Drawn to International Screens

Industry-veteran, Mike Young, discusses Splash Entertainment’s successful blueprint for making hit animated movies with China and for global audiences.

It has been about 15 years since animation industry veteran Mike Young began working with GDC (Global Digital Creations Holdings Ltd.)

based out of Shenzhen, and they have worked together on several hit series and movies, including Dive Olly Dive (Happy Little Submarines), Bratz and Strawberry Shortcake. Young, whose animation company, Splash Entertainment, has, over the years, produced close to 50 beloved animated series, such as the Multi-Emmy Award winning Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Chloe’s Closet, Growing Up Creepie, and the Netflix original series, Kulipari: An Army of Frogs, says he’s been thrilled with how the company’s modestly budgeted movies have been performing, both in China and in many territories around the world.

“We’ve had great success with our

Dive Olly Dive movies in China,” says Young. “To date, we’ve had seven animated movies released in China— and will soon have our Norm of the North films releasing there as well. Beijing-based Dream Factory came on board to produce two Norm of the North movie sequels.” Young points out that his company’s model for making these animated productions is based on sharing the copyright in the films with the Chinese partners and making the movies on a more modest budget than what the big studios spend on a feature.

“We’ve seen all these $60 to 90-million-dollar animated movies perform disastrously at the box office this year,” he notes. “Adding the cost of Prints and Ads needed to support a global release, means that these movies need to be big box office successes, just to have a chance to breakeven. We came up with a model that works a lot better. So far, seven of our movies have performed very well in China, where, as you know, only a limited number of imported movies are allowed to be released each year. This means that the independents are competing with the major studios for these few coveted slots. Because of the way we structure our Chinese partnerships,

our films qualify as domestic releases in China, so we are fortunate to be inside the magic castle!”

Bear Necessity

Lionsgate will soon release the second Norm of the North movie (King Sized Adventure) in North America and will also deliver the third movie in the franchise, Norm of the North: Family Vacation, in the fall. These CG-animated, family movies center on the adventures of a polar bear/king of the arctic, who can speak to humans and his trio of lemming friends. The original movie was produced by Splash (U.S.), Assemblage Entertainment (India) and Telegael (Ireland), with a modest budget, and it featured the voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong and Bill Nighy. The movie was released theatrically in more than 70 countries, including a wide theatrical release in North America by Lionsgate.

“Norm of the North” continues to gain steam in territories all over the world,” said Mevelyn J. Noriega, President of Distribution, Splash Entertainment. “More than just a series of movies, Norm is a full-fledged entertainment brand, and we are delighted to share the hilarious and fun antics of the lovable polar bear and his pals with even more kids and families everywhere.”

In King Sized Adventure, Norm embarks on a journey to China to return a stolen Chinese treasure to its rightful place. In Family Vacation, Norm struggles with juggling his duties as King of the Arctic and being an attentive father and husband. When his crown is stolen three days before the Northern Lights Jubilee, he must follow the thief’s trail, as he whisks his unsuspecting family away on an adventure that takes them to the magical ice city of Harbin, China.

Splash is also producing two sequels to the popular 2016 animated feature Rock Dog, for the Huayi Brothers, with the first movie expected to be ready by spring of 2020.

Young says one of the reasons these co-pros have been so successful is because Splash forms collaborative partnerships with its overseas partners like GDC. “Sometimes American studios do not like to share the copyright with their Chinese partners, and treat the relationships as a one-way street,” notes Young. “We were one of the first studios to give our Chinese partners true ownership in the content they produce with Splash. As a result, we have now created franchises that perform very well in China. We are also sensitive to the cultural differences of our partners and employ a more collaborative approach, which you can see reflected in the storylines and animation backgrounds of our movies.”

Last month, Splash, which also reaches 100 million U.S households through its top-rated Kabillion and Kabillion Girls Rule! Kids free on-demand cable and OTT TV network, announced that it will develop, produce and distribute animated content based on best-selling author R. L. Stine’s picture book The Little Shop of Monsters (illustrated by Marc Brown) as well as Stine’s book series Rotten School.

“We’ve had such phenomenal response to the news,” notes the veteran producer. “There’s been huge interest from everyone— both the big networks and the streaming companies. Everybody is looking for known franchises. That’s the big buzzword today. But sometimes, it takes 10 to 12 years to build an overnight success!” ◆

For more info, visit splashentertainment.com

“We were one of the first studios to give our Chinese partners true ownership of the content…We are also sensitive to the cultural differences of our partners and employ a more collaborative approach, which you can see reflected in the storylines and animation backgrounds of our movies.” — Mike Young, Splash Entertainment co-founder and partner