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´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide has today announced that Rainbow Designs have been granted the master toy license for the pre-school brand, Wibbly Pig.

Based on the popular books by Mick Inkpen and adapted for TV by Will Brenton – the creator and producer of Tweenies – Wibbly Pig combines imagination, adventure and charming animation, with each episode guiding pre-school audiences through familiar daily routines.

The contract will see Rainbow Designs produce a range of Wibbly-based gift and play items including plush toys, wooden toys, puzzles and games. There are also plans to extend the range into homeware. Initial lines are planned to roll out from February, 2011, and are set to be followed by further launches in summer 2011 and early 2012. Products will be primarily targeted towards pre-schoolers aged 0 – 3 years.

Richard Hollis, Head of UK Licensing for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide, said: "I'm delighted to announce Rainbow Designs as the master licensee for Wibbly Pig. They're proven to be dedicated to creating classic, quality driven product, and aided by the fantastic artwork from the Wibbly Pig brand they have created some wonderful ideas which reflect the show’s values throughout."

The deal follows the recent announcement that ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide have also signed Brecrest to the brand; a partnership that will provide a range of Wibbly Pig themed children's apparel.

NOTES TO EDITORS
About Wish Films
Wish Films was formed in 2006 and is run by Will Brenton and Helen Cadwallader, formerly of Tell-Tale Productions.

Whilst running Tell-Tale they created and produced some of the most popular UK children's television including 'The Tweenies' (´óÏó´«Ã½ - 390 episodes), 'Boo!' (´óÏó´«Ã½- 104 episodes), 'BB3C' (´óÏó´«Ã½ – 13 episodes) and 'The Fun Song Factory' (GMTV/CiTV – 72 episodes).

They enjoyed considerable success with these shows, gaining a BAFTA, an RTS award, along with four other BAFTA nominations and nominations at the British Animation Awards, the Broadcast Awards and winning another 14 awards in total. The Tweenies also enjoyed four top ten singles and five arena tours playing to over 1 million people, all of which were written and produced by Will and Iain Lauchlan.

Wish Films' first commission was the production of 'Jim Jam and Sunny', CiTV's biggest ever commission at 260 x 11 minute live action episodes. Wish Film’s most recent production, the animation project "Wibbly Pig" (52 x 10 minutes), had its first transmission on CBeebies in September 2009. Wish Films produces high quality indigenous programming for children in the UK, from pre-school to pre-teen, with a strong universal appeal and the ability to transfer easily to other territories.

Luke Campbell