Dublin-based Irish Fairy Door Company signs 'game-changer' global animation deal

This follows the firm signing the deal with Canadian firm, DHX Media and its subsidiary, the WildBrain network already features other third party toy brands that include Fireman Sam, Curious George, Shopkins and Ben 10.

WildBrain’s network has 50 million subscribers and the Irish Fairy Door is now being added to that portfolio and under the agreement, WildBrain will manage The Irish Fairy Door Company’s YouTube channel on its network.

The miniature fairy doors that are the flagship product of the brand are enjoyed by children in almost 1 million households worldwide and has enjoyed an endorsement in the past from Kourtney Kardashian.

Director of Irish Fairy Door Company, Niamh Barry said: “The DHX deal is a complete game-changer. Completely and utterly and has the potential of making us a global brand. It has been a long time in the making and something that everyone has worked very hard on. We are absolutely over the moon that the deal is now done and the production can now begin.”

She added: “The sky is the limit when it comes to job creation, revenues and profits. All you have to do is walk in to any toy store in the world  and you will see aisles and aisles of merchandise all based on animations for all ages. The market is enormous which we know will lead to massive sales in the coming years.”

WildBrain will now produce short-form content designed to engage and inspire children with the magic of The Irish Fairy Door Company’s brand, including an original animation series and live action videos that bring the fairy world to life.

Ms Barry said that the ‘live action’ part of the series will be out by February 2019 and the animation is due out July 2019.

She explained: “The animation itself in is the very early stages of development but it will be character based maybe 3-4 central characters)with all different abilities and strengths."

Ms Barry said that the animation will stay very true to the concept that has been created already stating that the firm is so excited to have the expertise of the script writers and story tellers in DHX and WildBrain.

WildBrain is an industry leader in the management and creation of preschool and children’s entertainment content on platforms such as YouTube, Amazon Video Direct and others.

During July 2017 and June 2018, Wildbrain has generated over 129 billion minutes of watch time across 25 billion views.

Managing Director with WildBrain, Jon Grisby said: “The Irish Fairy Door Company team have achieved a remarkable feat already, by building a consumer products business around a smart toy idea that has captured the imaginations of a generation of children in Ireland and beyond."

The Irish Fairy Door firm was only formed in Ireland in 2013 by Niamh Sherwin Barry and Aoife Lawler with their husbands Oisin and Gavin.

Chief Commercial Officer with DHX, Anne Loi said that on the partnership with Irish Fairy Door Company: “Creatively we love the property and the concept is so unique…The Irish Fairy Door Company’s brand is ideal for creating new short-form content that we feel kids’ around the world are going to love it.”