Film Production
DQE to co-produce ‘The Jungle Book’ season 3 with Ellipsanime
MUMBAI: DQ Entertainment (DQE) will be co-producing the the third season of The Jungle Book (52 x 11’) CGI series along with France’s Ellipsanime.
The third season will be supported and co-produced by ZDFE, Germany; ZDFTV, Germany and PIWI (Canal+), France.
The Jungle Book season 3 continues to receive strong support from Telequbec, Canada and other season 2 broadcast partners. The series is expected to be available for broadcast globally by early 2017.
In the third season, Mowgli and his friends will continue their thrilling and sometimes comedic adventures. Characters like Baloo- the Bear, Bagheera – the Panther and others will team up with Mowgli to keep the dangerous and sly Sher Khan at bay.
ZDF head of international co-productions and acquisitions for children’s and youth programming Nicole Keeb said, “It was an easy decision to continue with The Jungle Book. The first two seasons are working so well for ZDF and KiKA that we were basically obliged to go on. And we do this with great pleasure!”
“ZDF Enterprises is proud to be part of the Jungle Book family. Together with children all over the world we are waiting with enthusiasm for further adventures of our favourite characters,” said ZDF Enterprises vice president ZDFE.Junior Arne Lohmann.
Canal + (PIWI) Youth Department head of children’s programs and channels Laurence Blaevoet said, “I’m looking forward to work with DQ and Ellipsanime, on the third season of Jungle Book. The two first seasons are already a huge success on Piwi+.”
Ellipsanime general manager and executive producer Maia Tubiana added, “We were thrilled when DQE asked us to join in! Ellipsanime and Mediatoon are looking forward to this production journey of fruitful collaboration!”
DQE chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti said, “Jungle Book has done well in most territories across the world and has become one of the favourite shows of kids aged 4-8 years. We are enthused to partner with leading French broadcasters Piwi-Canal + and the recognized French leader in film and TV production, publishing and digital media – Ellipsanime. ZDF TV and ZDF E continue to support Jungle Book franchise as co-producers for the third season.”
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
