Kids
Funskool, Disney ink merchandising deal for ‘Princess’
MUMBAI: In a move to capitalise on the booming cartoon-based toys retail market, Funskool India has entered into an agreement with The Walt Disney Company, to retail Disney’s range of toy merchandise here. Funskool has launched the internationally popular Disney Princess dolls and Role-Play sets this year.
The products are priced between the range of Rs 299 and Rs 649 for dolls and between Rs 199 to Rs 1500 for the role-play sets.
The company is confident that the products, hugely popular worldwide, will appeal in India and hopes to garner a market share of over 20 per cent in the growing organised Rs 150 million category of 3-9 year range of toys for girls.
Funskool would be importing the Disney Princess products and distributing them in India. They also will be manufacturing board games and puzzles from their facility at Goa in India.
This move represents another step in The Walt Disney Company’s business strategy in India. With demand growing for contemporary cartoon based toys in Indian market, this arrangement would prove beneficial both to Disney’s famous ‘Disney Princess’ range that are very popular in the international markets and to Funskool.
The young girls’ lifestyle brand continues to expand into more categories and countries, and is on track to become the largest global girls franchise in 2006 with 40 per cent growth in 2005 and 300 per cent growth over the last three years. The eight princesses – Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White – were brought together under the same marketing umbrella by Disney Consumer Products in 2000.
Disney Princess boasts platinum status on Billboard’s Children’s Chart and has three titles in the Top 25 chart with the “Disney Princess Collection” from Walt Disney Records; it reigns as the number one licensed Halloween costume assortment for 4 years in a row; has garnered 10 million worldwide circulation with 30 editions of its Disney Princess magazine, available in 75 countries. Having crossed $3 billion in worldwide consumer retail sales, the brand continues to be the fastest growing, nearly universally recognised brand Disney has ever created.
Funskool is also planning innovative Point of Sale (POS) materials to promote the toys and to bring out the excitement and variety of the Disney Princess collection in retail shops. To add to it, Funskool has a strong distribution network covering 5000 outlets across India, which would be
helping in the sale of the Disney Princess collection.
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.
