Move Over Mattel, Crayola Studios Is Entering The Game With New Entertainment Studios
Hollywood will literally mine every existing intellectual property before giving an original idea a chance. Comic books have pretty much been run dry to the point where studios are doubling down on real-life business stories that feel like feature-length advertisements. And after the immense success of "Barbie," Mattel has stated an interest in making more films out of their toys, including Polly Pocket and Hot Wheels. And now, audiences can prepare for official Crayola movies.
The creative arts supply company best known for its line of crayons is getting into content creation, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It will launch a studio division, partnering with other animation studios and production companies to build a slate of projects that appeal to children and families. Victoria Lozano, who will oversee the new division, released the following statement, "As world leaders in creative self-expression, the establishment of Crayola Studios is a logical next step for us [and] builds on plans announced last year to develop entertainment content that inspires and nurtures the next generation and helps them develop lifelong creative mindsets."
The question then becomes what kind of content to expect from the studio. Naturally, people's first thoughts would be movies like "Magenta" and "Aqua" that build up to an "Avengers"-like team-up called "Rainbow" or something. As it turns out, Crayola Studios already has a project lined up that makes a lot more sense.
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian will be a co-development with MIMO Studios
While the Crayola Cinematic Universe isn't a thing yet, Crayola Studios already has a project in the pipeline. It'll be an adaptation of the award-winning podcast, "The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian." It consists of hundreds of episodes following eight-year-old Finn Caspian, who explores planets and solves mysteries with the help of his friends. The animated adaptation will be a co-production with MIMO Studios. Founder and CEO of MIMO Studios, Cyma Zarghami, released the following statement, "Crayola is synonymous with kids and color, and we are so excited to collaborate with them to bring these beloved journeys to life through world-class animation and artistry."
A series order of 52 11-minute episodes has already been placed, and it makes sense Crayola is confident in the project's success. The podcast has received over 24 million downloads, and it has a companion book series that was honored with Best Book of 2020 by the School Library Journal. Victoria Lozano further explained how this series was a perfect fit for what Crayola Studios hopes to achieve, "Its DNA is at the very core of what we do at Crayola and a perfect example of the type of shows we want to produce going forward. We're thrilled to join forces with the talented team at MIMO to bring Finn's action-packed adventures to life."
With Crayola being an integral component of many kids' lives, it makes sense the company would then want to create entertainment that appeals to children and encourages them to draw and engage with art. And "The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian" should be just one of many projects parents can use to show their kids what's possible in the world.