Kartoon Studios Announces Exclusive Sneak Peek of "Hundred Acre Woods: Winnie and Friends" at Hollywood's Iconic TCL Chinese Theatre
A Defining Moment: A sneak preview of Kartoon Studios' Anticipated Biggest Launch Ever
Positions Kartoon Studios for Growth at the Intersection of High-Value Content and a Global Consumer-Product Revenue Platform
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kartoon Studios (NYSE:TOON), today announced it will host a special sneak peek event for its upcoming animated franchise, "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends," based on A.A. Milne's classic Winnie-the-Pooh, at Hollywood's world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 12:00 PM PT.
The TCL Chinese Theatre—home to premieres of some of the most successful films ever made, including Avatar, Titanic, Forest Gump, Iron Man 3, and The Wizard of Oz—provides a stage befitting a property with the potential to become a billion-dollar global evergreen brand for generations to come.
"This premiere represents far more than a sneak peek—it is the public unveiling of what we believe will become one of Kartoon Studios' most valuable long-term assets," said Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Kartoon Studios.
"A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the most beloved characters in the world. Our new series is designed to bring POOH, and his friends, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and others, to a new generation of consumers with song and dance added to the gentle wisdom of the wood.
Creatively driven by Linda Woolverton's words and Danny Elfman's music, Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie & Friends, thrives at the highest levels of creative and technical excellence. The characters open up from the books and breathe. In an otherwise, noisy, fast, and anxious world, The Hundred Acre Wood, is an oasis of goodness.
A MULTI-PLATFORM GLOBAL FRANCHISE BUILT FOR LONG-TERM GROWTH
Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends has been structured from inception as a 360° global franchise, with an integrated roadmap designed to maximize engagement, accelerate monetization, and expand worldwide presence.
The multi-phase rollout includes:
• Serialized short-form content (208 episodes)
Engineered for broad distribution across AVOD, FAST, SVOD, IN-STORE and INTERNATIONAL PLATFORMS.
• Major Holiday Specials
Beginning with a Christmas premiere in 2026—strategically positioned for annual evergreen viewership and retail tie-ins, the company will also produce specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter,
• Global Consumer Products Program
Ranging from toys and apparel to home goods, publishing, collectibles, and retail partnerships across mass, specialty, and digital marketplaces.
• Experiential & Live Event Extensions
In development: themed activations, mall events, theatrical exhibits, and immersive family experiences.
• Ambient, evergreen global brand positioning
Leveraging the universal values of friendship, kindness, optimism, and imagination that define this century-old property.
This holistic approach positions Winnie and Friends as a cornerstone engine for Kartoon Studios' future content strategy and revenue diversification.
A UNIQUE VISUAL SIGNATURE: A HAND-CRAFTED "YARN" UNIVERSE
The series features an original yarn-based animation style combining state-of-the-art digital tools with tactile, handcrafted textures. The result is a warm, timeless, storybook aesthetic—one that resonates emotionally with parents and children while offering an elevated artistic look framed with music and dance throughout.
A WORLD-CLASS CREATIVE TEAM POWERING THE FRANCHISE
Kartoon Studios has assembled an accomplished creative team in contemporary animation:
• Linda Woolverton – Executive Producer
Writer of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Maleficent, and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland shaping overall creative and narrative direction.
• Danny Elfman – Composer
Legendary film composer of some of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster hits, including Batman, Spider-Man, Beetlejuice, and TV's The Simpsons) crafting an original musical identity for the franchise.
• Elise Allen – Head Writer/Showrunner
Emmy-nominated writer and creator behind numerous global children's hits, including Disney Channel's Lion King spinoff the Lion Guard.
Collectively, this proven team brings a history of successful global box office hits while driving consumer product revenues.
We believe it will become a powerful, enduring asset for both audiences and shareholders."
WORLD-CLASS CREATIVE DRIVES WORLD-CLASS PRODUCTS
Day-and-date with the debut of the Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends animated programming in Fall 2026, Kartoon Studios will launch a feature line of plush, apparel, backpacks, and publishing, under the direction of Disney Licensing veteran Chris DeMoulin, former SVP/Head of Global Licensing. "The line will grow with the program, allowing a new generation of preschoolers to discover the joys to be found exploring this dynamic new Hundred Acre Wood with their friends, both human and animated, said DeMoulin."
