TORONTO, ON and VANCOUVER, BC–(Marketwired – March 22, 2017) – In the first 100 days since its inception in December 2016, WOW! Unlimited Media Inc., formerly Rainmaker Entertainment Inc. and now, comprised of its core companies Rainmaker and Mainframe Studios as well as Frederator Networks, has already made a strong impact in the kids and youth animation marketplace. A round up of its activities shows its unique focus on creating and distributing content geared primarily towards digital platforms rather than solely for television screens, and is propelling it to the forefront of the industry.
In a new deal with Amazon Studios, WOW! Unlimited Media’s Frederator Studios was given the greenlight to produce Costume Quest which is based on the smash video game series by Double Fine productions and the world originally created by Tasha Sounart. Aimed at the kids market (6-11 year olds), Costume Quest is set in the fictional town of Auburn Pines where dark forces lurk in the shadows. It’s up to four kids who discover supernormal costumes with transformative and magical powers to harness them in order to defend the sleepy town. The series is executive produced by Will McRobb (The Adventures of Pete & Pete) who also serves as story editor, as well as WOW! Unlimited Media’s Fred Seibert (The Fairly OddParents), Kevin Kolde (Adventure Time) and Eric Homan (Adventure Time).
One month ago, Netflix announced the animated Netflix Original Series Castlevania, produced by Frederator Studios, based on the hit Konami videogame and written by best-selling author and comic book icon Warren Ellis which is the first proprietary production of U.S. based Frederator under the umbrella of parent company WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. Castlevania is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepes himself. The Castlevania series will be available exclusively on Netflix globally.
Among the many projects in the works, Vancouver-based Mainframe Studios, also under the WOW! Unlimited Media banner, is partnering with the Weinstein Company to produce 20 X 22mins episodes of Spy Kids: Mission Critical, another Netflix Original Series. It is an animated adventure series based on the live-action family film franchise, Spy Kids.
Spy Kids: Mission Critical follows brother and sister team Juni and Carmen Cortez as they attend Spy Kids Academy, a top secret spy school for kids. With fellow Spy Kids cadets, they lead a young team to battle S.W.A.M.P. (Sinister Wrongdoers Against Mankind’s Preservation) and their diabolical leader, Golden Brain. FM Demarco (Dragons: Race to the Edge) is serving as showrunner and Spy Kids: Mission Critical will be available on Netflix in 2018.
Originally from Mainframe Entertainment, the first half-hour, completely computer-animated TV series entitled ReBoot was produced and broadcast in Canada on YTV from 1994-2001. The series followed the adventures of a Guardian named Bob and his companions Enzo and Dot Matrix as they worked to keep the computer system of Mainframe safe from the viruses known as Megabyte and Hexadecimal.
Mainframe Studios is now rebooting the original ReBoot, under the new title ReBoot: The Guardian Code, producing 20 X 22mins episodes to be broadcast on the Corus Network with Nelvana picking up worldwide distribution and licensing rights. Mainframe president Michael Hefferon has said that the new show is a live action CG animated hybrid series that will deliver a 360-engagement experience for kids by utilizing the Unreal game engine for the animation production of the series. The show follows four 16-year-old kids who become the next gen guardians of cyberspace. Battling viruses with the help of a virtual evolutionary reconnaissance avatar, VERA, who gets bio printed as a 16-year-old girl, the four teens must wear protective cybersuits to allow them to survive in the digital world.
Currently, Mainframe Studios is also in production on a 60-minute Barbie special Barbie Dolphin Magic. The studio has produced 30+ animated Barbie movies with Mattel over the past 17 years.
Rainmaker Studios, another WOW! Unlimited Media company which handles animation features is currently working with Awesometown Entertainment on their upcoming animated feature film Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer. When Blitzen announces his retirement on December 21st, a miniature horse has 3 days to fulfill his lifelong dream of earning a spot on Santa’s team at the North Pole try-outs.
Topping off the last 100 days, WOW! Unlimited Media’s Frederator Digital has also given the greenlight to new seasons of two hit series on YouTube. The company’s owned & operated Channel Frederator will debut Season 8 (50 episodes) of 107 Facts in April 2017, about the most popular cartoons, TV shows, films, video games, music artists, and celebrities; Season 4 of Cartoon Conspiracy will debut in June 2017, delving into and affirms or debunks fan theories about the most popular cartoons.
WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: RNK.A) (TSX VENTURE: RNK.B) and is headed up by CEO and board chairman, Michael Hirsh.
About WOW! Unlimited Media Inc.
WOW! Unlimited Media Inc., formerly Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., is creating a leading next-generation kids and youth animation business by focusing on digital platforms and content. The company’s key assets include: the world’s #1 digital animation network, Frederator Networks, which consists of an animation production company Frederator Studios as well as VOD channels on digital platforms; the world’s first Hispanic animation network, Átomo Network, a joint venture with Ánima Estudios; and one of Canada’s largest, multi-faceted animation production studios, Rainmaker Entertainment, which consists of Mainframe Studios that produces CGI animated television series and Rainmaker Studios that produces long-form animated features. The company operates out of offices in Toronto, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: RNK.A and RNK.B).
For further information please contact:
Lowell Hall
[email protected]
(416) 887-1636
