One-liners: Noteworthy news nuggets

• The force is strong on TV. Cartoon Network's October 3 broadcast of Lucas' Star Wars: The Clone Wars garnered the net its highest premiere ratings ever, drawing close to four million viewers and growing the boys six to 11 audience by 160% from the same time period in 2007.

• London-based Cake Entertainment has signed on to co-produce Melbourne, Australia-based Studio Moshi's 2-D 52 x 11-minute El Mariachi, an action-comedy toon for six to 11s about a Mariachi hero and his super team. Cake will be introducing the new series at MIPCOM next week.

• Mission to MIPCOM - Chicago's WTTN National Productions and Roman Coppola's Directors Bureau for 104 x 11-minute comedy series Mission to Planet 429. Targeting kids six to nine, the retro sci-fi multiplatform series is being partially funded by a Ready to Learn grant from the US department of education and the partners are headed to MIPCOM to look for more presales.

• Italian prodco Cartoon One has presold series and multimedia rights for new HD toon Red Caps to RTL2. The series about Santa's little helpers who travel the planet to help kids exercise their social responsibility should be delivered by February 2009.

October 7, 2008

• The force is strong on TV. Cartoon Network’s October 3 broadcast of Lucas’ Star Wars: The Clone Wars garnered the net its highest premiere ratings ever, drawing close to four million viewers and growing the boys six to 11 audience by 160% from the same time period in 2007.

• London-based Cake Entertainment has signed on to co-produce Melbourne, Australia-based Studio Moshi’s 2-D 52 x 11-minute El Mariachi, an action-comedy toon for six to 11s about a Mariachi hero and his super team. Cake will be introducing the new series at MIPCOM next week.

• Mission to MIPCOM – Chicago’s WTTN National Productions and Roman Coppola’s Directors Bureau for 104 x 11-minute comedy series Mission to Planet 429. Targeting kids six to nine, the retro sci-fi multiplatform series is being partially funded by a Ready to Learn grant from the US department of education and the partners are headed to MIPCOM to look for more presales.

• Italian prodco Cartoon One has presold series and multimedia rights for new HD toon Red Caps to RTL2. The series about Santa’s little helpers who travel the planet to help kids exercise their social responsibility should be delivered by February 2009.