Nelvana partners with Oktobor and Playmates Toys on new series 'Mech Mice'

Club Penguin creator also amongst group of core partners on new animated series for 6- to 11-year-olds

CANNES, FRANCE, Oct. 6, 2015 /CNW/ - Nature's favourite snack is fighting back! Corus Entertainment's Nelvana is teaming up with Oktobor Animation and Playmates Toys to develop and produce Mech Mice, an animated action-comedy for kids 6 to 11. The CG series, about a ragtag team of heroic hi-tech mice ready to save the world, is anticipated to premiere in 2017. Mech Mice, created by Oktobor Animation's Dan Wang and Chris Waters, is an original idea from by Lance Priebe, creators of Disney's Club Penguin and founder of digital gaming studio, Hyper Hippo. Priebe will oversee development of web and mobile games based on the series. Oktobor, Nelvana and Playmates Toys are partners in the production, with Playmates Toys also acting as the global master toy partner for the brand.

"We're thrilled to announce this array of partnerships that benefits from Oktobor Animation's world class capability, Playmates Toys' strength and history of success and Lance Priebe's industry-leading digital gaming expertise" said Scott Dyer, President, Nelvana. "Kids will love the high stakes adventures, robust storytelling and hilariously funny characters found within the Mech Mice world."

Mech Mice follows the adventures of the incorrigible young mouse, Scratch Whitepaw and his teammates, a ragtag squad of heroic, mini, mech-powered mice, as they turn "awwww" into awesome. Their mission: to protect the weak and defend the mouse way of life. Whether it is facing down the galaxy of natural predators terrorizing mousedom or saving the world from the Dark Union's evil army of cybernetically enhanced mutant bugs, these furry fighters always find a way to get the job done – usually by the skin of their tiny incisors. Whenever mice are in danger, wherever critters need help, they can count on Scratch Whitepaw and the Mech Mice.

"After two years, Lance Priebe finally figured out how to get mice to pilot their own miniaturized mechs. With his class-leading expertise in anthropomorphized hero action, there is simply no one better to head up mech design and manufacturing than Playmates Toys," said Chris Waters, EVP Business Development at Oktobor. "And parents will no doubt be thrilled that we have a global powerhouse like Nelvana on board to train and deploy these adorable weaponized mice into unsuspecting homes all over the world."

"We are very excited to be working with such industry veterans as Nelvana and Oktobor Animation for this truly unique, one-of-a-kind property," said Thomas Chan, CEO, Playmates Toys. "Mech Mice provides a number of unique opportunities to create a highly interactive line of toys that will allow kids to bring Mech Mice to lives through their own creative high octane adventures." 

About Nelvana
Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children's animated and live-action content. Nelvana is comprised of Nelvana Studio and its distribution arm Nelvana Enterprises and is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and boys action series and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana's content airs in Canada on Corus Entertainment's kids channels, which include YTV, TELETOON, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), Disney Channel (Canada) and Cartoon Network (Canada), as well as in over 160 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,000 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys® and Geminis. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.

About Oktobor Animation
Having opened its doors in May 2010, Oktobor Animation (Los Angeles/Auckland) is a producer of world-class animation for TV commercials and digital production. With a comedy and action portfolio that includes Emmy Award Winning shows like Penguins of Madagascar, TMNT and Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness. Oktobor Animation is currently developing its own slate of IP as it continues to provide creative development and production services for the world's leading studios and production companies.

About Mech Mice Entertainment, Ltd
Mech Mice Entertainment (Canada) is a partnership formed between children's animation producer Oktobor Animation and Lance Priebe, of Hyper Hippo Games, to create multiple ways for kids to engage with the Mech Mice characters and rich stories, including online gaming, apps, animation, toys, and publishing.

About Playmates Toys
With a history of nearly 50 years, Playmates Toys is today among the most well-respected and innovative marketing and distribution companies in the global toy industry with a proven history in the creation of imaginative products as well as the development and management of profitable, long-term brand franchises. Key brands include today's #1 selling male action brand TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. From its offices in Hong Kong and California, Playmates designs, develops, markets and distributes its products in over 60 countries worldwide. For more information,visithttp://www.playmatestoys.com.

SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.

Kate Calder, Publicist, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6319, [email protected]