MUMBAI: Adventure Time, the American animated adventure series, is all set to debut in India on Cartoon Network starting 15 October.

To be aired every Monday-Friday at 4.30 pm, Adventure Time introduces viewers to Finn and Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical land of ‘Ooo‘ and encounter its colorful inhabitants.

From the mind of creator Pendleton Ward, ‘Ooo‘ is a land built for adventure. Whether it‘s saving Princess Bubblegum, defeating zombie candy, mocking the "oxy-moronic" Ice King or rocking out with undead music wiz Marceline the Vampire Queen, with Finn & Jake it‘s always Adventure Time.

"Adventure Time already enjoys an ardent fan following globally with kids engrossed by the show‘s humour, imaginary moments and thrills. We are proud to offer this immensely popular animated series in India, bringing to life kids‘ curious nature and eternal quest for fun, which is what Cartoon Network is all about. We hope that this storyline about friends through thick and thin will delight our young viewers across the country," said Turner International India GM Entertainment Networks South Asia Monica Tata.

MUMBAI: With the aim to boost its North American audience exposure for its animated children‘s series Ben and Izzy, RGH Entertainment has entered into a promising content partnership with Ameba, a multi-platform company in the children‘s streaming TV market.

At this month‘s television trade event Mipcom 2012 in Cannes, Ameba will be exhibiting and meeting with distributors and rights holders from 8-11 October.

‘Ben and Izzy‘ is a CGI-animated action-adventure comedy series currently enjoying a successful run on Cartoon Network Arabia, and as in-flight entertainment on Emirates and Qatar Airlines.

RGH‘s flagship property follows two inquisitive eleven-year-old boys, Ben, an American, and Izzy, a Jordanian, as they journey alongside their archaeologist grandfathers to ancient times and landmarks throughout the Middle East and Africa. Cultural explorations and comedy abound.

RGH CEO Randa Ayoubi said, "We are pleased to be partnering with Ameba to deliver Ben and Izzy through today‘s hottest digital platforms. Ameba‘s beneficial business model and ever-growing audience provide us with a wonderful opportunity to bring the fun and excitement of Ben and Izzy‘s cross-cultural adventures to millions of children throughout North America."

All 13 episodes of Ben and Izzy will be available to Ameba subscribers in English. The English version features the voices of several Hollywood celebrities, including Lucy Liu, the voice of Viper in the blockbuster movie Kung Fu Panda, and Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Ameba Founder and CEO Tony Havelka said, "We‘re thrilled to bring ‘Ben and Izzy‘ to Ameba‘s growing network of more than 5 million Internet-connected consumer electronic devices throughout the US and Canada. Our exciting, new content partnership with RGH is proof that rights holders can indeed maximize their audiences and revenues overseas with broadcasters, and yet still benefit from digitally distributing their content at the same time in North America on Ameba."

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network in association with Sterling Publishers is launching first Ben 10 magazine in India on 30 September.

It will be a bi-monthly magazine. It will be available at all key retail stores like Landmark, Crossword, Time Out, Big Bazaar, WalMart and also at individual book stores across India for Rs 60.

Turner International India Cartoon Network Enterprises- South Asia director Gaurav Brarsaid, "Kids across India adore Ben 10 and constantly demand new and innovative branded products. The launch of this unique and interactive Ben 10 magazine will give kids an exciting portal into the adventurous, fantastical, alien world of Ben 10. This is yet another attempt mode by which Cartoon Network Enterprises aims to bridge the gap between kids and their favourite TV characters so that they too can be a part of the toon world they admire!"

The 32-page magazine will let kids indulge in playing games, battling with their friends on alien adventures, solving puzzles, cracking codes, reading action-packed Ben 10 adventures, and collecting facts about Ben?s alien transformations, enemies and their origins, the company said.

Sterling Publishers director Gaurav K. Ghai commented on the launch of the new Ben 10 magazine "Sterling is excited to partner with Cartoon Network to launch the first-ever Ben 10 magazine in India. Ben 10 has a strong and special connect with boys 4-10 years. We are sure this magazine will bring hours of reading and activity fun for Ben10 fans."

MUMBAI: Russell Hicks, a 14-year Nickelodeon veteran and its Chief Creative Officer since 2008, has been named to the new position of President, Content Development and Production for the Nickelodeon Group. He will report to Nickelodeon Group President Cyma Zarghami.

In this new role, Hicks will be based at Nickelodeon?s Burbank and Santa Monica, California, offices, where he will lead the company?s live-action, animation development and production teams for all of Nickelodeon?s content platforms.

