Serbian animation studio Metaxilasis is the first-ever winner of the Kidscreen Licensing Challenge, taking first place for its upcoming preschool series ThinkerBen & Motor. 

The Kidscreen Licensing Challenge saw executives at five companies from around the world competing to show off the licensing potential of their properties. A panel of four industry experts—Mattel’s Meredith Lawson Norrie, André Lake Mayer from Spin Master, Miraculous Corp’s Roz Nowicki, and licensing agent Sid Kaufman—judged the IPs during a live event at Kidscreen Summit on Tuesday (February 11). 

Sandra Lanc, head of business development at Metaxilasis, presented the winning project. Introduced to the market at Cartoon Forum in 2022 (and originally titled TinkerBen & Motor), the 2D-animated, 26 x 11-minute series is about a young engineer and his robot dog who use STEAM skills to help solve unusual problems, such as stopping a monkey from stealing rockets. Season one is in production, with 11 episodes completed and targeting an August delivery. The studio has released a trailer for the series on its YouTube channel. 

“Winning the first-ever Kidscreen Licensing Challenge is an incredible honor for us,” says Dmitrii Gorbunov, CEO and founder of Belgrade-based Metaxilasis. “Being recognized by such an esteemed panel of industry professionals reinforces our belief that we’re on the right path. It’s a huge motivation boost for our entire team, fueling our passion to push ThinkerBen & Motor forward with even more enthusiasm and energy.” 

This is just the latest boost for this growing IP, which last week secured Germany’s Toon2Tango (Agent 203) as a co-production and distribution partner. United Media Group has already signed on to air ThinkerBen & Motor in six Balkan countries, while POP TV will broadcast it in Slovenia. 

The series is at the beginning of its licensing journey, and Metaxilasis is open to all licensing potential partners, Gorbunov adds. 

“For us, this recognition is not just a personal achievement—it validates the strength of the IP and highlights the potential of ThinkerBen & Motor as a brand,” says Gorbunov. “We also hope that this recognition will serve as a strong testament to the power of our IP for many future partners.” 

ThinkerBen was up against some strong competition in the challenge, including Canada’s Island of Misfits Media Ventures’ CG-animated preschool series L’il Stompers, which Peacock and Apple TV+ have picked up. And Hanna Mouchez, CEO and EP at France’s MIAM! Animation, showed off her buzzy series The Tinies, which Canal+, VRT/Ketnet and RTBF commissioned for a Q3 2025 delivery. The latter was also the most-screened program at MIP Junior 2024. 

David Mimila, co-founder and producer at ¡Viva Calavera! showed off the series Rey Mysterio vs. The Darkness, which is available on Max and Cartoon Network in Latin America. The series revolves around a kid who discovers his superpowers and teams up with iconic wrestler Rey Mysterio to fight evil. 

The only entry in the Licensing Challenge that wasn’t a pure-play animated series was the multi-platform IP The Beatrix Girls—a decade-old brand that centers on a group of dolls in a pop-star band. Sherry Gunther Shugerman presented the IP, which also extends to YouTube videos plus licensing and retail deals, including one with Toys “R” Us in the US. 

Industry veteran Steven Ekstract hosted the Challenge, which looked at more than 70 submissions. As a prize, Ekstract is offering free licensing consultation to the winner. Kidscreen plans to run the event again, and will likely open the submission window this fall. 

Pictured at top is the judges of the Kidscreen Licensing Challenge, with Sandra Lanc second from the left, and the show’s writer James Backshall fifth from the left.