Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
The animation studio ZAG has signed a roster of multi-media deals for its award-winning global franchise, Miraculous.
Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO of ZAG, says he’s been thrilled by the continuing support from licensees for Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
“I would have never imagined that one of our creations would resonate across the world and through different generations, much like my favorite cartoons have done,” Zag said. “I understand the feeling one can have for their favorite hero: a sense of love, friendship, camaraderie, and aspiration. Ladybug embodies beautiful values, and most importantly, a powerful message: you can be a girl and a superhero.
“Today, I am happy to see that the passion of children and adults, wherever they may be in the world, continues to endure … it encourages us to give even more love and create more stories.”
On March 12, Netflix added season four of the ZAG Heroez Miraculous TV Series, created by ZAG and produced with Mediawan Kids & Family. In July 2023, the blockbuster animated feature Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie debuted in second place on Netflix’s global top 10 for English-language films for the week of July 24–30.
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The new Netflix deal coincides with the premiere of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Volume 3, from global publishing partner Kodansha on March 19. Written by Koma Warita, and illustrated by Riku Tsuchida, Kodansha’s earlier volumes are listed by School Library Journal as Winning Manga for Grades 1-8. Volume 3 explores how Marinette and Adrian acquired their powers and become the beloved guardians of the City of Lights.
ZAG has also signed multiple new multi-media partners for the superhero brand.
The bestselling publisher Insight Editions has signed a global deal for the first hard-cover Miraculous cookbook, to launch in June 2025. Targeted to fans of Miraculous, the cookbook will celebrate the most delicious and mouth-watering recipes inspired by the show and Marinette’s family bakery.
Miraculous will also be available for the first time this year on Yoto Player, an environmentally friendly, screen-free audio platform in a cleverly designed cube, available in the US, Canada, and the UK. Stories are loaded onto cards, so kids can simply select the story they want to hear and slot the card in to listen. The ad-free Yoto Player puts kids safely in control of their listening, learning and play so they can explore what inspires them.
New multi-media deals in Europe include German publishing giant Ravensburger who, following the successful launch of the Miraculous movie novels last year, will be offering novels and early reading learning books in the German language this summer.
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Ciela Norma, a new publishing partner for the Bulgarian market, is developing a range of activity and coloring books.
Extending their licenses with ZAG are Italian children’s publisher Pon Pon Edizioni who will feature arts and crafts activities available in kiosks, newsstands, and bookstores; Play Press, which will continue to produce coloring books and albums for kiosks and newsstands; and Albatross Media, which continues to publish a full range of Miraculous books from novels, story books, comic books to activity and novelty books.
ZAG also released some new data showing the success of the Miraculous franchise within the Roblox metaverse platform.
Miraculous RP: Quests of Ladybug & Cat Noir developed by ZAG and Israel’s female-led studio Toya won “Best Roblox Game” in the 2023 Pocket Gamer Awards. With the most recent major release of the NYC Robloxian game map (Miraculous United Heroez), the game has had a staggering number of 683 million visits, with an average of 555K daily sessions over a 30-day period.
The game is the second most popular branded game on the Roblox Branded game charts.
In other gaming news, Miraculous Just Dance 2023 Edition from Ubisoft is available on all consoles and enables fans to dance along with Ladybug and Cat Noir to the Miraculous Official Theme Song by Lou and Lenni-Kim.
Miraculous Life, a mobile sandbox game developed by ZAG Games and Budge Studios has over 6 million downloads with over 38 million minutes played in three months; and PK XD Miraculous: Fun, Friends, and Games has been played over 130 million times since its launch in April 2023.
“We are incredibly grateful to our partners across all categories of the franchise – from our content partners who have brought these stories to children and families around the world to our consumer products partners who bring Miraculous to life through products and experiences,” said Zag.
“As we continue to build the Miraculous program around the world, we remain true to our simple core message reflected in everything we do: you don’t need a mask to reach your dreams and overcome your fears.”
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