In conversation with
TV Kids’ Anna Carugati at MIPJunior on Saturday (Oct. 14), Ramsey Naito, the president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, weighed in on franchise management, the crucial role of theatrical releases and reinventing classic properties like
Dora the Explorer.
Paramount Global’s prolific animated slate runs “across theatrical, linear TV and digital,” Naito said, “powered by the most loved and biggest kids’ brand in the world, Nickelodeon. Our company’s commitment to kids’ and family content is firm and unwavering. We are working hard at growing our footprint, expanding our influence and filling our pipeline of movies, series and specials that, on the one hand, feature some of the most beloved characters ever and, on the other, produce original ideas that captivate today’s audiences everywhere. And though the content we create is largely for our own platforms first, we’re open to partnering with local third parties and platforms to distribute our shows and characters to even wider audiences around the world. As we already do, with TF1, Televisa and Super RTL, among many others.”
The Paramount Animation lineup “combines the fabled movie studio’s legacy of visionary filmmaking with the playful sensibility and cool factor of Nickelodeon,” she said. “We’re unleashing our biggest and best characters through the strategy that leads with theatricals. There’s still nothing bigger than a global release and marketing campaign that cuts through all the content choices out there and drives so many other key businesses, from linear TV and digital projects to consumer products, games, music and more.”
It’s a similar story for
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which hit theaters two weeks ago. “It’s the biggest preschool property in the world through linear TV, consumer products and two theatricals, with a
third in production right now. On Paramount+, the first movie has been streamed more than 130 million times.”
Naito continued: “All of these theatrical titles illustrate the power of our library IP, but we are equally invested in originals that are potential future franchises in the making, such as
Superworld,” a book-based property.
At Nickelodeon Animation, meanwhile, there are almost 60 series in production across series and theatricals, “with franchise plans in place for our biggest properties.”
SpongeBob, for example, has a
season 15 in the works, plus two spin-offs,
Kamp Koral and
The Patrick Star Show. There’s a
PAW Patrol spin-off in
Rubble & Crew,
Transformers: EarthSpark with Hasbro Entertainment and a holiday movie for
Baby Shark. A highlight for MIPJunior is the brand-new series for
Dora, “which exemplifies our method of how and when we bring back beloved characters. It’s the carefully considered balance of audience feedback and creativity. An unofficial maxim at Nickelodeon is to always let the kids lead, in both our creative and business decisions. Our audience led us back to
Dora, who changed the method of preschool television and continues to lead generations of kids deeper into diversity and the love for other cultures.”
The team at Nickelodeon saw how much traction Dora clips were gaining on YouTube. “Our research showed that the series may have been out of production, but this character never really left the lives of kids and families around the world. So, we began to consider how to bring her back in a way faithful to the fans who continue to love her while modernizing the show for brand-new fans.”
The new series is animated in CG and has retained Dora’s “aspirational and multicultural qualities,” Naito said. “She still cares about animals and the environment and her culture, and she will still help kids learn Spanish in the United States and English in other countries. The online love for Boots has moved him from a sidekick to a co-star. The adventures are on a bigger scale.”
Nick followed the global theatrical short with exclusive online content leading up to spring’s global launch. “When Dora originally debuted, the marketing was mainly on-air promos. Those days, for all of us, are long gone. Now, it’s all about surround sound plans designed to break through and reach audiences everywhere they are, on all platforms. Everything, everywhere and all at once.”
In conversation with Carugati, Naito talked about the challenges of reaching kids given the abundance of options they have for how to spend their free time. “The power we have is our brand. People see a show with our brand on it, they know that it will be funny, it will be character-driven, it will have stories with meaning. It is a refuge for kids to have fun and relax. The power of our brand means something in a world where there are so many choices.”
Naito also talked about the thought process that goes into reinventing a classic property, discussing how Paramount worked with Seth Rogen on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. “He loved the show and knew all the characters. He’d grown up with it. That love was poured into this reimagining. It embraced the core fundamentals, the core idea of the show, but infused it with a new voice that related to today’s audience. In short, the way to go about reimagining great IP is to find a superfan who knows how to reimagine, embrace the core values and bring something new.
The combination of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation under Naito’s remit “has allowed us to embrace theatricals and series and franchise planning in a way that is smart. It allows us to launch a movie and think about how we are launching a series thereafter and how we may want to plan for character-driven movies that will continue to expand the universe and connect to an audience.”
Naito also weighed in on the “character-driven DNA” at the heart of Nickelodeon and its approach to taking risks with talent “and allowing for their vision and their voice to shine. That delivers great characters that feel whole and authentic, that you can relate to and that you love.”
On the keys to maintaining the success of a franchise like Dora, Naito said: “Make sure that you have a filmmaker or showrunner in the middle of the show with a vision that is inspired and fresh and connected.”
Naito also emphasized the breadth of Paramount’s footprint, allowing it to reach kids wherever they are. “We have a theatrical platform, linear television, YouTube, Paramount+; all of those things allow us to connect with kids everywhere and anywhere.”
Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favorites on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!
