Bodhi and Friends

Last updated

Bodhi and Friends is an animated television series produced in Hong Kong. [1] It serves as flagship property of Century Innovative Technology Limited, a children's multimedia company founded by Poman Lo. CIT has launched the award-winning 3D animation TV series, Bodhi and Friends: Space Squad, from February 2014, which is widely broadcast throughout China and Hong Kong. Additionally, CIT has introduced BodhiWorld, a child-friendly platform. [2]

Contents

About Bodhi and Friends

Bodhi and Friends was created in 2006 as a charity project. In 2012, with the establishment of CIT, Bodhi and Friends was launched as a commercial brand. In 2014, the first season of Bodhi and Friends animation aired on CCTV Children Channel prime time, along with more than 100 regional channels, attracting over 226 million views. The first season of Bodhi and Friends accumulated more than 100 million views on online video platforms. In 2015, the second season of Bodhi and Friends gained #1 spot on both CCTV Children Channel and Hunan Television, the two most popular children TV channels in China. It is licensed by the world's largest children publishing company Scholastic to develop books.

It collaborates with education technology company Skoolbo to co-develop interactive literacy programs. In 2016, Bodhi and Friends animation IP was licensed to Mattel for the development and distribution of toys around the world. This is the first time Mattel has licensed a Chinese animation IP in its 70 year history. [3] In 2017, two new animation seasons (Bodhi and Friends -Dream Alliance and Bodhi and Friends -Dream Hero) aired on TV and online platforms. In the summer of 2017, Season 4 (Bodhi and Friends -Dream Hero) was the most viewed children's animation among online Chinese platforms, ranking 3rd place for the first time.

Characters

Bodhi and Friends Bodhi and Friends (television series) characters.jpg
Bodhi and Friends

TV animation

Bodhi and Friends: Space Squad is a 3D TV animation season. The first season of 52-episodes premiered on CCTV (China) prime time during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2014, followed by 70 local channels and online portals in China, as well as Now TV (Hong Kong). The second season of 52-episodes will air in 2015.[ needs update ] The third season is currently in production. [5] Bodhi and Friends: Space Squad was awarded: [6]

Online video platforms have attracted over 60 million views and more than 4.6 million Weibo followers. [7] The opening and closing songs are sung by Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVB</span> Television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong

Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB Pearl as its main English service. TVB is headquartered at TVB City at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate.

<i>Bob the Builder</i> British childrens animated television show

Bob the Builder is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment, and ran from 12 April 1999 to 31 December 2011 in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures and escapades of a general contractor named Bob who owns a team of anthropomorphised construction vehicles that go about their day helping out the residents of Bobsville; later featuring Sunflower Valley and Fixham Harbour in later seasons. They are also joined by work colleague Wendy, alongside their neighbours and friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIT Entertainment</span> British-American entertainment company

HIT Entertainment Limited was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turner Laing. Orton alone took over the company in 1989 after learning Henson intended to sell the company to The Walt Disney Company. HIT owned and distributed children's television series such as Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Barney & Friends, and Angelina Ballerina.

Chinese animation refers to animation made in China. In Chinese, donghua describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. However, outside of China and in English, donghua is colloquial for Chinese animation and refers specifically to animation produced in China.

<i>Peppa Pig</i> British preschool animated television series

Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthropomorphic female piglet, and her family, as well as her peers portrayed as other animals. The show first aired on 31 May 2004. The eighth season began broadcasting on 4 September 2023. Peppa Pig has been broadcast in over 180 countries.

The Asian Television Awards, founded in 1996, is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, it comprises 56 categories across news, documentaries and current affairs, kids and animation, entertainment, drama, technical, digital, as well as performances including acting and directing. The Awards draw about 1,400 entries each year from a wide range of broadcasters, including free-to-air TV stations, pay-TV platforms, OTT platforms, as well as many independent production houses in Asia. Every year, a panel of more than 50 judges from more than 10 countries evaluate and select the entries. The winners are then awarded across 3 evenings: a Gala Dinner in Kuching for the technical and creative categories followed by a live telecast the next day for the entertainment and acting categories, also in Kuching. The digital awards are presented separately in another country.

