DQE & ZDF to co-produce Jungle Book 2nd series; budgeted at Euro 9 million

MUMBAI: DQE has signed a co-production agreement with ZDF Enterprises, Germany, for a second season of the 3D HD animated series Jungle Book, 52 episodes of 11 minutes each.

The series is being made on a budget of Euro 9 million.

ZDF Enterprises, together with German Pubcaster ZDF, has taken the lead as chief coproduction partner of the second season. It will distribute the new adventures of Mowgli and his friends in more than 60 countries throughout Europe and Latin America.

The first season has been picked up by a number of networks including BBC (UK), TF1 (France), ABC (Australia), TVO (Canada), ZDF (Germany), JCCTV (Middle East), Noga TV (Israel), Channel B (Indonesia), EBS (Korea) and many others covering over 160 countries worldwide. It will also be aired on multiple Disney channels in major parts of the world.

ZDF Enterprises president and CEO Dr. Alexander Coridass said, "Ever since we started cooperating with DQ Entertainment, we’ve benefited from the exemplary efficiency of our Indian partners. We particularly appreciate DQE’s global outlook on production issues. They are very successful in transposing universally beloved stories into hit animation series. This is just one of the reasons we at ZDF Enterprises did not hesitate to come aboard to co-produce not only the second season of Jungle Book , but also the new 3D HD animated series Peter Pan and Lassie."

DQ Entertainment chairman & CEO Tapaas Chakravarti added, "The second season of Jungle Book was a simple decision after the tremendous success of the first season and the inherent demand by the global broadcasting community. Jungle Book already has a tremendous fan following and has created the need to see more and more of Mowgli and his jungle friends by the kids. We are confident that the second season will also be a tremendous commercial success. It will be followed by a TV Movie special, a Christmas special, a Halloween special and many other spin-offs. The partnership with ZDF is symbiotic in the sense that we are producing several other projects with them."