TOKYO -- Walt Disney Japan is planning to produce toons for the Japanese and Asian TV and digital markets, according to company sources. This will be a first for the company in Japan, which has traditionally produced with the US market as the first target.
Working with Madhouse, Toei Animation and other partners, Disney TV unit Walt Disney Television International Japan will make TV toons specifically for Japanese and Asian viewers, with broadcasts skedded to start in Japan in April.
The first is "Fireball," a series of 3-D CG shorts. The setting will be an alien planet in the distant future and revolve around the adventures of a girl, the daughter of a local aristocrat, and two family robots. This is original content developed and made by Disney Japan in cooperation with the Jinni's toon house. Broadcasts will begin in April on the Disney Channel. The exact number and skedding of the shorts has yet to be announced.
Another is a toon series tentatively titled "Stitch!," featuring the popular title character from the 2002 Disney toon "Lilo & Stitch." The setting will be a fictional island similar to Okinawa, to which Stitch comes from Hawaii. The show is being produced in cooperation with the Madhouse studio. Disney is shooting for an October start.
Still another is a yet unnamed series Disney is making with the Toei Animation studio. Story line and start date have to be announced.
Eventually Disney plans to expand to mobile broadcasts and export its locally-produced toons to the Asian market.
Disney has been operating the Disney channel in Japan since 2003 and on March 1 launched a mobile phone service in partnership with Softbank Mobile Corp. It is Japan's first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). It is also marketing handset models made by Sharp designed for Japanese consumers.
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