Masha and the Bear: guests of honour at leading Italian family attraction

Maurizio Distefano Licensing has announced that the stars of the preschool animation hit Masha and the Bear will be the guests of honour during this, the 45th birthday year of Leolandia, one of Italy’s most popular amusement parks.

A fun and exciting programme of events is planned to celebrate the 45th birthday of the park, and Masha and her big friend Bear will play a large role. Admirers of the duo will be able to meet their heroes in person, be photographed with them and have fun in Leolandia, the amusement park of choice for most Italian families.

With its six themed areas and 39 attractions for all ages, including a rich entertainment offering and attractions like The World of Animals and a miniature Italy, Leolandia, is the largest theme park in the northwest of the country and the fastest growing in Italy. It’s no surprise therefore that Leolandia and the stars of Italy’s most popular preschool television series should join forces.

Masha and her friend take centre stage at Leolandia on the back of exceptional figures for their television series and record earnings — € 4.34 million in just 19 days — for their movie Masha and the Bear: Friends Forever. A 26 episode spin-off series, Masha Tales, began this month on Rai YoYo and the touring Masha and the Bear Live Show is reaching audiences in all of Italy’s big cities.

With a target audience of children aged 3-9, Masha and the Bear has enjoyed strong TV ratings in Italy as well as on-demand streaming on YouTube, Chili and Infinity, and a very popular Facebook page. A new spin-off series, Masha Tales, a film and a live tour have also been popular and kept brand awareness high, further boosting a very successful licensing campaign managed in Italy by Maurizio Distefano Licensing. Masha and the Bear is already one of the top licensed properties on the Italian market. Recent licenses include beachware, bicycles, bicycle accessories, confectionery, markers, colouring sets, umbrellas, bed linen, clocks and watches.

Maurizio Distefano, President and Founder MDL, says: “I am delighted that an amusement park that is such a favourite for Italian families has welcomed two of the most popular children’s characters to its birthday celebrations. This agreement underlines the success of the characters produced by Animaccord and the enormous awareness of Masha and The Bear that underpins a massively successful licensing campaign. I'm sure that we’ll be hearing much, much more from Masha and the Bear throughout 2016 and beyond.”