Dora And Friends: Into the City!London-based CEO Kaine Patel quietly hatched Snipple Originals last year, hiring veteran Karina Stanford-Smith as animation development director. Vincent James was brought on as creative director. The unit is now ready to announce itself to the world, with BGF taking a minority stake.
Patel founded Snipple more than a decade ago and the move into originals represents the realization of a plan that he first mapped out in 2012. He has a long-standing relationship with former Zodiak Kids and Beano Studios producer Stanford-Smith, who has been engaged on a freelance basis by Snipple over the years.
“Animation is having a real moment and that has a lot to do with people being at home,” Patel said. “The timing felt right. People are hungry for content and we’ve come up with a slate of seven shows, three of which are ready to take to market.” Stanford-Smith, who has a team of two as well as freelance support, said: “We’ve had the freedom to create the IP that we want to work on. It’s been a dream for me.” She added that Snipple wants to create “loveable, relatable, strong character-driven ideas that are full of warmth and comedy.