Kids
CBeebies gets ‘In The Night Garden’ back
MUMBAI: CBeebies has announced that 20 new episodes of the children‘s television show In The Night Garden are coming to it and the BBC HD channel. Starting today, a new episode will transmit daily at 6 pm from Monday-Friday for 20 episodes, making four weeks of Night Garden fun as part of CBeebies‘ The Bedtime Hour, as well as a simulcast on BBC HD. |
The show is best described as a modern televisual interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture book with loveable characters inhabiting a magical place that exists between waking and sleeping in a child‘s imagination. Filmed in a real woodland setting, the show is specially created for the under-fours, exploring the dreaming time between waking and sleeping. Reached by following a magical little blue star, the Night Garden is a warm and affectionate world which is home to a comical and diverse community of toys, living happily together. The series is narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi. The show launched two years ago and has won the Best Pre-School Live Action Children‘s Bafta Award for two consecutive years, in 2007 and 2008. In The Night Garden has also gone global with more than 29 countries from Australia to Poland and Canada to Holland now screening the show. These new 20 episodes will take the series total to 100, ensuring the show will live on CBeebies for many years to come. CBeebies controller Michael Carrington says, “In The Night Garden is our top rating show and it has taken its place in the heart of our schedule and the hearts of our viewers. Wherever I go, parents talk about the show with fondness and enthusiasm, so I‘m delighted that we have 20 new episodes to share with our young viewers and their families.” |
Kids
Mukta Arts and Green Gold ink MOU to animate iconic film IPs
Kalicharan, Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan to spawn animated shows plus features.
MUMBAI: When classic hindi movie meets animation, the result is a fresh reel of nostalgia with a cartoon twist. Mukta Arts Ltd. and Green Gold Animation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on animated shows and feature films drawn from Mukta Arts’ four-decade treasure trove of iconic IPs. The partnership taps Mukta’s SGM Animation Studio launched in 2025 as its dedicated animation and games arm and Green Gold’s proven track record in building scalable, homegrown franchises. Creative teams from both sides have already kicked off discussions, with the first project currently in development.
The slate will draw inspiration from landmark Mukta films including Kalicharan, Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak, Saudagar and Iqbal, plus character-led spin-offs from those universes. The aim is to reimagine these stories for today’s young, global audiences while preserving their emotional core.
Green Gold Animation (home of Chhota Bheem) founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka said, “This partnership with SGM Studios allows us to apply our experience in building long-lasting animation IPs to a truly iconic film catalogue. Together, we aim to create animated worlds that are rooted in these legendary stories, yet designed to connect with today’s young, global audiences.”
Mukta Arts Ltd. filmmaker and founder Subhash Ghai added, “Mukta Arts has always believed in creating stories with lasting emotional value. Through animation, we are extending our IP into a new medium for the next generation.”
In an industry where timeless tales never go out of fashion, this collaboration promises to bring beloved characters back to life with a modern, animated glow proving that some stories are too good to stay in live-action. Stay tuned for the first animated frame to drop.
