Toronto’s Little Engine Moving Pictures has signed an exclusive deal with Canadian YouTuber family Diary of 4 (18.7 million subscribers) to develop and produce new content. 

The Santiago family started up their YouTube channel five years ago to chronicle their new life in Canada for family members back in the Philippines. In the ensuing years, their library of comedy, prank and pretend play videos has generated more than 30 billion views, with particularly big audiences in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, the US and Brazil. 

Together, Little Engine and Diary of 4 are planning to make a live-action series (loosely based on the family’s immigration journey), a collection of animated shorts, a Roblox game and several sketch comedy videos in which parents Francis and Kristel and kids Ember (six) and Keegan (three) play pranks on each other. 

Little Engine owner Maria Kennedy says the kids media industry is in crisis, and audiences and buyers are looking at YouTube as a place for new opportunities—so it’s only natural for Little Engine to do the same. The studio’s plan is to partner with streamers, broadcasters and brands to get its Diary of 4 content into the market. 

And longer term, Little Engine’s ultimate goal is to create a pipeline and work with other YouTube content creators. “With Diary of 4, we can elevate the quality and storytelling of their content while staying true to both the original mission of the family and what the audience wants, which is fun pranks and laughs,” says Kennedy.