Japanese intellectual property rights company OLC/Rights Ent. (ORE) has picked up broadcast, home entertainment and publishing rights to DECODE’s pre-school series, Franny’s Feet. The company has already signed a publishing deal with Petit Grand Publications for a series of Franny’s Feet books due out this spring.
ORE is seeking Japanese broadcast, home video and publishing partners as it makes plans to launch Franny’s Feet at the Tokyo Animation Festival in March. The company has also acquired Franny’s Feet Interactive, an animated online preschool project produced by DECODE Interactive and developed in conjunction with Family.ca, ABC Australia and The Bell New Media Fund.
According to DECODE Ent. partner Neil Court, the deal is the company’s biggest in Japan to date. An international hit, the 2D-animated Franny’s Feet has been commissioned by Five in the U.K. and Canada’s Family Channel, and can be seen around the world on outlets including Discovery U.K., ABC Australia, Teletoon in France, Canada’s TeleQuebec, TVP Poland, Cartoon Network Taiwan, ATV in Hong Kong and TV12 Singapore.
Each episode of Franny’s Feet sees the title character walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. For instance, a pair of fisherman’s boots land her on a fishing trawler in the middle of the Atlantic and a set of ballet slippers spin her right into the middle of a performance of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi.
Franny’s Feet was the recipient of the Pulcinella award for the Best TV Series for Infants at the 2004 Cartoons on the Bay.
Established in May of 2003, ORE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Oriental Land Company Group Ltd., an organization with hotel, retail and theme park operations.
