It seems as if we have just been hunting Easter Eggs, but Christmas already lurks around the corner. And soon we ask the traditional question: What do we give our beloved ones for Christmas? Maybe a Pirate’s Ring? Or a T-shirt with “fighting turtles” print? BRANDORA provides you with a selection of new products and activities on the German licensing market – and you can of course catch up on latest news from licensing in Germany …

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back! The turtles originally were comic characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird back in 1984, but soon developed into one of the most popular boy franchises of the past 25 years. Winter 2011/2012 will see the launch of exclusive products in retro style and vintage look, mainly on the fashion market. Target group are young adults. In 2013 the brand will be extended to target boys aged between 6 and 11. In the wake of the feature film released to German cinemas in summer 2013 merchandise like toys, textiles, and fan items will hit retail shelves. A TV series follows in autumn 2013 – supported by a full-fledged roll-out of countless consumer products.

Winnie the Pooh – THE classic character par excellence finally returned to the silver screen! And many licensees seized the opportunity to launch brand new Pooh-products. Bullyland brings Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo and all the other loveable characters from Hundred-Acre-Wood back to German child rooms. There’s virtually no limit to product diversity. Windup soft toy by Disney Baby, NUK baby bottles featuring original film scenes, baby wear, furniture and decorative items, prams and pushchairs, Lego Duplo construction sets and many, many more … Winnie the Pooh’s success story goes on and on!

Is there anyone who doesn’t know the large Barbapapa family from their own childhood days? The single-coloured fantasy characters Barbapapa and Barbamama and their seven children Barbabelle, Barbabright, Barbalala, Barbalib, Barbabravo, Barbabeau, and Barbazoo originally came from France and made their debut on German TV in 1974. Only a few years later, little was heard about the huge family here. But in 2010 a DVD collection with modern covers was successfully launched to the market, followed by postcards and wall calendars. In 2011 the Barbapapas will finally return to the TV screen.

The brightly coloured, hilarious but loveable Gelinis have their own news to announce: In autumn 2011 they will once more promote their traditional calendars and family planners. What is more, Ravensburger will launch another 1500 pieces and 2000 pieces puzzle, a puzzlepyramid and a colour-by-numbers set. Additional new products are already in the pipeline.

In February, the VTech Storio won the Toy Award 2011. Storio is the perfect combination of playing and learning. Learning to read and write becomes a playful experience. Now SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick & Co. "enter" the Storio. Just insert the book cartridge into the Storio unit and dive into the adventurous world of Bikini Bottom. Colourful animation and short film clips illustrate the exciting stories read aloud by the Storio. What is more, children learn letters and words. The included story dictionary offers definitions and explanations to some word within the story. Story related reading games promote listening and reading comprehension, while the colour-in book encourages children to give free rein to their imagination. These are but a few possibilities the Storio offers: Upload pictures and process images or listen to music – everything’s possible with Storio. About the SpongeBob SquarePants cartridge: Model Sponge: One day, SpongeBob accidentally overhears a telephone call and believes himself to be fired. Children accompany SpongeBob when he leaves the Krusty Krab and sets out on an adventure to find a new career. He tries out lots of different jobs before finding work as a sponge model. Children explore the story together with SpongeBob, play 4 different educational games and learn about letters, sounds, vowels, sentence structure, reading and reading comprehension while they playfully expand their vocabulary. Ages: 5-8.

20 years in the saddle: “Hufe klappern, Pferde traben, springen über´n Wassergraben, über Stock und über Stein, wer kann das nur sein?! Das sind Bibi&Tina auf Amadeus und Sabrina. Sie jagen im Wind, sie laufen geschwind, weil sie Freunde sind!” In Germany, this theme song is wildly popular with girls aged between 5 and 8. Bibi & Tina, the young witch and her best friend from Martins’ riding stable, have new adventures every day. The series tells about friendship, love of animals and – of course – witchery! From October 2011 till February 2012 Bibi and Tina celebrate their 20th anniversary with a photograph contest and many fabulous prizes. The best photograph even wins a week of riding holidays. Bibi & Tina are looking for the most beautiful photograph of two “beastly” good friends.

Trenk the Little Knight is the hero from the book of the same name, written by Kirsten Boie. First published by Oetinger in 2006 the book sold up to 200 000 copies to date and has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Bulgarian and Polish. For 5 years Trenk the Little Knight has been inspiring young readers and whole families. A knight’s tale about friendship, the value of a kind heart, justice and – last but not least – the answer to the question, what is means to be brave.
Now the character and story have been adopted for a new animated series. Based upon the storyline by Kirsten Boie and her motley crew of characters, blue eyes and WunderWerk created a wonderful 2D animation series comprised of 13 episodes. The TV show started airing in April 2011 on ZDF. While still producing the first season, the ZDF already gave the go-ahead for season two in August 2010. So the second instalment will follow only one year after the launch of season one. In spring 2012 Oetinger will launch a full-fledge merchandising programme with a large portfolio of school supplies and accessories. A themed magazine has just entered the German market. Trend the Little Knight is available for licensing in Germany only.

She turns into a princess: Sugar is a shy, loveable little girl kitten and grows up with her parents love to become a kind-hearted, sensitive young girl. Just like (almost) any other teenager she loves listening to music and reading books. And above all, she loves everything in nature. One day, Sugar finds a small, injured bird. Sugar holds the little bird and pats him gently. Then, in her arms, the little bird opens its eyes and slowly moves its wings. Due to this good deed Sugar grows angel wings and becomes known under the name of Angel Cat Sugar.
Just like Angel Cat Sugar charmed the little bird, she charmed the German market as well. Colourful outdoor products that turn any garden into a princess’ paradise, a collection of car accessories for young majesties and products that make everyday life a bit more beautiful: Angel Cat Sugar provides little fashion princesses with just the right royal accessories.

The Edel AG has been able to secure the most precious gem from the insolvency assets of the TV Loonland AG. By acquiring the exploitation rights to the TV and movie films on the animated characters Pettson and Findus the company division Edel:Kids retains best potential to develop new promising products, generate significant sales growth, and tap into new streams of revenue. As part of the agreement Edel also acquired the merchandising rights, music publishing rights and restricted printing rights to one of the most famous brands on the children’s entertainment sector. Most unusual, exploitation rights have been granted for an unlimited period of time and span all major territories including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, USA, UK, Italy and numerous East-European countries. Edel already secured limited exploitation rights to the brand in 2000. With these rights alone they have been able to establish a track record of golden and platinum awards as well as selling figures of more than four million Pettson and Findus CDs and DVDs. However, that’s not enough for CEO Michael Haentjes: “We are naturally thrilled by selling more than four million copies. But I personally think exploitation has never been the way this fantastic brand deserves. Especially when it comes to merchandising we could have done more – if we only had the rights. Due to this unique deal we and our partners are now able to expand the brand on the national and international market. I am absolutely positive: Not only children’s eyes will shine – even our share holders will be beaming with joy.”