"Russell has been one of the driving forces behind the Nickelodeon brand," said Zarghami. "As we continue our ambitious evolution of Nickelodeon, Russell will ensure that our rich and diversified development slate, as well as our new and established producing partners, will all serve our creative vision for the network and deliver for our audiences. As the new development season begins, this is the perfect moment for Russell to take the helm."

Reporting to Hicks will be: Margie Cohn, who will serve in the new role of President, Content Development, Nickelodeon, working across live-action, animation and digital; Paula Kaplan, who will now serve as Executive Vice President of Current Series; Teri Weiss, Executive Vice President of Nickelodeon Preschool Development and Production; Alison Dexter, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Productions; Rich Magallanes, Senior Vice President, Animation, Current Series; and Keith Dawkins, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Nickelodeon?s Nick Jr., Nicktoons and TeenNick channels.

Nickelodeon?s recently announced development slate includes more than a dozen new live-action, animation and TV movie projects as part of the network?s deep commitment to new content.

These projects include: two Nick spin-off comedy pilots, Sam & Cat and Gibby, featuring beloved characters from hit series iCarly and Victorious; new series Wendell and Vinnie starring Jerry Trainor and the pilot Instant Mom, both for Nick at Nite; You Gotta? See This, highlighting must-see video clips; and two original TV movies, Swindle and Nicky Deuce.

Also included are the CG-animated series Monsters vs. Aliens and the 2D Sanjay & Craig; the highly anticipated return of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in September; and the 4Q launch of Nick at Nite?s Scott Baio family comedy, See Dad Run. For preschool, the network is adding the curriculum-based animated series, Monty and Norville, and a pilot for Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Brown Johnson, who has served as the President of Animation since 2008, will be leaving her role to pursue her own creative endeavors.

Prior to working at Nickelodeon, Hicks was Vice President of Marketing, Cartoon Network/Turner brands for Warner Brothers, where he was responsible for the marketing and creative that turned Scooby Doo and the Power Puff Girls into cultural icons.

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network is planning to premiere the ?Ben 10 Omniverse? series globally in over 178 countries and 27 languages together with a coordinated global campaign that begins in the US on 22 September.

Ben 10 Omniverse is the latest original series from Cartoon Network Studios. The franchise will follow the outer space adventures of a young superhero named Ben Tennyson and his new partner Rook.

Ben is traveling the globe and crossing platforms to give kids a full digital experience. CartoonNetwork.com will also host a Ben 10 blog, keeping kids up-to-date with the latest Ben 10 news. Additionally, fans are invited to download the first episode for free on iTunes, Amazon, Playstation, Xbox and iNdemand through 28 September.

Coinciding with the global premiere of this new-look series will be brand-new Ben 10 consumer products franchise. Making a worldwide debut this fall will be new Ben 10 Omniverse toys from master toy partner Bandai, an interactive game from D3Publisher and apparel from Freeze.

Additional licensing partners for the brand will follow with new products next year, all adding to the more than $3 billion generated at retail worldwide to date since its launch in 2006.

MUMBAI: Maya Digital Studios is converting Sons of Ram, a mytho film co-produced by Amar Chitra Katha Media and Cartoon Network, from 2D to stereoscopic 3D.

Sons of Ram will, thus, be India?s first ever animated film to be converted to stereoscopic 3D,the company that pioneered the art & technology of animation & visual effects in India in the 1990s, has come a long way. It has excelled in 2D to stereoscopic 3D conversion today.

Everyone knows that the studio has recently completed the entire 2D to 3D conversion work on one of Indian cinema?s greatest films of all time Sholay. With its expertise in place, the studio has now taken to do the same in Sons Of Ram produced by Amar Chitra Katha (ACK).

Said Maya Digital Studios chairman & managing director Ketan Mehta, "3D is the future of entertainment and we at Maya are extremely thrilled to bring India?s first animated 2D to 3D converted film Sons of Ram for the Indian audiences. It is a spectacular film with world-class 3D effects and comes from the house of the legendary Amar Chitra Katha."

While Sholay came with its own technical and creative challenges for conversion, Maya successfully delivered the same within the stipulated timelines. The conversion of SONS OF RAM brought in newer challenges. ? Based on ACK?s bestselling comic book, Sons Of Ram tells Luv and Kush?s journey through enchanted forests into the revered land of Ayodhya, the home of their fabled heroes. Complete with a brand new gang of loveable characters, this feature is the epic coming-of-age adventure as never seen before.

The film will release in Hindi and English in over 400 screens pan-India on the first day of the Diwali school holidays, 2 November. Select theatres will screen the film in stereoscopic 3D.

The movie will also have releases in Tamil and Telugu.