BUILDING A GLOBAL FRANCHISE FOR MULTI-PLATFORM REACH
"Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" is being developed as a cornerstone franchise for Kartoon Studios, supported by a large-format content strategy that spans short-form episodes, holiday specials, and an ambitious multi-platform rollout. The strategy is deliberately engineered for long-term durability, with a comprehensive roadmap that reaches across streaming and broadcast partners, global consumer products, live and experiential events, and other immersive brand touchpoints. By integrating these elements from the outset, Kartoon Studios aims to accelerate worldwide expansion, deepen engagement with families across generations, and position the property as a meaningful and enduring growth engine for the Company and its shareholders for years to come.
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK EVENT DETAILS
What: Special Sneak Peek — "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends"
When: Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 12:00 PM PT
Where: TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
Additional Information: Attendance and credentialing details will be released closer to the event date.
About Kartoon Studios
Kartoon Studios (NYSE:TOON) is a global leader in children's and family entertainment, delivering premium content and high-value animated intellectual property to millions of viewers worldwide. The Company's portfolio features globally recognized brands, as well as holding a controlling interest in Stan Lee Universe, and operates Mainframe Studios, one of North America's largest animation producers, with more than 22,000 minutes of award-winning programming delivered.
Through its Toon Media Networks division including Kartoon Channel!, Ameba, Kartoon Channel Worldwide and Frederator, Kartoon Studios reaches audiences across linear television, AVOD, SVOD, FAST channels, and top streaming platforms. Kartoon Channel! is consistently rated the #1 kids' streaming app on the Apple App Store. With a global distribution footprint in over 60 territories, and a robust content pipeline, Kartoon Studios is being positioned for sustained growth and long-term shareholder value.
For more information, visit www.kartoonstudios.com
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding: positioning Kartoon Studios for growth at the intersection of high-value content and a global consumer-products revenue platform; hosting a special sneak peek event for "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends", at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2025; "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" having the potential to become a billion dollar global evergreen brand for generations to come; "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" becoming one of Kartoon Studios' most valuable long-term assets; the new series bringing POOH, and his friends, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and others, to a new generation of consumers; structuring "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" as a 360° global franchise, with an integrated roadmap designed to maximize engagement, accelerate monetization, and expand worldwide presence; plans for the multi-phase rollout, including serialized short-form content engineered for broad distribution, producing a Christmas premiere in 2026 and specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter, a consumer products program and experiential and live event extensions; becoming a powerful, enduring asset for both audiences and shareholders; developing "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" as a cornerstone franchise, supported by a large-format content strategy that spans short-form episodes, holiday specials, and an ambitious multi-platform rollout; engineering "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" for long-term durability, with a comprehensive roadmap that reaches across streaming and broadcast partners, global consumer products, live and experiential events, and other immersive brand touchpoints; accelerating worldwide expansion, deepening engagement with families across generations, and positioning the property as a meaningful and enduring growth engine for the Company and its shareholders for years to come; and the Company being positioned for sustained growth and long-term shareholder value. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the Company's ability to position Kartoon Studios for growth at the intersection of high-value content and a global consumer-products revenue platform; the Company's ability to develop the Company's ability to develop "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" into a billion dollar global evergreen brand for generations to come; the Company's ability to bring POOH and his friends to a new generation of consumers; the Company's ability to structure "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" as a 360° global franchise, with an integrated roadmap designed to maximize engagement, accelerate monetization, and expand worldwide presence; the Company's ability to implement its multi-phase rollout, including serialized short-form content engineered for broad distribution, producing a Christmas premiere in 2026 and specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter, a consumer products program and experiential and live event extensions; the Company's ability to develop "Hundred Acre Wood's Winnie and Friends" as a cornerstone franchise; the Company's ability to accelerate worldwide expansion, deepen engagement with families across generations, and position the property as a meaningful and enduring growth engine for the Company and its shareholders for years; the Company's ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all; fluctuations in the results of the Company's operations from period to period; general economic and financial conditions; the Company's ability to anticipate changes in popular culture, media and movies, fashion and technology; competitive pressure from other distributors of content and within the retail market; the Company's reliance on and relationships with third-party production and animation studios; the Company's ability to market and advertise its products; the Company's reliance on third-parties to promote its products; the Company's ability to keep pace with technological advances; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property and those other risk factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and in the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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