Chinese streamer iQIYI’s hit preschool animated series, Momo is starting its maiden global voyage with distributor Bejuba! Entertainment. The 32 x 5′ series about curiosity and adventure follows a smart but over-eager young octopus, her decidedly unadventurous father and all her young undersea friends in their public aquarium home.
iQIYI is now ramping up for the production of Season 2, and is developing books and merchandise to augment the launch.
Momo comes from the mind of creator-producer Wang Huiyu, head of iQIYI’s internal kids content and animation division Wonderworks. The series has been racking up impressive numbers with family audiences since its streaming premiere in China.
“Tatiana Kober has really impressed us with her commitment to the series,” Wang noted. “And her record of success speaks for itself.”
“Huiyu had great foresight when planning this show,” said Kober, Bejuba!’s President. “Momo was created and produced in China, but Huiyu brought on a directing team from The Netherlands, an American head writer, and the show was mastered in English.”
Joost van den Bosch and Erik Verkerk directed the series through their Ka-Ching Cartoon shingle, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (The Lummels, 3D-Machine, George and Paul); and American scribe Mark Byers (Watch the Skies, Spider vs Fly, Brightheart) served as head writer, aiming to create exciting stories that were culturally neutral for global appeal.
“Momo is a preschool series, with important touchpoints for young audiences,” added Wang, “but from the beginning I designed Momo for co-viewing, with enough sophistication to the characters and the storylines that will appeal to the whole family.”
