LOL Surprise Owner Unveils MGA Studios, Acquires Pixel Zoo Animation

toy giant MGA Entertainment is the latest big player outside of Hollywood to target the content business.

The privately held Chatsworth-based company, which owns popular retail brands such as LOL Surprise!, Rainbow High, Bratz and Little Tikes, launched MGA Studios, a content division with $500 million in capital and assets , to drive acquisitions and new productions. The division will be led by Jason Larian, son of MGA Entertainment founder and CEO Isaac Larian.

Over the years, MGA has produced animated series associated with its toy brand, but MGA Studios was launched to significantly improve the quality of the production.The first step in establishing the studio was the acquisition of an animation shop in Brisbane, Australia Pixel Zoo Animation. The value of this deal is in the low eight-figure range. Pixel Zoo founder and CEO Paul Gillett will join MGA Studios as a partner.

Pixel Zoo will remain in Australia and continue to handle some work for external clients. Now, however, it will also focus its resources on developing content to help enliven what Isaac Larian calls an online “safe mini-universe,” as well as allowing kids to interact with the company’s brands through an app.

Larian Sr. founded the company in 1979. It went through several iterations before changing its name to MGA Entertainment (from American Microgames) in 1996. Today, the MGA leader is proud of his company’s track record of developing innovative toy brands from scratch, such as LOL Surprise! and the Rainbow High Dolls franchise. MGA’s introduction of a Bratz line of dolls that was more avant-garde than Barbie caused controversy in the early 2000s, which helped put the company on the map.

lol surprise! Phenomenon, Take off in 2016, taking inspiration from the YouTube generation’s love of low-tech “unboxing” videos by incorporating that feeling into the toy itself. The basic baseball-sized LOL packs are encased in an onion-like layer ball that can be removed one by one, each revealing an accessory for use with the little doll in the center.

Currently, MGA Entertainment, controlled by Larian and his family, has annual retail sales of about $4 billion to $4.5 billion and employs nearly 1,700 full-time employees in multiple cities.

“As a company, we created 100 brands from scratch. Twenty-five of them reached $100 million in retail sales,” Isaac Larian told type“My thinking at the time (the name changed) was that we needed to really entertain kids. Not just sell them toys.”

In recent years, MGA has closely followed the content boom and the integration of streaming platforms with original content, games, in-app purchases, e-commerce and immersive experiences. It was the first toy maker to strike a deal with popular kid-centric gaming site Roblox to build an online world of toy brands. Mattel, MGA’s bigger rival, has also stepped up efforts to offer higher-caliber movies and TV shows To turn content into a new profit center for the company.

MGA is investing heavily in content production as it looks to more seamlessly integrate movies and TV shows, e-commerce and gaming opportunities, social media campaigns and other brand building strategies into its core business of toy development.

“In the beginning, content was a vehicle to sell more toys. It was almost an afterthought,” MGA Studios president Jason Larian told type“With this structure, we introduce the storyline from scratch through the design of the toy. It will be seamless and continuous.”

MGA Studios’ development focus will extend beyond TV and film to include games and other formats.

“We’re not just focusing on pure content, but we’re also looking for innovative companies to work with in gaming and digital experiences,” said Jason Larian. “We’re looking for unique ways that people can interact with IP.”

The pair confirmed that they were seeking more production, intellectual property and library assets in the market. Isaac Larian also emphasized that they are likely to be open to good ideas that connect with their target children and adult audiences, even if those ideas are not directly related to consumer products.

“We’re not just looking for toys. We want to do great movies, great content,” he said. “We’re focused on kids. We know kids well. We know what they like. It’s all about storytelling. We’re not entertaining to sell products.”

Pixel Zoo was a natural acquisition for MGA, as the two companies collaborated on a number of recent projects, including MGA’s “LOL Surprise! Netflix Movie”; “Haha Surprise! Surprise House series on YouTube and Netflix, as well as with MGA’s toy line Rainbow Series and specials related to High, Mermaze Mermaidz and Let’s Go Cozy Coupe. The company’s other brands include Baby Born and Na! Na! Na! Surprise.

Founded in 2013, Pixel Zoo also provides content and branding work for clients such as Lego, Entertainment One, Sesame Workshop and Saban. The company has about 200 full-time employees.

“There’s a lot we can do with all the established (MGA) brands,” Gillette told type“The potential for our stories is endless. But we wanted to start with the story first – story is king. It’s all about making sure we’re telling a story and not selling a product. We’re excited to have been involved in development from the start these brands.”

(Above: MGA Entertainment’s “LOL Surprise! Winter Fashion Show,” a movie special that premiered on Netflix in October.)