Kindle Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Kindle Entertainment is an independent
children's television production company based in London, England. Kindle was formed after ITV Kids (a section of ITV Productions) was closed, and current personnel includes Anne Brogan, the former controller of ITV Kids. Kindle's first production was a pair of behind-the-scenes documentaries about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
, shown before its cinematic release. Kindle was then involved in the live-action children's comedy My Spy Family
, which was shown on Boomerang. Kindle currently produces the pre-school puppet-based show Big & Small
, shown on over 40 channels worldwide. Big & Small Online, a website about the programme, won a Children's BAFTA in 2009 for best interactive content, and, in the same year, Kindle itself was shortlisted for the best indepent production company. Kindle's first film production, Dustbin Baby
, was first shown in December 2008 to critical acclaim, and has, since then, won both an International Emmy and a Children's BAFTA. In late 2009, Kindle launched a new show on CBBC
. Jinx
follows the story of Lulu Baker, a teenage girl who is able to cast spells from her magic cookbook.
company that was formed upon the closure of the Kids department of ITV Productions. Kindle's director, Anne Brogan, who was formerly controller of ITV Kids, formed the company with her colleague Melanie Stokes, who was formerly Head of Development at ITV Kids. Kindle's first productions were Harry Potter: Behind the Magic and Harry Potter: The Costume Drama, shown in July 2009 on ITV1
. Harry Potter: Behind the Magic was a one-off one hour documentary presented by Ben Shephard
. The documentary looked behind the scenes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
and featured interviews with the cast. Kindle's second project was My Spy Family
, a live action children's television series following the Bannons. The Bannon parents are former spies. The show, which spanned multiple series, was a co-production between Kindle and Turner Broadcasting, and was shown on Boomerang.
Kindle's third production is the on-going Big & Small
. Shown on BBC1, BBC2 and CBeebies
in the UK, it is also shown on Cyw
in Wales, with a total of over 40 channels worldwide airing the show. To produce the show, Kindle worked with 3J's Entertainment the BBC
, Treehouse TV
and Studio 100
. Big & Small is a puppet
comedy aimed at pre-school children following the characters Big and Small which, every episode, features a song. Both Big and Small are voiced by Lenny Henry
, and Imelda Staunton
voices the other main characters. Kindle and Start Licensing have made deals to merchandise the programme with indoor- and outdoor-clothing, nightwear and underwear lines. In 2009, Big & Small Online (part of CBeebies Online) was awarded the Children's BAFTA for interactive content. At the same ceremony, Kindle itself was nominated for the Best Independent Production company, but lost out to Astley Baker Davies
. The other shortlisted companies were The Foundation and Kudos Film and Television.
Kindle's first film production was the television film Dustbin Baby
, shown on BBC1 on 21 December 2008. An adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson
's novel of the same name
, the screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman
, for which she won a British Academy Children's Award for best writer, and the film starred Dakota Blue Richards
as April, a 14 year old girl abandoned as a baby, and Juliet Stevenson
as Marion, her adoptive mother. The film also starred David Haig
. Dustbin Baby was received positively by both Wilson, who said it was the best ever film adaption of her work, and critics. In an article in The Times
David Chater awarded the programme the TV choice of the day, describing it as "tremendous", and "the wonderful surprise of Christmas". The Telegraph
described the film as a "rare treat", as it is "something that teenagers and parents can watch together". The film was released on DVD in January 2009. In 2009, Dustbin Baby won an International Emmy Award in the children and young people category at the 37th International Emmy Awards, and was nominated for a British Academy Children's Award in the drama category, as well as being shortlisted for the BAFTA Kid's vote.
On 31 October 2009, Kindle's show Jinx aired for the first time on CBBC
, having been in production since July. The first series consisted of 13 episodes of 30 minutes. Jinx follows the story of Lulu Baker, a teenage girl who is able to cast spells thanks to her magical cookbook, and stars Amber Beattie
, Michael Nardone
, Lucy Chalkley and Chizzy Akudolu
, and featured a large number of special effects. The show is based on the Lulu Baker trilogy by author Fiona Dunbar
.
