our Brochure

An online puppet show
for pre-school children
from the original creative team of ITV’s Pipkins
Page 2-3 / Monty & Co.
Scraps
An All New
Market Place
Jack in the box
Monty
Lulu
Kids love television, watching over
6 billion hours a year in the UK alone
It’s a lucrative market with the
Teletubbies (shown in 120 countries and
in 45 different languages) generating
over £200m in revenue and £50m in
merchandising products.
At the same time on-demand viewing of
children’s programmes has soared, with
342m CBeebies programme requests on
the BBC’s iPlayer in 2014, up 29% on 2013,
and 300m CBBC requests, up 21% on the
same period.
Amazon, Netflix, Sky and YouTube Kids
are all eager to join the party too, constantly
looking for hundreds of hours of new and
original children’s shows to feed their
on-demand services.
Gabriella
Eddie
In addition to the above, a whole new
audience is produced for pre-school shows
every three years.
An advantage of puppets is they don’t date
or grow older. Series like Sesame Street can
be repeated for more than 30 years and we
hope to replicate this success with Monty &
CO, delivering immersive, relevant content
and tactile, fascinating characters
to the delight of children and investors.
Monty
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We are ONLINE
where the audience is
Monty and Co has been created to fit the
online TV market and give generations
of children the stories they enjoy. Monty
will use the online space to go the extra
behind Monty & Co
Nigel Plaskitt
Puppet Master
Susan Pleat
Pipkins’ Co-creator
Gail Renard
BAFTA award winning
screenwriter
Paul Jomain
Puppet Creator
Robert Taylor
Lawyer
Emma Stone
Business Manager
/ Line Producer
Devised by the creative team responsible for PIPKINS
Where kids watch TV is changing.
It’s no longer solely on conventional TV
but also on tablets and iPhones
Everyone, including children, want the
convenience of a quick and simple way
to access lots of episodes all in one place.
Children’s content currently accounts for
40% of YouTube viewing. To reach this
audience you have to be online.
The TEAM
Monty & Co. has been devised by
the creative team responsible for
PIPKINS, the ITV programme for
under fives which ran for ten
successful series, from 1972-1981.
Pipkins has maintained a high profile
to this day thanks to the Internet and
DVDs, and we still receive a constant
stream of fan emails.
mile creating educational games out of
the stories and keeping both parents and
children happy. Our programmes are
informative and fun which creates lasting,
enjoyable entertainment.
Scraps
The team includes Hartley Hare’s puppet
master Nigel Plaskitt, who went on to
work with DISNEY, THE MUPPETS and
the PG TIPS MONKEY; as well as setting
up, casting and training for international
versions of SESAME STREET and
SPITTING IMAGE in Russia, Poland,
Spain, Palestine, Israel, Germany and
more. He is puppet director for Cameron
Mackintosh’s production of Avenue Q and
the UK and International tours. Nigel has
also produced and directed for ITV.
Susan Pleat, Pipkins’ co-creator and
writer of LET’S PRETEND, CORONATION
STREET and BROOKSIDE, will once
again be writing the scripts, along with
Pipkins alumnus and BAFTA award
winning screenwriter, Gail Renard.
Gail has written for DISNEY and has
created and written hundreds of hours
of children’s television, including the
globally successful FAMOUS FIVE series.
Paul Jomain, top Puppet Creator for
stage, television and film, will design
and make our puppets. His work
includes Cameron Macintosh’s West
End show AVENUE Q,the PG TIPS
MONKEY, DISNEY, THE MUPPETS,
THE HOOBS and PEPPA PIG; also the
film HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE
GALAXY, for which Paul built ‘Marvin
the Paranoid Android.’
Robert Taylor, the only lawyer / barrister
who’s written for CHUCKLEVISION. He’s
also written three series of the BBCTV children’s series, OUT OF TUNE,
starring James Corden and CORRIE’S
Jane Danson. Robert’s legal practice
deals with drafting and negotiating
creative, talent and production contracts
in TV, film and theatre. He also handles
investment and project structuring.
Robert has a strong interest in new
media and has advised numerous start
up internet companies in sectors ranging
from eBooks to fashion.
