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The Moblees is a globally recognized children’s entertainment brand and multi-platform initiative that embraces an anti-sedentary philosophy, modeling positive, healthy behavior, and giving kids the tools they need to live a healthy active lifestyle. The Moblees uses a proven combination of humor, catchy music, compelling characters and adventurous interactive narratives to impact kids at an early age; the optimum time for instilling a foundation of healthy habits to last a lifetime.

The Moblees began as a tour of highly acclaimed live performances, then adapted into a TV series that premiered in 2014 on the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) that has been viewed by over 10 million kids, and was followed by the release of a music album of The Moblees (Song from the Hit TV Show).

Since premiering December 22, 2014, The Moblees took over the #1 spot within 6 weeks, and immediately received a prestigious 2015 YMA (Youth Media Award) of Excellence nomination, a 2016 Canadian Screen Award nomination, and the recent 2016 5th Annual Cynopsis Kids !magination Award nominations for New Preschool Series, Best Use of Music, and a win for Best Kids Tech Activation. The Moblees premiered its second season in September, 2016 to ratings that even exceeded its first season. The brand has inspired families everywhere to be healthy culminating with a show at the White House as a part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign.

The Moblees Mission
The Moblees mission is to get pre-schoolers up and moving throughout the day. The entertainment platform reduces kids’ sedentary behavior while increasing physical activity and promoting healthy habits by getting children throughout the world to participate with the actions of The Moblees while viewing the show, listening to the music and attending the live performances.

Young children spend 50% of their waking time in sedentary activity – passively watching TV, playing computer games, riding in car seats, and increasingly using phones and tablets. Children who do not regularly engage in physical movement are at risk to fall victim to the runaway child obesity epidemic. Lack of physical activity can start children on the path to develop early signs of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Children who are not taught the importance of a healthy, active life are more susceptible to negative social and psychological effects once they enter school due to a negative body image leading to early onset depression.

The Moblees’ interactive, musical adventures fervently embraces and promotes an anti-sedentary philosophy, modeling healthy behavior and giving kids the tools they need to live a long, healthy, active lifestyle.

Mission Success
 

An independent study was undertaken by SickKids to measure the success of The Moblees’ mission. The study concluded that 76% of caregivers reported that children engaged in physical activity while viewing The Moblees. The study also found it was important for caregivers to provide children encouragement to engage with the physical activity on the show. The SickKids study concluded that The Moblees can be an effective tool in increasing a child’s physical activity during times that children usually engage in screen-based sedentary activity.

  

History
 

The Moblees is based on the theatrical brand The Ohmies; a series of live stage shows created by Laurie Miller and Benjamin Tollefson, which launched in 2001. The inspiration came when Laurie, a mother and pre-school teacher, discovered the benefits of Yoga as she recovered from a car accident. After experiencing how much the movements helped her heal, Laurie wanted to be able to promote the properties of action to children at a young age. Laurie was passionate to reduce the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of her school children.

The Ohmies’ conception began when Miller started writing songs and rhymes to help her pre-school yoga students understand the movements she was showing them. After a great reception from children at pre-schools around New York City, Laurie decided to create a show with the music she developed and began engaging children through yoga at a theater at 45 Bleeker Street every Saturday morning. She would build a wonderful theater experience with a set that could fit into her hatchback. This was the first time many of the pre-school children had ever been in the theater and had a theatrical experience, while learning the health benefits of exercise and yoga

The show at Bleeker Street began to gain a lot of attention, and eventually Laurie is approached with an offer to move her show to LA. The Ohmies is met with rave reviews in LA, and begins to gain a lot of celebrity attention, who then convince Laurie to write a TV show script of The Ohmies. However, the show was unable to receive any favorable offers at the time, and instead, The Ohmies set off on a nation-wide tour of an immersive theater experience.

The producers Seth Goldstein and Bobby Gore catch wind of the Ohmies in Concert tour, and approach Laurie about bringing her show back to New York to be professionally produced (more names?). Seth and Bobby develop the idea of a holistic brand to ensure kids receive the entire benefit of The Ohmies healthy active lifestyle throughout their day.