Independent Company
An Independent Company was a formation of the British Army during the Second World War. Initially there were 10 independent companies, who were raised from volunteers in second line Territorial Army divisions in April 1940. They were intended for guerrilla style operations in Norway following the...
children's television production company based in London, England. Kindle was formed after ITV Kids (a section of ITV Productions) was closed, and current personnel includes Anne Brogan, the former controller of ITV Kids. Kindle's first production was a pair of behind-the-scenes documentaries about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
, shown before its cinematic release. Kindle was then involved in the live-action children's comedy My Spy Family
My Spy Family
My Spy Family is a live action children's comedy series created by Paul Alexander that is currently being aired on the Qubo blocks in the USA, Boomerang in the UK, on Cartoon Network in South Africa, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Iceland and Denmark and on TG4 in Ireland. It is produced by...
, which was shown on Boomerang. Kindle currently produces the pre-school puppet-based show Big & Small
Big & Small
Big & Small is a British children's television series aimed at preschoolers. Big & Small is a co-production between Kindle Entertainment and 3J's Productions, produced in association with the BBC, Treehouse TV, and Studio 100. The first series was deemed a success worldwide and a second series was...
, shown on over 40 channels worldwide. Big & Small Online, a website about the programme, won a Children's BAFTA in 2009 for best interactive content, and, in the same year, Kindle itself was shortlisted for the best indepent production company. Kindle's first film production, Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby (film)
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet...
, was first shown in December 2008 to critical acclaim, and has, since then, won both an International Emmy and a Children's BAFTA. In late 2009, Kindle launched a new show on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
. Jinx
Jinx (TV series)
Jinx is a British children's comedy television sitcom based on the 'Lulu Baker' trilogy of books, written by Fiona Dunbar. The first series premiered on 31 October 2009 on CBBC and ended its initial run on 23 January 2010. The series follows the life of Lulu Baker, a teenager who is able to cook...
follows the story of Lulu Baker, a teenage girl who is able to cast spells from her magic cookbook.
History
Kindle is an independentIndependent Company
An Independent Company was a formation of the British Army during the Second World War. Initially there were 10 independent companies, who were raised from volunteers in second line Territorial Army divisions in April 1940. They were intended for guerrilla style operations in Norway following the...
company that was formed upon the closure of the Kids department of ITV Productions. Kindle's director, Anne Brogan, who was formerly controller of ITV Kids, formed the company with her colleague Melanie Stokes, who was formerly Head of Development at ITV Kids. Kindle's first productions were Harry Potter: Behind the Magic and Harry Potter: The Costume Drama, shown in July 2009 on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. Harry Potter: Behind the Magic was a one-off one hour documentary presented by Ben Shephard
Ben Shephard
Benjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.-Personal life:...
. The documentary looked behind the scenes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
and featured interviews with the cast. Kindle's second project was My Spy Family
My Spy Family
My Spy Family is a live action children's comedy series created by Paul Alexander that is currently being aired on the Qubo blocks in the USA, Boomerang in the UK, on Cartoon Network in South Africa, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Iceland and Denmark and on TG4 in Ireland. It is produced by...
, a live action children's television series following the Bannons. The Bannon parents are former spies. The show, which spanned multiple series, was a co-production between Kindle and Turner Broadcasting, and was shown on Boomerang.
Kindle's third production is the on-going Big & Small
Big & Small
Big & Small is a British children's television series aimed at preschoolers. Big & Small is a co-production between Kindle Entertainment and 3J's Productions, produced in association with the BBC, Treehouse TV, and Studio 100. The first series was deemed a success worldwide and a second series was...
. Shown on BBC1, BBC2 and CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
in the UK, it is also shown on Cyw
Cyw
Cyw is the name of a Welsh language Children's television block from S4C , which launched on 23 June 2008....
in Wales, with a total of over 40 channels worldwide airing the show. To produce the show, Kindle worked with 3J's Entertainment the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel with programming targeted towards preschoolers that was launched on October 17, 1997. Its name comes from YTV's old children's programming block, The Treehouse...
and Studio 100
Studio 100
Studio 100 is a Flemish company that produces popular children's television series and owns five amusement parks and four musical ensembles.-History:Studio 100 was founded in 1996 by Gert Verhulst, Danny Verbiest, and Hans Bourlon...
. Big & Small is a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
comedy aimed at pre-school children following the characters Big and Small which, every episode, features a song. Both Big and Small are voiced by Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, and Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
voices the other main characters. Kindle and Start Licensing have made deals to merchandise the programme with indoor- and outdoor-clothing, nightwear and underwear lines. In 2009, Big & Small Online (part of CBeebies Online) was awarded the Children's BAFTA for interactive content. At the same ceremony, Kindle itself was nominated for the Best Independent Production company, but lost out to Astley Baker Davies
Astley Baker Davies
Astley Baker Davies is an animation studio in London, England. It is owned by directors Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and producer Phil Davies. Astley Baker Davies is the producer of television series The Big Knights, Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.- Sources...
