July 07, 2021
Global distribution powerhouse Toon2Tango GmbH & Co. KG and Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: GROM), which recently entered into an agreement to acquire Curiosity Ink Media – a producer of original multiplatform family entertainment – today announced that Curiosity and Toon2Tango will develop Santa.com into an original animated musical holiday special. The special will serve as a feature length companion to Santa.com, Grom’s previously announced ecommerce initiative in which visitors can enjoy the merriest time of year in a virtual North Pole. The announcement was made jointly by Curiosity Ink Media’s Chief Content Officer, Russell Hicks and Toon2Tango Chief Executive Officer, Ulli Stoef. Inspired by annual favorites like “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Elf,” Santa.com tells the story of how Santa’s retirement results in a fully automated North Pole. Elves oversee a workshop in which holiday wishes are fulfilled by robotic candy cane arms and gifts are delivered by peppermint drones. The updated system works smoothly and efficiently until Cyber Scrooge hacks the system and threatens to cancel Christmas. However, proving that technology can never replace the true spirit of Christmas, Yo-Yo the Elf embarks on a worldwide adventure to round up the now retired reindeer, find Santa’s broken sleigh and lure Santa out of retirement. The feature length special serves as a brand companion to the Santa.com website, which Grom and Curiosity will debut in November 2021. This virtual holiday hub allows visitors to register their wish lists, tour the North Pole, play holiday-themed games, and even schedule a virtual visit with Santa Claus. The site offers one-stop-shopping for users to browse, purchase and send personalized gifts from the comfort of home. The ecommerce venue represents an opportunity to tap into the growing holiday retail market, projected to top $1 trillion this year, including a 11.3% climb in ecommerce to over $206B in sales.* The partnership builds on Curiosity’s recent alliance with Toon2Tango to develop preschool original IP franchise Baldwin’s Big Adventure into an animated series. The Munich, Germany-based production company, who are specialists in development and global distribution of kids’ and family content, will aid Curiosity’s efforts to enhances their global reach in animation production and brand building to prepare IP for global audiences. “The world needs a fresh, fun and inventive take on Christmas and Toon2Tango is the perfect partner to help us craft a new, instant holiday classic,” explains Hicks. “Their visual storytelling approach blends seamlessly with Santa.com’s heartwarming story, original musical score and richly defined characters to capture the fun and nostalgia of Christmas and create a new holiday tradition the whole family will love.” “We are very happy to partner with Curiosity on this very fresh approach to a Christmas Story,” adds Stoef. “The idea offers everything Toon2Tango is looking for in order to bring outstanding original IP to the small and big screen.” *Source: emarketer.com Holiday 2021 Preview