Stacy Jaffy was brought onto the team to coordinate the research and bring together PHD’s, medical doctors, psychologists, as well as, education and entertainment professionals to develop a scientific formula to ensure children were receiving the most benefit possible from The Ohmies

The team also brings on Laura Brock as a set designer to help create The Ohmies performance show Surprise The Sun that was met with rave reviews, and then later developed into the Morning Wish Garden show. In January 2010 the team premiered at the Darryl Roth Theater utilizing the professionally developed curriculum to encourage children to live an active, healthy lifestyle, and the exciting idea that they were introducing children to a theater setting for the first time. Based on the reaction by kids, caregivers and critics alike the team knew they needed to further develop the brand to spread their mission to as many kids worldwide as possible.

This is when the team brought Amy Sprecher on board to help turn The Ohmies into a multi-platform holistic brand. The Ohmies were re-branded as The Moblees and the show re-launched at Peter J Wright Theater at Playwrights Horizon in Times Square for a very successful 5 month run. The brand begins distributing merchandise, and records the songs of the show into an album to help keep kids moving throughout the day even when they are not attending the show.

The Moblees gain attention from Yoga brands Giaim and Lululemon who discussed potential partnerships, but at the same time the Canadian Broadcast Company steps in and say they want to take The Moblees theater experience and create a television show.

The CBC brought The Moblees together with television producers Andrew Sabastian and Jed Mackay to work with Shaftsebury, a Toronto based production company and the show is produced and shot in Hallifax, Canada where they are they are joined by Boulevard Productions to help film the show.

The first thing The Moblees television cast did after producing Season 1 of the TV show was to perform at the White House as a part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign during the annual Easter Celebration. This performance was then soon followed by stage performances at The Sahara Festival in UAE, PNE Exhibition in Vancouver and Austin City Limits.

The Moblees Medal program was created to gamify the brand and incentivize children to remain active throughout every day.

The brand then developed their website in partnership with ParticipACTION by creating additional activities for children to engage with throughout their day, as well as healthy recipes for caregivers and kids to cook healthy meals together. This partnership also led to a series of Public Service Announcements aired in Canada that feature The Moblees as well as a 7 episode mini-series of Moblees Move videos produced by Seth Goldstein and directed by Dave Connelly.

The Television shows debuts in December 2014 on the CBC and skyrockets to the number one rated show on Kids’CBC within 6 weeks of launching. This was then followed by a second season, which was also directed by Dave Connelly.

The Moblees released a studio album in 2017 to let kids move to all the greatest hits from The Moblees television show. The Team would continue to add to their brand with an award-winning iPad application that allows children to become part of a Moblee activity.

The Moblees television show has recently become more widely distributed online when Ameda TV, Amazon Prime and Roku began to distribute the show in 2017.

 

Characters
 

Set in the whimsical world of Terra Mova, the series invites children to join in the action, and engages them with energetic and compelling characters, catchy music, beautiful sets and adventurous story lines filled with fun, humor and above all, movement!

 

Bailey Butterfly (portrayed by Shannon Hamilton) is The Moblees’ natural leader and Carlin Caterpillar’s older sister. Bailey is cheerful, fearless, sporty, and she knows how to get a handle on any situation.

Carlin Caterpillar (portrayed by Scott Farley) is Bailey’s younger brother. He is enthusiastic, energetic, silly, and spontaneous. Being the youngest, Carlin can also be absent-minded and a bit clumsy.

Dasha Dog (portrayed by Michelle Bouey) is the diva of the group. She is a trendsetter and a fashionista who can be described as quirky, impulsive, and sassy. She loves to use made-up words to express herself.

Gisbert Grasshopper (portrayed by Chris George) is The Moblees’ resident scientist. He is a perfectionist who loves solving problems and building inventions.

Sylvio Snake (portrayed by Matthew Nethersole) is as confident, charming, and sophisticated, as he is caring, generous, and sweet-hearted. If someone needs help or is down, he’s the first friend there to lend a hand. Sylvio likes to eat sweets and work in his garden. He is known to get a bit shy in front of a crowd.

Episodes
 

Fifty episodes of The Moblees have been created between 2014 and 2016. The first episode aired on December 31, 2014 and they continue to air on Kids’CBC daily.

Broadcast
 

The Moblees television series was created by Andrew Sabiston and Jed MacKay. The series premiered in 2014 on the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) during their children's programming block, Kids’ CBC.

The Moblees television series, aimed at pre-school audiences (aged 3-6), is designed to get its viewers up and moving. The viewer follows the colorful cast of characters on interactive adventures through their fictional home Terra Mova.