. The other shortlisted companies were The Foundation and Kudos Film and Television.
Kindle's first film production was the television film Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby (film)
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet...
, shown on BBC1 on 21 December 2008. An adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson, DBE, FRSL is an award-winning English author, known for her vast and diverse work in children's literature. Her novels have been adapted numerous times for television, and commonly deal with such challenging themes as adoption, divorce and mental illness...
's novel of the same name
Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby is a children's novel by English author Jacqueline Wilson. The story focuses on April, a fourteen year old girl who was abandoned by her mother in a dustbin when she was only a few minutes old. After a blazing row with her foster mother, she goes in search of her past...
, the screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman
Helen Blakeman
Helen Blakeman is a British playwright and screenwriter from Liverpool. She has written three plays. Caravan, her first, was written while she studied at Birmingham University and won her the George Devine award. Her second play, Normal, was followed by an entrance into screenwriting...
, for which she won a British Academy Children's Award for best writer, and the film starred Dakota Blue Richards
Dakota Blue Richards
Dakota Blue Richards is an English actress. Her debut was in the film The Golden Compass, as the lead character Lyra Belacqua....
as April, a 14 year old girl abandoned as a baby, and Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
as Marion, her adoptive mother. The film also starred David Haig
David Haig
David Haig is an Olivier Award-winning English actor and FIPA Award-winning writer. He is known for his versatility, having played dramatic, serio-comic and comedic roles, playing characters of varied social classes...
. Dustbin Baby was received positively by both Wilson, who said it was the best ever film adaption of her work, and critics. In an article in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
David Chater awarded the programme the TV choice of the day, describing it as "tremendous", and "the wonderful surprise of Christmas". The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
described the film as a "rare treat", as it is "something that teenagers and parents can watch together". The film was released on DVD in January 2009. In 2009, Dustbin Baby won an International Emmy Award in the children and young people category at the 37th International Emmy Awards, and was nominated for a British Academy Children's Award in the drama category, as well as being shortlisted for the BAFTA Kid's vote.
On 31 October 2009, Kindle's show Jinx aired for the first time on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, having been in production since July. The first series consisted of 13 episodes of 30 minutes. Jinx follows the story of Lulu Baker, a teenage girl who is able to cast spells thanks to her magical cookbook, and stars Amber Beattie
Amber Beattie
Amber Louisa Oatley Beattie is an English actress and singer, who is known for her role as Lulu Baker in Jinx.-Personal life:...
, Michael Nardone
Michael Nardone
Michael Nardone is a Scottish actor born in 1967 in Fife, was raised in Ballingry and trained at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. He starred as Mascius in the BBC/HBO/RAI TV series Rome and appeared as DCI Richard Whiteside in BBC Scotland drama River City.-Selected Filmography:* ...
, Lucy Chalkley and Chizzy Akudolu
Chizzy Akudolu
Chizzy Akudolu is a British actress. In 2002, she was one of eight new comedy performers who won the BBC Talent Initiative, The Urban Sketch Showcase. All eight performed a comedy sketch show in front of BBC casting directors and producers at the Tabernacle Theatre, Notting Hill.Her first...
, and featured a large number of special effects. The show is based on the Lulu Baker trilogy by author Fiona Dunbar
Fiona Dunbar
Fiona Dunbar is a children's author and illustrator based in the United Kingdom. She was born in 1961 in Hemel Hempstead. She is the author of the Silk Sisters trilogies and Toon-Head. Her Lulu Baker trilogy was adapted to become a children's TV series called Jinx by Kindle Entertainment starring...
.
Personnel
- Anne Brogan - Co-Director
- Melanie Stokes - Co-Director
- Valerie Ames - Director of Production
- Lance Crossey - Director of Finance
- Bernard Krichefski - Producer
- Connal Orton - Producer
- Liz Noble - Line Producer
- Pia Ashberry - Head of Development
- Clare Batty - Development Executive
- Sam Hoyle - Development Executive
- Richard Pink - Commercial Director of Big and Small
- Jacqueline McGee - PA and Development Researcher
- Adam Archer - Multi-Platform Development Producer