Thomas & Friends™ Announces Global 75th Anniversary Activities Throughout 2020
28 Abril 2020 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
- Thomas & Friends™ will unveil new episodes, specials,
and short form content, music, toys, books, exciting partnerships,
and an all-new podcast for kids in this celebratory year
- New content is headlined by 1 x 22' special titled Thomas
& Friends: The Royal Engine featuring Her Majesty The Queen and
HRH The Prince of Wales as a child, along with a special
introduction by Harry, The Duke of Sussex
- Mattel is collaborating with Calm to offer kids a new way of
engaging with Thomas & Friends through mindfulness
- Caribu is teaming up with multi-platinum recording artist
Kevin Jonas to read classic Thomas & Friends books releasing
every week in May
Today, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), kicks off worldwide
celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the iconic global
preschool brand, Thomas & Friends™. The momentous year for the
iconic No.1 Blue Tank Engine will include exciting partnerships,
engaging apps and e-books, brand-new music, and new episodic
content and specials.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005247/en/
Thomas & Friends Celebrates 75th
Anniversary (Photo: Business Wire)
The first Thomas & Friends story was created 75 years ago by
the Rev. W. Awdry for his son, Christopher. Today, Thomas is just
as beloved by children as he was when he first chugged down the
tracks in 1945. With constantly evolving content and more ways to
reach fans than ever before, Thomas is inviting everyone to
celebrate the 75th Anniversary throughout 2020.
“Since the beginning, Thomas & Friends has celebrated
friendship and teamwork through storytelling which has cultivated
fan love across generations. In this milestone 75th year, we are
releasing more storytelling content than ever before to engage the
next generation of fans,” said Chuck Scothon, SVP and GM of Infant
and Preschool, Mattel. “While families are spending more time at
home, we are able to offer new content to enjoy together across
videos, books, apps and through music and podcasts and are thrilled
that we could partner with leading platforms like Calm and Caribu
along with Netflix and Harry, The Duke of Sussex to bring this
content home for fans.”
The power of the Thomas & Friends brand is evident across
many platforms, but most of all in the hearts of its fans. The
worldwide Thomas & Friends 75th anniversary activations
include:
Video Content
- Anniversary year content kicks off on May 1 with a new 1 x 22’
celebratory special, Thomas & Friends: The Royal Engine, which
pays homage to the show’s British heritage and features Her Majesty
The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales as a child. Thomas travels to
London for the first time on a mission to take Sir Topham Hatt to
Buckingham Palace. Thomas & Friends: The Royal Engine includes
a special introduction from Harry, The Duke of Sussex. Actress
Rosamund Pike voices a new character, Duchess of Loughborough, and
said it was “an absolute honour” to guest star in the 75th
anniversary special.
- Also releasing this year as part of Series 24 are 2 x 22’
specials under the title Thomas & Friends: Marvelous Machinery.
The specials have an exciting invention theme, new and unusual
characters including a flying car, and a world-class technology
fair celebration. In addition, 20 x 11’ new episodes will debut.
All of this content will be on Netflix in the US.
- To supplement Series 24 episodes and specials, the brand will
release four all-new made-for-YouTube series, with episodes
debuting weekly. New YouTube content includes the series Thomas’
Magical Birthday Wishes, a kid-friendly nod to anniversary year
celebrations.
- Nitro Circus and Thomas & Friends are teaming up for an
epic train adventure. At Nitro Circus, a “train” involves a lot
more motorcycles, ATVs, and plenty of gnarly crashes. So the crew
brings in some friends to help jump a “train” over a train, and
that train is pulled by none other than Thomas the Tank Engine
himself. Check out this stunt on Quibi, Life-Size Toys series
debuts May 25.
Audio
- On May 12, the brand is launching Thomas & Friends
Storytime, a new podcast for kids. There will be 46 stories
released weekly including origin stories of favorite characters,
Thomas versions of fairytales, and adaptations of previous
television episodes and books. Each episode ranges from 5-10
minutes in length and will be available on all major podcast
platforms.
- Thomas will have his very own birthday album releasing on May
8, including three all new celebration themed songs. The album will
be available across all major digital music platforms. The brand is
also launching over 50 more new songs throughout the year, with
accompanying music videos on YouTube.
- On May 4, Thomas & Friends is kicking off a partnership
with Calm, the world’s #1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation,
to introduce young fans to Thomas-themed sleep stories and guided
meditations. Calm’s bespoke content will allow families to enjoy a
new, immersive way to engage with Thomas & Friends through
mindfulness. The content will be available for free for the month
of May on the Calm app, with two more new content releases coming
later in the year.
Publishing
- Thomas & Friends started as a story told by a father to his
son, and after 75 years of adventure and more than 207 million
books sold around the world, the brand continues to release new
titles with more than 20 publishing partners globally. In the US,
Random House Books for Young Readers is releasing Thomas &
Friends: Best Birthday Ever! Fans can celebrate Thomas the Tank
Engine’s best birthday ever with this Thomas & Friends
storybook featuring stickers, a poster, and a party game. In the
UK, Egmont is releasing three titles for fans celebrating the
brand’s heritage, Thomas’ birthday and the new Royal Engine
Special.
- Thomas & Friends is teaming up with Caribu, the #1
family-activity video-calling app, that allows kids to stay engaged
and create special moments with their loved ones and friends by
going on a virtual playdate no matter how far apart they are.
Caribu allows families to read books from an extensive library of
popular children's titles, play games, color, or even cook from a
recipe together in a video-call. To celebrate Thomas & Friend's
75-year-milestone, Kevin Jonas is collaborating with Caribu to read
classic Thomas & Friends books every week in May, starting
today.
Product
- Thomas & Friends is celebrating this milestone year with
several new birthday themed toys. Birthday Wish Thomas is a
push-along Thomas train with a cargo cart and light-up birthday
cake candle, and includes music and phrases including “Happy
Birthday.” Golden Thomas is decorated with festive balloons and
beats a party drum as he moves along the track and Celebration
Thomas, Percy and Nia engines have shiny metallic finishes.
For more information on Thomas & Friends 75th anniversary
activities, please visit Thomasandfriends.com.
About Mattel
Mattel is a leading global children’s entertainment company that
specializes in design and production of quality toys and consumer
products. We create innovative products and experiences that
inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage
consumers through our portfolio of iconic franchises, including
Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, American Girl®, Fisher-Price®, Thomas &
Friends™ and MEGA®, as well as other popular brands that we own or
license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our
offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and
live events. We operate in 40 locations and sell products in more
than 150 countries in collaboration with the world’s leading retail
and technology companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is
proud to be a trusted partner in exploring the wonder of childhood
and empowering kids to reach their full potential. Visit us online
at www.mattel.com.
MAT-TF
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005247/en/
Kelly Powers 310-343-5981 Kelly.powers@mattel.com
Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT)
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