Emma Stone, is our Business Manager
/ Line Producer. Emma has worked on
MOPATOP’S SHOP and THE HOOBS
for The Jim Henson Company, Angelina
Ballerina for HIT Entertainment and
many others including a substantial
number of programmes for Endemol.
She began her career working for the
BBC on ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES,
BIRDS OF A FEATHER, BLUE PETER,
TOP OF THE POPS and NOEL’S HOUSE
PARTY. Emma will be looking after the
day to day running of the Company and
the Production of Monty & Co.
Page 6-7 / Monty & Co.
Our PLATFORM
Monty and Co. will have
its own website and Apps
Monty and Co. will have its own website
and Apps (both with interactive content)
with free trial episodes and teaser
content to promote subscriptions and
pay per view sales.
Jack in the box
We have a 5 year plan; rolling out new
programmes throughout the year, at the
rate of four every month, to our subscription
based audience. In year 6, we will have
enough programmes in our library to go
back to the beginning and start again.
We’ll also make a limited number of shows
available for download or on DVD for those
long fractious car journeys.
We will hope to partner with other new
platforms such as YouTube Kids, Local
TV and Australia’s Channel 9 network
to drive maximum traffic to our website.
The investment will also cover initial
promotion, marketing and the building
of our platform.
The SERIES
We will make 50 episodes
of 11 minutes duration each
year for five years
The budget is £30,000 per episode,
making a total of £1,500,000 for the
first series of 50 episodes
Shooting will be modular, using a technique
which has proven successful on Sesame
Street. This allows us to shoot customised
content for different territories, using their
own performers, allowing Monty to be both
a global and local phenomenon.
Gabriella
Page 8-9 / Monty & Co.
MERCHANDISING
& Exploitation
Merchandising provides
a major part of the profits
in children’s television
Merchandising provides a major part
of the profits in children’s television
through soft toys, clothing, games and
other commercial initiatives.
Our highly distinctive characters will have great
merchandising potential with a global appeal.
Music is a vital part of our series and will
be made available on downloads through
iTunes. There will be Monty & Co books
(both printed and electronic) as well as apps
providing games and interactivity.
And now… Welcome to the Show!
Monty and Co. is a puppet series for
pre-school children which differs from other
programmes because it’s a mini-drama
Monty and Co. is a puppet series for
pre-school children which differs from
other programmes because it’s a minidrama. Whilst the story telling is mainly
comic (and not a stranger to slapstick)
it can also deal with issues of sadness,
anger, and fear and resolve them within
the story. The series provides a happy
and safe environment.
Our main character (or so he thinks) is
histrionic, know-it-all Monty; an impossibly
egocentric, unpractical whirlwind of a
wallaby. Monty has also been called brave
and dashing but mainly by him.
Also vital is Eddie, an elephant who’s
practical, unhurried, methodical and an
inventor at heart. Eddie is strong willed and,
being an elephant, when he puts his foot
down even Monty will know it.
Lulu
The baby of the family is Lulu, a small
tomboy teddy bear. She minds being left out
of things or passed over, just because she’s
the youngest. Lulu makes up for it by being
clever, mischievous, daring and lovable.
Gabriella is an uninhibited, all-singing, all
tap-dancing, flamboyant pink flamingo who
doubles as Monty & Co’s window dresser.
She brings spontaneity, joy and mayhem
(not to mention boas and tiaras) wherever
she goes. There’s also Scraps, Eddie’s
robotic helper, and Jack in the box whose
imagination takes him everywhere.
Sam is their human friend and parent figure,
who mends musical instruments. They all
live together as one big blended family in
a home attached to the shop, where people
bring all manner of things to be mended or
recycled. A rich mix of puppets, voice-over
narration, animation and music will make
for an exciting and fast-moving show.
Eddie
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Let’s make MONTY
the next big thing
To find out more contact Christopher J Reynolds CMS CeCM CeRER CeFA DipFA MIFS
Invest Northern Counties
T: 0191 442 2095 M: 07500 660 650
[email protected]
Or contact us on 07771 373515
email [email protected]
www.montyandco.co.uk
© Pipkins Productions Limited. All characters in this document are copyrighted.
Registered in the UK, Company Number 08711402. © Pipkins Productions Limited 2015
TM
© Pipkins Productions Limited.