a style that aims to incorporate of the best of Looney Tunes and anime, the show currently draws big ratings on Japan’s cable and satellite channel Kids Station, according to Tokyo Kids president Kengo Kimura.
Based in Woodland Hills, Calif., GD Multimedia also represents animation studios in Korea, China and Singapore. The company is headed by CEO Gordon Smith, a former CFO of CBS Television (west coast). Smith also served as president of Goldhil Media International, where he oversaw distribution of FUNimation programs including Cabbage Patch Kids, Teenage Ninja Turtles, Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh. Chief Operating Officer Dong Chung oversees all of GD’s partnerships and acquisitions in Asia.
