Crayola Studios is coloring outside the lines with a new partnership that was announced yesterday at MIPJunior.

The fledgling studio arm of the arts-and-crafts brand has entered into a deal with Toronto-based 9 Story Media Group to develop multiple shows together. Crayola will oversee the L&M rights for these projects, while 9 Story manages production and distribution.

First up on the slate is Crayola’s The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian (pictured)—a previously announced series in development from the crayon-maker and New York’s MIMO Studios. 9 Story will produce this 52 x 11-minute animated adaptation of the Gen Z-Media podcast Finn Caspian, and Crayola is pitching it at MIPCOM.

Crayola’s EVP of marketing Victoria Lozano announced the deal yesterday during her MIPJunior keynote presentation about the company’s move into content.

“We thought about this for a number of years before we actually made the commitment to move forward—so it’s really about a longtime strategy and a longtime focus [when we’re] building out our portfolio of projects,” Lozano told a rapt audience in Cannes. The company has plans to reach multiple demos and genres through content, she added.

In other MIP Junior news, five companies took the stage on Sunday afternoon for the event’s annual pitch competition.

Canada’s Wind Sun Sky emerged as the winner with its 2D-animated series The Adventures of Team Pom, featuring an oddball trio of friends from Shadyside, Queens who bond over their shared passion for synchronized swimming. The toon is based on a pair of books penned by Isabel Roxas and published by British imprint Flying Eye Books in 2021 and 2022.

The five MIP Junior pitches—selected from more than 120 submissions—all target the six to 12 audience. The jury that chose the winner included Edward Barnieh (BBC Studios Kids & Family), Rick Clodfelter (Disney Branded TV), Yuanchang Sun (Youku-Alibaba) and Kerstin Viehbach (Super RTL).

Photo of Victoria Lozano’s keynote courtesy of S. D’Halloy – Image & Co