Leading German TV group Leonine is launching an animation division with Toon2Tango founders Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris.
The three partners will each contribute their shares in Toon2Tango to create Leonine Animation Studios, with effect from 1 January.
Leonine has held a 25.1 percent stake in Toon2Tango, whose credits include Mia And Me, since October 2022.
Leonine holds a stake of 50 percent in Leonine Animation Studios, with Stoef and Daris also jointly holding 50 percent. Leonine also has the option to acquire a controlling majority in Leonine Animation Studios from 2025.
Bernhard zu Castell, Chief Distribution Officer of Leonine, will serve as managing director alongside Stoef and Daris.
Leonine Animation Studios will operate as a growth and investment platform for the development, production and acquisition of new IPs with international scope as well as other selective M&A activities in the animation sector.
Initial projects include the production of the animated feature film Santa.Com, which will be released in German cinemas in 2025, and the TV series spin-off of cinema franchise Niko as well as the development of the series Littlest Robot, which was presented at the Cartoon Forum in Toulouse in September 2023, and the preschool series Hey Fuzzy Yellow, which is currently in production.
Fred Kogel, CEO of Leonine Studios, said: “We want to consistently expand our successful children’s and family entertainment segment and this step will create the conditions for further growth in this exciting market. We are delighted that we can now deepen our partnership with Toon2Tango, Ulli Stoef and Jo Daris after our first year of successful collaboration.”
Leonine Studios’ production companies include gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion, hyperbole. i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production, Odeon Fiction, SEO Entertainment, W&B Television and Wiedemann & Berg Film.
You are not signed in
Only registered users can comment on this article.
Framestore promotes Theo Jones to Creative Director of AI
VFX giant Framestore has promoted Theo Jones to the newly created role, Creative Director of AI.
Bectu calls for government intervention in Paramount–WBD merger
Film and TV industry union Bectu has called for the government to intervene in the proposed merger between Paramount Global and WBD, warning that the deal risks increasing insecurity for creative workers and further concentrating media power in the UK.
Open letter urges UK government to back campaign against on-set injuries
Senior leaders from the film, TV, and theatre industries have come together to urge the UK government to support a campaign to prevent on-set injuries.
Winning bidders revealed for UEFA men’s football in 19 territories
UC3, which manages the commercial rights for UEFA club competitions, has confirmed the preferred bidders for media rights to UEFA men’s club competitions in 19 global territories.
RTS London Convention 2026 to be chaired by Amazon
Taking place on Tuesday 29 September at Kings Place, London, the RTS London Convention 2026 will be chaired by Tara Erer, Head of Northern European Originals at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, as the business will be the event’s Principal Sponsor.
.jpg)