When viewers at home move along with the characters on the show, they too become Moblees. The Moblees experience is part active participation and part lifestyle education. Each episode of television show features a movement-centric, song-driven adventure that culminates in the awarding of a Moblee Medal.

Music
 

The Moblees music is meant to inspire listeners to move! Each move-along song takes a different musical style as its inspiration, combining to create an eclectic, ecstatic catalogue, with musical influences from across the dial and around world. Legitimately listenable for caregivers, the songs inspire families to play along together.

Music plays an important role in The Moblees television series and their live events. In the 30 episodes that comprise the first season of the television program, The Moblees released over 50 original songs. The 20 episodes from The Moblees second season released over 30 original songs.

19 of children’s favorite songs from throughout The Moblees TV series was released in August 2016 on The Moblees (Songs from the Hit TV Show). The songs are designed to be move-along songs to get your kids moving and grooving towards a healthy, active lifestyle.

 

Live Shows
 

Performing at theaters, fairs, festivals, shopping centres, and promotional events, The Moblees are a premiere live concert experience for kids and their families.

In 2014, The Moblees performed at the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll. In the summer of 2015, The Moblees toured across Canada. The tour included 36 live performances in 12 cities, with an estimated cumulative audience of over 50,000 Canadians. 2016 performances including Casa Loma (March), CBC Music Festival (May), Kids’ CBC Days (July).

 

Website Recipes and Activities
Through partnerships with ParticipACTION, along with PhD’s, medical doctors, nutritionists, and educators, The Moblees provide exclusive Moblee-themed recipes, activities, and games.

The games are designed to promote simple activities that can turn everyday routines into fun and games for you and your kids to enjoy.

The team of experts knew that being healthy is about more than just staying active. Maintaining a balanced diet and eating the right kinds of food are also important components of a healthy lifestyle, which is why The Moblees experts developed recipes that are both fun and healthy for kids and caregivers to enjoy together.

Merchandise
 

In August 2015, The Moblees released a collection of products based around the characters that are designed to promote activity and remind kids to keep moving throughout the day.

 

 

Moblee Medals Program
 

The Moblee Medals loyalty program incentives families to continually be active participants in The Moblees’ brand. Kids can collect a Moblee Medal each time they watch The Moblees on television or live on stage. Every medal they earn recognizes a new healthy, active achievement, and every time a child collects a Moblee Medal, they are one step closer to earning posters, games, and other prizes. Moblee Medals, a fun and engaging loyalty program, incentivizes children to bring The Moblees’ lifestyle messaging into real life by offering physical and digital awards for healthy active achievements

 

Reception
 

The Moblees is a top rated television program among Kids 2-5 years of age on the CBC. Approximately 10 million viewers have tuned into The Moblees since the series premiere in December 2014, and episodes continue to draw significant viewership daily.

The live performance has been met with critical acclaim:

“Pop, reggae, do-wop and hip-hop all exert fresh influences in the show’s accomplished score. [The Moblees] can only bring smiles!”

– The New York Times

“They get kids to dance… They’re a huge hit in the States… and the audiences here approve!”

– CBC News, BC

“AMAZING! The bright colors are captivating and the songs are catchy. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU SEE THIS SHOW!”

– A Time Out for Mommy

 

Awards and Accolades
 

The Moblees were nominated for the 2015 Award of Excellence by the Youth Media Alliance, 2016 Canadian Screen Award nomination, 2016 5th Annual Cynopsis Kids !magination Award nominations for New Preschool Series, Best Use of Music, and Best Kids Tech Activation. The Moblees App won the 2016 Cynopsis Kids !magination Award –Best Kids Tech Activation. The brand also received a nomination for the 2016 Best Cross-Platform award by the Canadian Screen Awards, a 2016 Shaw Rocket Fund prize nomination, and 2017 Youth Media Alliance Award of Excellence nomination; Best Program, Live Action, Ages 3 to 5.

Partnerships
 

The Moblees work with partners throughout the world with their aligned goal to inspire and assist families to lead healthy, active lifestyles.

In addition to their production and distribution partnership with Kids’ CBC, The Moblees also work with Canadian healthy living organization – ParticipACTION. The Moblees have also worked with First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. Other partners include the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Shaftesbury Films and Smokebomb Entertainment, and Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company.

In regards to original content, The Moblees maintain partnerships with PhD’s, medical doctors, nutritionists and educators, all of whom influence The Moblees’ television programming. These collaborations extend to The Moblees’ live events and all branded games, snacks, and activities.