Beano Studios
This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (November 2024) |
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Television, publishing |
Genre | Children's fiction |
Founded | 8 June 2016London, United Kingdom | in
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Brands | Beano magazine |
Parent | DC Thomson |
Divisions | Emanata Studios |
Website | beanostudios |
Footnotes / references [1][2] |
Beano Studios is a British content production company specialising in children’s entertainment and media based in Dundee, Scotland and London, England. Established as a subsidiary of DC Thomson & Co. Ltd., it was launched to expand The Beano.
History
Establishment and first productions
In June 2016, DC Thomson launched Beano Studios,[3][4] a spin-off media studio (based in both London and Dundee) with the intention of creating media appropriate for children and expanding The Beano's franchise. Its introduction to the readers came in The Beano's issue 3854 with a revamp of the cover's layout and the logo, removing "The" to make it coincide with the studio, and unveiling the website beano.com.[5] [3] [2][6] Nigel Pickard joined as non-executive director[2] and Emma Scott stood as CEO[2][7] until 2020,[1] succeeded by David Guppy.[1]
As well as expanding Beano's franchise through games and merchandise, Beano.com also contains other activities and interests for children, such as news about popular celebrities, and miscellaneous videos and articles.[8][9] Neal described it as "a fun but trusted babysitter who lets the kids stay up a bit late".[10][6]
For parents who formerly read The Beano during childhood, Beano Studios created a parents section for them to participate on their nostalgia, once sending a cease and desist letter to politician Jacob Rees-Mogg for copyright infringement against Walter the Softy.[11][12]
The website receives over two million visitors per year,[1] and is credited for increasing comic sales by 10% in 2018.[13] A similar approach had been planned for years through the first website Beanotown.com, which DC Thomson hoped would attract an international audience to The Beano, especially the United States.[14] The Guardian suggested that The Beano's success in North America was plausible because of Chicken Run, Monty Python, and Benny Hill's American popularity.[14]
2017–2021: Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! and wider expansion
Soon after the launch announcement, Beano Studios revealed it had a new Dennis the Menace adaptation in production: a 52-episode 3D-animated cartoon for CBBC co-produced by Jellyfish Pictures[15] and distributed by Jetpack. The new programme, Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!, aired on the CBBC Channel in November 2017 and became one of the most popular children's series on the channel.[16][17] Jetpack sold the cartoon to over 90 territories worldwide in 2018 through television deals and streaming services,[18][16] and it received an Emmy nomination for Best International Animated Program at the 2019 International Emmy Kids Awards.[19][20]
Chief Creative Officer Mark Talbot explained his plans to look to Hollywood for Beano branching, noting: "what's been interesting with the Americans, they don't have The Beano but what they see is the archive with over 2,000 characters and storylines sat in a warehouse in Dundee waiting to be reimagined by new writers and established writers[.]"[21]
In November 2020, Deadline reported Talbot was in the midst of pitching another adaptation of Dennis the Menace, rumoured to be about a reckless teenaged Dennis with a pilot script written by former Chilling Adventures of Sabrina writer Matthew Barry.[21] Beano Studios and Lime Pictures announced a live-action Minnie the Minx children's programme in 2018 called The Magnificent Misadventures of Minnie,[22] and Fox Entertainment announced a Bananaman cartoon,[23] the second cartoon adapting the comic strip after the BBC adaptation from 1983.
Productions
Television
Year | Title | Studio | Distributor | Original network | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017–2021 | Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! | Beano Studios | BBC Netflix (international) |
CBBC Netflix |
[24] |
Short films
Year | Title | Studio | Distributor | Original network | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Calamity James | Emanata Studios | BBC | BBC Three BBC iPlayer |
[25] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Production | Studio | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | British Animation Awards | Best Children's Series | Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! | Beano Studios | Nominated | [26] |
International Emmy Kids Awards | Animation | Nominated | [27] | |||
2019 | Writers Guild Awards | Best Children’s TV Episode | Won | [28] | ||
Kidscreen Awards | Best Animated Series | Won | [29] | |||
2024 | RTS Scotland Award | Comedy | Calamity James | Emanata Studios | Nominated | [30] |
Broadcast Digital Awards | Best Short-Form Scripted | Nominated | [31] |
References
- ^ a b c d "Scott to exit Beano Studios". C21media. 2020-07-02. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d Freeman, John (8 June 2016). "Beano Studios Launched, revamp on the way for comic, web site and new Dennis the Menace TV show in the works". Down the Tubes. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b 80 Years (2018), p. 68.
- ^ Franks, Nico (2016-10-05). "Beano takes CGI Dennis to CBBC". C21media. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
Since launching in June, Beano Studios...
- ^ Freeman, John (25 September 2016). "The Beano launches major revamp, physical and digital, new TV show in the works?". Down the Tubes. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Dennis the Menace to get CGI makeover as Beano targets YouTube generation". The Guardian. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Franks, Nico. "Beano primed for digital age". C21media. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Dennis the Menace to get CGI makeover as Beano targets YouTube generation". The Guardian. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
[Beano.com] will include everything from video stories to "light touch" news, listicles and games.
- ^ Clarke, Steve (7 April 2018). "Beano, Revived and Rebranded for Today's Kids". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
[Beano.com] features online games ("Spot The Beano characters from their jumpers," Scott says), videos ("How to draw a pug in 20 seconds") and listicles ("Explanations for the Bermuda Triangle") — all fashioned to tempt today's choice-saturated 6- to 12-year-olds.
- ^ Alex, Stewart (2016-06-08). "Beano characters set for online rebirth". The Courier. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "People don't like being pigeon-holed: How Beano Studios targets kids and parents". Marketing Week. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
There are occasions when Beano Studios specifically targets parents with cheeky stunts that tap into their latent love of the brand.
- ^ Heffer, Greg (2018-04-04). "Beano tells Rees-Mogg to stop copying comic character 'Walter the Softy'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Clarke, Steve (7 April 2018). "Beano, Revived and Rebranded for Today's Kids". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b "A Menace to young people". The Guardian. 6 July 2000. p. 65. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Jetpack scores rights to Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed". Kidscreen. August 24, 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Jetpack unleashes Dennis & Gnasher worldwide". Kidscreen. October 3, 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Tuchow, Ryan (February 12, 2019). "CBBC orders more Dennis & Gnasher". Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "NBCUniversal snaps up Dennis & Gnasher". March 10, 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Hobson, Jane. "UK tops nominees for 2018 International Emmy Kids Awards". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (15 October 2018). "Nominees Revealed for International Emmy Kids Awards '19". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ a b White, Peter (12 November 2020). "'Dennis The Menace': Beano Studios Developing YA Adaptation Of Classic British Character As Comic Company Looks To Reimagine Archive". Deadline. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Where will Minnie the Minx cause chaos next?". BBC News. 14 June 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Bananaman: Comic superhero to make small screen comeback after 35 years". inews.co.uk. 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed". CBBC - BBC. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "BBC Three - BBC Comedy Short Films, Calamity James". BBC. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "British Animation Awards (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "2018 INTERNATIONAL EMMY® KIDS AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED – International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences". Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "Writers' Guild Awards shortlist". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "Kidscreen Awards (2019)". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ "RTS Scotland Awards 2024". Royal Television Society. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ Singleton, David. "Broadcast Digital Awards 2024 shortlist unveiled". Broadcast. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
Sources
- Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Beano: 80 Years of Fun. Fleet Street, London: DC Thomson. ISBN 9781845357023.