Magic Light Pictures’ Australian licensing agent, Merchantwise Licensing, has announced new deals in Australia for “The Gruffalo.”

The Ginger Factory in Queensland joins Illawarra Fly and Wildlife Sydney Zoo in New South Wales and Rippon Lea Estate in Victoria as exclusive “The Gruffalo Trail” partners.

Australia’s Illawarra Fly, Wildlife Sydney Zoo and Rippon Lea Estate along with new trail partner The Ginger Factory, will be the first in the world to activate “The Gruffalo Spotter 2” app when it launches at the locations across the country in September.

Using Augmented Reality technology, the free app brings to life the characters from “The Gruffalo.”  This second app was produced by Magic Light Pictures, in partnership with Forestry England, developed and animated by Nexus Studios.

Families can learn about the characters from the picture book, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, and interact with the 3D characters from the film on the self-led trails, which are also packed with activities and facts about forest animals. 

Through face and body recognition technology, the characters now look at the children directly, encouraging them to play along.  Parents can save images on their devices and share them using the #GruffaloSpotters.

“The Gruffalo Spotter 2” app is available for free with no in-app purchases from the App Store and Google Play and requires downloading before visiting.

In another deal executed by Merchantwise Licensing, a Smiffys range of “The Gruffalo” dress-up costumes will launch next month ahead of October’s Book Week in Australia.  The ‘onesie’ costume available for sizes 3-5 years will launch across a number of Australian retail destinations including Spotlight and Costumebox.

“We are thrilled to be announcing the partnership with The Ginger Factory as an exclusive Australian ‘The Gruffalo Trail’ location in time for the global first launch of ‘The Gruffalo Spotter 2’ here in Australia,” says Kerryn McCormack, general manager, licensing, Merchantwise Licensing. “The trail continues to be as popular as when it first launched at Illawarra Fly, Wildlife Sydney Zoo and Rippon Lea Estate last year, so we anticipate it to be a must-do experience for those in and visiting The Ginger Factory on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.  For the first time, The Gruffalo dress-up costumes will be available here in Australia and we are pleased to be launching this range with Smiffys ahead of Book Week in October across a number of our key retail partners.”