Digital broadcast network Babelgum announced today a partnership with RingTales, the leading producer and distributor of animated print cartoons, to exclusively premiere new installments of Stephan Pastis’s “Pearls Before Swine” and Isaac Littlejohn Eddy’s original series “Cat, Dog, Stoop,” both online and on mobile. The new, exclusive episodes are premiering now at <a href="(www.babelgum.com)/pearlsbeforeswine”>(www.babelgum.com)/pearlsbeforeswine and <a href="(www.babelgum.com)/catdogstoop”>(www.babelgum.com)/catdogstoop, along with an exclusive, never-before-seen Cartoon Masters series (<a href="(www.babelgum.com)/cartoonmasters”>(www.babelgum.com)/cartoonmasters) featuring interviews with a who’s who of animation.
Both of these RingTales series and the behind-the-scenes material are launching in tandem with a newly redesigned Babelgum Web platform, which includes a stand-alone Animation Channel that houses more than 2,100 animated shorts and serials.
“RingTales’ content has been hugely popular on Babelgum,” said Karol Martesko-Fenster, SVP and General Manager of the Film & Animation Division, “so we’re thrilled to be adding another well-known series into the mix, as well as showcasing the original work of Isaac Eddy, an up-and-coming new talent with a sparkling sense of humor. Now that we’ve launched our Animation Channel, these and the other RingTales cartoons finally have a home among all our other professional-quality offerings, one of the few places online where animation enthusiasts don’t have to filter.”
Founded in 2006 by Jim Cox and Michael Fry, RingTales is the leader in animated cartoons across all digital media. Over the last four years, RingTales has enjoyed great success providing short comedic content ideal for online and mobile consumption. In partnership with Babelgum, RingTales will continue to grow by adding several more titles and hundreds more cartoons to its evergreen library. This follows a previous exclusive deal to stream the company’s existing library of animations based on the Dilbert, The New Yorker Cartoons, Pooch Café, Over the Hedge, Cul de Sac, and Lio cartoon strips.
“We’ve been working hard to produce the best-quality animated versions of popular strips,” said RingTales CEO Jim Cox, “and Babelgum has been integral to that process as a supportive sponsor and distributor, both online and on mobile phones, where people are discovering the joys of short animation. It’s satisfying to know that our cartoons, which are as fun to produce as to watch, have found such an appreciative global audience as a result of that relationship.”
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About RingTales (www.ringtales.com)
RingTales is a new media company founded by Jim Cox and Michael Fry that animates print comics for all digital media. RingTales holds the exclusive rights to animate Dilbert and the New Yorker Cartoons and several other popular comics including Pearls Before Swine, Bloom County, Over the Hedge, Cul de Sac, Lio, and Pooch Café. RingTales animations have been viewed over 180 million times since March 2007. Jim Cox is a long-time feature animation writer and producer. His credits include co-executive producer on the 2006 DreamWorks Animation feature animated hit Over the Hedge, writer/producer on Ferngully, story on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and screenwriter on The Rescuers Down Under and Oliver & Company. Michael Fry is a four-time internationally syndicated cartoonist. He currently writes the comic strip Over the Hedge, which inspired the DreamWorks Animation film of the same name that earned $335 million dollars in worldwide box office.
About Babelgum ((www.babelgum.com))
Babelgum is an integrated web and mobile video content platform free for users and supported by advertising available on-demand to a global audience. Babelgum Mobile is an original application currently available in the United States, UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain which brings regionally tailored programming to smart phones – at present iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android – via 3G and WiFi ((www.babelgum.com)/mobile).
Positioned between user generated video hubs and network TV-oriented destinations, Babelgum focuses on the third part of the ecosystem: innovative, editorially curated and professionally produced content on very specific passions – music, comedy, film, animation, urban culture, nature, and the environment. Babelgum’s programming is comprised of exclusive original productions as well as independent and mainstream titles. Babelgum’s content partners include, among others, EMI, Sony Music, the New York Times, Funny or Die, PBS, BBC, VBS, Lonely Planet, Coolhunting, National Geographic, ContentFilm International, Shine Limited, Cinetic Rights Management, iThentic, Gong Anime, FilmBuff, WorkBook Project, Cinelan, Reverse Shot, Shooting People, Film Independent, Power to the Pixel, and the Spirit Awards as well as the Encounters, Los Angeles, and Hamptons film festivals.
The company has also set up a series of online contests to nurture independent film, music and art talent: the Babelgum Online Film Festival, the Babelgum Music Video Awards and the Babelgum Metropolis Art Prize, chaired respectively by Spike Lee (BOFF1 & 2), Michel Gondry, and Isabella Rossellini
Babelgum is an independent and privately held company with offices in the UK, United States, and Italy.
