A content distributor deeply rooted in the children’s animation industry, Beijing TFF (Time Flying Fish) has been bringing endearing animated content to Chinese children since its establishment in 2015. Touting the mantra “Bring Fun to Kids,” Beijing TFF is armed with a unique perspective and professional spirit. It has worked on animation projects with dozens of international studios and distributors hailing from Europe, Asia and North and South America.
“In the domestic market of China, we have exclusively brought in over 100 high-quality animation titles,” says Penny Ho, who manages international acquisitions and sales. “The viewership of animations operated by Beijing TFF has cumulatively exceeded 20 billion views, an impressive achievement. Behind the achievements lies our strict control over the cherry-picking of content. We know very well about the special tastes of the Chinese audience, and we also believe that only truly excellent and fun content can win the love and trust of the young audience.”
Beijing TFF recently launched children’s animation projects produced by the Spanish toy company IMC Toys, including Crybabies Magic Tears, BFF, VIP PETS and Bloopies. “These works are not only beautifully animated and have vivid plots but also bring good values to kids through entertainment,” says Ho. “They are greatly loved by children, and these works perform very well on digital platforms in China.”
In the area of children’s documentaries, Beijing TFF has introduced programs such as ScienceXplosion and MathXplosion. “We’ve opened a new path for the distribution business, and in the future, we’ll bring more documentaries suitable for kids in the Chinese market,” Ho says.
Beijing TFF is developing the 3D animated series Eco Dragon Girls (w.t.). In the animation, the Dragon Girls are worried about pollution and energy consumption. They defeat various monsters transformed from garbage to help people return to their normal order of life. “Through this animation, we hope to convey the concept of environmental protection in a different and interesting angle and inspire [the audience] to participate in environmental protection in a creative way,” Ho says. “At the same time, we also hope to introduce the audience to the mysterious and magical character of the Chinese dragon, giving them a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.” The company is currently looking for worldwide co-producers for this project and hopes to make it into “a title with international taste” to travel in the global market.
Last year, Beijing TFF began to expand its distribution business into the Asian market. “We started with the content from IMC Toys and hope to bring this content to more Asian countries other than China,” says Ho. “We also hope to have a wider cooperation with Asian animation studios and companies in order to co-produce, discover and promote excellent local cultural works in Asia.”
Ho acknowledges that, as with any new business development, there have been some challenges along the way. “For example, we need to think about and solve issues like how to fit in with the local cultural habits and market demands and how to establish good cooperation with local broadcasting institutions. However, Beijing TFF believes that with the strength and wisdom of the team, these problems will be properly solved.”
Advancing these efforts, Beijing TFF has a cooperation with IMC Toys to represent titles for Asia, among them Crybabies Magic Tears (128×5 min.), BFF (26×7 min.), VIP PETS (48×7 min.), Bubiloons (13×5 min.), Bloopies (26×5 min.), Meta Zells (24×5 min.) and Loopers (13×3 min.). “These titles are available in many different dubbed language versions, and we look forward to working with new partners and bringing this content to more kids in different cultures and countries,” Ho says.