![]() ![]() In the first book, which was Sophia and Rainbow, that’s where we do first learn there’s a Unicorn Island and a Unicorn Academy. But to learn about the school, understand it and discover it for the first time, we wanted to follow one character’s journey. When we thought about the series - we had four books, then eight available to us when we were developing, and now there’s 20 in the market - we wanted to focus on about six main characters as the new students coming into the school. When we looked at the books, each has that individual rider-unicorn combination. How did you think about taking those titles from individual story arcs to a blended ensemble arc? So we really wanted to have that bond between the friends and also with the unicorn.Īs you noted, this is based on a book series. You want someone to see you and understand you. That relationship with the unicorn and the rider is also about someone who sees you and understands you, and, I think especially for kids and youth, they’re all looking for that. Whether you like action, adventure or fantasy, with those ensemble characters that you can identify with, that’s really exciting. And obviously, as animation aficionados from young ages, we’re all influenced by those previous properties for sure. My son loves Power Rangers, which I think also has a similar dynamic. Were you inspired by any of those series in choosing Unicorn Academy? It really lives in this space narratively of evolving into something greater but also the unique bonds you can form in life. Unicorn Academy has the successful elements of “horse girl” shows, but also those like Sailor Moon, Winx Club and even Pokémon. So it had all of that and boarding school and magic. All kids have a unicorn moment in their life. When we read the materials, we were like, ‘Oh, yes, this is this is what we’re looking for.’ The unicorn is like a classic theme. Then there was the diverse girl protagonists that were all different, each with their own unicorn. The publishing worlds is immense, and so we had a lot to choose from, but immediately, when I saw this property - they just had the first four titles - and you could see the fantasy, the magic, the wish-fulfillment of the story. So I was on a mission to find that and looked at hundreds of titles in that area. But ultimately, I was looking for something in the older demo that felt like fantasy and adventure and that had like girl protagonists. ![]() We have a show called Bakugan, which is an action-battle series out of Japan. ![]() We have a really robust, wonderful preschool slate. I was on a mission to understand the publishing business and what the possibilities were to develop from published materials, which we had done a little of before, but wasn’t a go-to method for development for us. I went to the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna in 2018. THR spoke to Dodge about Spin Master’s latest venture into the “horse girl” and power of transformation genres, Unicorn Academy as a co-viewing experience and “semi-musical,” as well as the show’s calculated release strategy.Ĭan you talk about why Spin Master choose this series to build a universe around? The trailer teases what’s in store for just the first movie and season of episodes, which totals more than 250 minutes of entertainment. “We’re just so excited to finally get this out to the public after many years under wraps,” she adds. “And invoked the full capabilities of our enterprise across our toy creative center, our digital games creative center and our in house consumer products team.” They just understood and saw the vision,” Dodge tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Netflix has just been an incredibly supportive partner right from the beginning. Within that, fledgling fans can expect both a toy line and a digital game, both launching in 2024. It’s also the company’s biggest upfront commitment as far as content in Spin Master’s history, including specials, episodes, short form, music videos and more that will release over a two-year period. A new lane in more ways than one for the company behind Paw Patrol, Sago Mini and Bakugan, Spin Master’s president of entertainment Jen Dodge calls the show the biggest drop of content Spin Master has ever done at launch. The series is part of a deal between Spin Master and Netflix and is based on Julie Sykes’ popular Nosy Crow series of the same name. ![]()
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