Maurizio Distefano Licensing has been appointed to manage licensing in Italy for the animated series “Zafari,” on behalf of brand owner Ink Group.

Produced by Zafari Holdings and distributed worldwide by NBCUniversal/Dreamworks, “Zafari” has a presence in France, Latin America and the U.K. and will soon launch in other territories. The series will appear in Italy on Rai YoYo, the free-to-air kids television channel owned by the Italian public broadcasting group RAI.

Also, a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund has allowed the creation of 52 mini-videos, one of which will appear at the end of each episode. The videos will show real images of animals in their natural habitat to add a sense of real life to each animated tale.

“The ideas, themes and sheer quality of ‘Zafari’ really make it stand out both as an animated show for kids and as a licensing property,” says Maurizio Distefano, founder and president, MD Licensing. “We at MDL are very excited about ‘Zafari,’ whose charm, wit, originality and stunning visuals are sure to charm children everywhere.”