<i>Shaun the Sheep</i> British childrens television series

Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated silent children's television series which is developed by Aardman Animations. A spin-off in the Wallace & Gromit franchise, the series focuses on the adventures of Shaun, the eponymous sheep previously starring in A Close Shave, as the leader of his flock on an English farm. The series premiered on 5 March 2007 on CBBC in the UK, also airing on BBC Two. Since 2020, the series is streamed globally on Netflix. In March 2024, it was announced that the seventh series is in development and will premiere in 2025. With 170 episodes over 6 series, Shaun the Sheep is one of the longest-running animated series in British television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best News Entertainment</span> New Zealand Asian media company

Best News Entertainment is a New Zealand television, radio and print media company specialising in media for Asian migrants and Asian language communities. It operates TV32, a free-to-air television channel on the Freeview platform and three 24-hour radio networks through terrestrial radio.

<i>Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf</i> Anime-influenced television series

Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf is a Chinese animated anime-influenced television series created by animation director Leo Huang and produced by Creative Power Entertaining. The show is about a group of goats living on the Green Green Grassland and a clumsy wolf who wants to eat them.

The television industry in China includes high-tech program production, transmission and coverage. China Central Television is China's largest state-run national television broadcaster. By 1987, two-thirds of people in China had access to television. As of August 22, 2023, over 3,300 local, regional, and national TV channels are available in the country.

<i>Barbie</i> (media franchise) Multimedia franchise featuring Barbie

Beginning with the release of an eponymous video game in 1984, Barbie, a fashion doll manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and debuted on March 9, 1959, has been featured in a media franchise predominantly consisting of a film series and media formats across technologies like television and the Internet. Since then, it has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time and has been referred to among fans as the "Barbie Cinematic Universe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunan Television</span> Television channel

Hunan Television or Hunan TV is a state-owned provincial satellite TV station launched on September 29, 1970. It is currently China's second-most-watched television channel, second to China Central Television's CCTV-1, although Hunan TV has occasionally overtaken CCTV-1 in ratings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Technology Venture</span> Hong Kong-based e-commerce company

Hong Kong Technology Venture Company Limited is a Hong Kong–based technology company primarily known for its e-commerce platform and once had plans to become a television station. HKTV currently provides an over-the-top shopping and entertainment ("shoppertainment") platform named HKTVMall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poman Lo</span> Hong Kong businesswoman

Poman Lo is the Vice Chairman of Century City International Holdings Limited and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Regal Hotels Group. Century City Group comprises a total of five listed entities in Hong Kong, including Century City International Holdings Limited, Paliburg Holdings Limited, Regal Hotels International Holdings Limited, Regal Real Estate Investment Trust, and Cosmopolitan International Holdings Limited.

Le Vision Pictures is a film production and distribution company in China. Founded in 2011, Le Vision Pictures was originally a subsidiary of LeEco, a Chinese conglomerate founded by Jia Yueting. In 2018, Le Vision Pictures was sold to Chinese property group, Sunac and renamed "Suniverse Film Entertainment".

TVB Anywhere is an online pay-TV and shopping platform launched by Hong Kong television station Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) for non-Hong Kong audience in 2016. It streams content from its TV channel via set-top box and mobile application. The service targets Overseas Chinese.

Zhou Bing is a Chinese documentary director. He holds a PhD from the College of History at Nankai University. Zhou has been named "Best Documentary Film Director" three times and has created over 100 documentaries and other productions. His works include Palace, Dun Huang, and Road of Millennia Bodhi. All three aired on CCTV, National Geographic, SKY TV, the History Channel, Arte, and NDR. Currently, he runs the Beijing Oriental Elites Culture Development Co. Ltd and works with Tiong Hiew King, the Datuk of Tan Sri, Malaysia, at Sun Media International Co. Ltd. and Zero Media International Co. Ltd. Throughout his career, Zhou has attempted to combine the industrialized process of documentary film making with the identity of independent directors. Zhou is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong. Zhou aspires to broadcast Chinese culture to the world through photographs and images.

Cocomelon is a children's YouTube channel operated by Candle Media-owned Moonbug Entertainment. The channel specializes in 3D animation videos of traditional nursery rhymes and original children's songs. As of May 2024, Cocomelon is the 3rd most-subscribed and 2nd most-viewed channel on YouTube.

References

  1. Business For Peace Foundation website, 2015 Oslo Business for Peace Award Honouree
  2. Official website, bodhiworld.com. Accessed October 12, 2023.
  3. Inside Retail Asia website, China’s Bodhi and Friends joins Mattel portfolio, article dated October 21, 2016
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2015-01-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Animation entrepreneur nurses mainland ambitionsHK - China Daily Asia".
  6. "Haining-China". Archived from the original on 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  7. "Sina Visitor System".