by Sahil Patel
Mondo Media, an animation-focused multi-channel network on YouTube, plans to produce three movies based on its most popular shows, “Happy Tree Friends,” “Dick Figures,” and “Deep Space 69.”
The slate will kick-off with the release of a movie based on the company’s flagship property “Happy Tree Friends.” A flash-animated series about a bunch of forest friends who inevitably get into ultra-violent trouble, “Happy Tree Friends” has generated more than 2 billion views on and off YouTube, with 70 percent of those views coming from outside of North America, according to Mondo.
Following that will be “Dick Figures 2,” a sequel to “Dick Figures: The Movie,” which raised more than $300,000 on Kickstarter and was profitable within three months of its release, said Mondo. The property focuses on the exploits of two friends named Red and Blue, and has amassed nearly half a billion views online.
“Deep Space 69,” Mondo’s newest series, will round out the package.
Mondo has also hired Emmy-winning animation veteran Bill Schultz (“The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill”) to executive produce the slate alongside John Evershed, Aaron Simpson, and Brendan Burch.
The movies will be financed by Mondo with a “combination of equity and collaboration” from distribution partners as well as pre-sales. These partners, which will serve as co-producers on the films, will be announced shortly.
Mondo is making the announcement ahead of next week’s MIPCOM in Cannes, where it expects to finalize “several key windows and territories” for the slate, the company said. The films will be distributed digitally or on traditional platforms depending on the territory.
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