Thunderbird Entertainment and tokidoki Add New Platforms and Partners for ‘Mermicorno: Starfall’

Thunderbird Distribution and Thunderbird Brands, the distribution and consumer products arms of Thunderbird Entertainment Group, has announced several platform and licensing deals for “Mermicorno: Starfall,” the new original animated series from Thunderbird-owned Atomic Cartoons, produced in partnership with global character, art and lifestyle brand tokidoki.

The first season of “Mermicorno: Starfall” will be made available on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, Max in the U.S. and LATAM (Latin America and The Caribbean) – as well as Cartoon Network in LATAM and Southeast Asia. The series has also been acquired by Narrative Entertainment’s POP (UK) and Corus Entertainment for Treehouse, STACKTV and TELETOON+ (Canada). “Mermicorno: Starfall” is expected to launch on all Corus platforms in Canada in early 2025. 

Thunderbird Brands has also appointed the first international licensing agent for the IP. Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, a renowned international producer, distributor and licensor of children's animated and live-action content, will represent Mermicorno: Starfall in the Canadian market, covering all major categories outside of toys and publishing.

Inspired by tokidoki’s hit Mermicorno character family launched in 2016, “Mermicorno: Starfall” is a smart and fun adventure-comedy for kids five to nine, that takes place in a fantastical and magical undersea world, where a team of Mermicornos (enchanting unicorn-mermaids) join together to save the ocean from an evil threat.

Related:Thunderbird Brands is Taking Off in a Big Way

“From the outset, we’ve known ‘Mermicorno: Starfall’ is special and unique to the market, based on the fans of tokidoki’s Mermicorno characters,” says Richard Goldsmith, president, global distribution & consumer products, Thunderbird. “And as we continue to attract more top-tier platforms and partners like Nelvana Enterprises, it reconfirms the huge opportunity that we have with our awesome new animated series and multi-year plans for more content and consumer products.”

“We have dreamed of this for many years and cannot wait to see our Mermicorno come to life in animation,” says Pooneh Mohajer, chief executive officer and co-founder, tokidoki. “Nelvana has an impressive consumer products team – they are the perfect licensing partners for Canada.”

“Growing up, I was always impressed with animation of any kind: Western cartoons and Japanese anime touched my heart and imagination,” says Simone Legno, chief creative officer and co-founder, tokidoki. “When I draw new characters, I envision them already moving and interacting with their own voice. I’m thrilled to share a piece of my inner world through animation.”

“tokidoki already has a very strong fanbase here in Canada, including the team at Nelvana, which makes this partnership even more exciting,” says Mellany Welsh, vice president and head, Nelvana and Kids Can Press. “We couldn’t be happier to partner with Thunderbird on the first tokidoki brand extension. Mermicorno has all the right elements for success – from tokidoki’s iconic style and Thunderbird and Atomic’s character-driven series, to Nelvana’s retail and licensing expertise in Canada – the merchandise program is sure to resonate with Canadian kids.”

Visit Thunderbird Brands at booth H236 and tokidoki at booth G214 at Licensing Expo.