BOCA RATON, Fla., July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 global production and distribution powerhouse Toon2Tango GmbH
& Co. KG 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.
Curiosity Ink Media and Toon2Tango Partner to Develop Santa.com
into a CGI Animated Musical Christmas Special
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."
About Toon2Tango
Toon2Tango is a boutique company
specializing in IP creation, development, financing, production,
distribution and brand building within the kids and family
entertainment sector. The company is positioned as a worldwide
operation working across all types of children's and family
entertainment IP. Toon2Tango also actively engages in co-financing
and acquisition of quality programming with a strong international
appeal. Its founders are Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris, two major names in the international
television and movie arena for over 25 years.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Curiosity Ink Media is a
global media company that develops, acquires, builds, grows and
maximizes the short, mid & long-term commercial potential of
Kids & Family entertainment properties and associated business
opportunities. Driven by a best-in-class leadership team, Curiosity
Ink Media's multi-faceted I.P. library is designed to amass ongoing
value through strategic stewardship, partnerships and highly
targeted market entry.
About Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.
Grom Social
Enterprises, Inc. is a growing social media platform and original
content provider of entertainment for children under 13 years of
age, which provides safe and secure digital environments for kids
that can be monitored by their parents or guardians. The Company
has several operating subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which
delivers its content through mobile and desktop environments (web
portal and apps) that entertain children, let them interact with
friends, access relevant news, and play proprietary games while
teaching them about being good digital citizens. The Company owns
and operates Top Draw Animation, which produces award-winning
animation content for some of the largest international media
companies in the world. Grom also includes Grom Educational
Services, which has provided web filtering services for K-12
schools, government and private businesses. For more information,
please visit gromsocial.com.
*Source: emarketer.com Holiday 2021 Preview
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements.".
Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief,
or current expectations of Grom and members of its management team
as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may
differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking
statements. Important factors currently known to management that
may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are
discussed throughout the Company's reports filed with Securities
and Exchange Commission which are available at www.sec.gov as well
as the Company's web site at www.gromsocial.com. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking
statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of
unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
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SOURCE Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.