Nickelodeon, Chorion Brown Bags Olivia

Nickelodeon is partnering with media content company, Chorion, to present Olivia, a new children’s animated television series based on the best-selling books by acclaimed author/illustrator Ian Falconer.

The new CGI series (52 x 11 minute and one 44 minute special) will be animated by Academy Award-nominated Irish animation studio Brown Bag Films. Nick Jr. will present 26 half-hour episodes in the US and sales for the international territories will be made at MIP.

“Olivia is that rarest of creatures, a children’s publishing phenomenon with an established international appeal,’ says Brown Johnson, exec vice president and executive creative director of Nickelodeon Preschool.

The first Olivia picture book by US author and acclaimed New Yorker illustrator Ian Falconer was published in 2000 to rave reviews. Since that time, the series has sold an impressive 2.5 million copies worldwide in 21 languages.

Chorion acquired the non-publishing rights to Olivia in 2005. It is currently handling worldwide television sales, and will be showcasing the series at MIP TV this week.