Rainbow and Italy’s historic leading toy company Giochi Preziosi have signed a partnership for the master toy line inspired by Iginio Straffi’s latest animated hit “Pinocchio and Friends,” already airing daily on Rai Yoyo with great acclaim

Giochi Preziosi will initially distribute the line in Italy with a roll-out strategy that will bring action figures, dolls, playsets, and plush toys based on the show to the shelves starting next fall, with the option of extending the agreement to other European countries (and beyond) where it is already well established thanks to the wide international reach it has enjoyed for years.

Giochi Preziosi will invest significantly in the development of this new line, as well as in marketing and communication activities to support the launch and raise brand awareness.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Giochi Preziosi, a historic partner and Italian reference point for almost half a century in the toy sector.” Says Rainbow’s founder and CEO Iginio Straffi. “Developing together the toy line for a series full of inspiring features like Pinocchio and Friends is a great opportunity and will bring a touch of freshness, colour and fun to the daily lives of our children”.

“When I came across this opportunity, I didn’t hesitate – it’s always a pleasure to create product lines inspired by the great tales of our cultural and literary tradition, as well as to work with Italian companies such as Rainbow, with whom Giochi Preziosi has been building and consolidating solid partnerships for years now. I really appreciated Iginio Straffi’s take on the great classic ‘Pinocchio’. I think it is a contemporary, funny, ironic and educational series; it reinterprets tradition in a modern key, without losing the charm and core values of the original version”, commented Giochi Preziosi’s chairman Enrico Preziosi.

The toy category’s debut is already eagerly awaited by the growing number of fans who are becoming each day fonder of the show, an original adaptation based on Carlo Collodi’s timeless classic and created in high quality CGI animation. Dedicated to a neutral target audience of 4–7-year-olds, Pinocchio and Friends is a series full of adventure, comedy and great values conveyed by characters and events faithfully taken from the fairy tale, but also by new and exuberant characters such as Freeda, the pirate doll co-starring with Pinocchio, who give the series an extra exciting twist.

Pinocchio and Friends debuted on Rai Yoyo last November with immediate and amazing results and is among the channel’s most watched shows.

After its successful release in Italy, the series will also land in the UK this year thanks to a partnership with the BBC, which will broadcast Pinocchio on the leading children’s channel CBeebies, before continuing overseas to delight viewers on Discovery Kids Latin America.

The partnership signed with Giochi Preziosi is part of a broad development plan for the Consumer Products sector inspired by the show, with licensees already confirmed including Mondadori, Ravensburger, Dolfin, Fashion UK, Ciao.