‘Masha and the Bear’ Expand in Feature Development

“Antartica is probably the only place we don’t air,” says Dmitry Loveiko, managing director of Animaccord Animation Studio. “Even viewers in North Africa know us.”

As the world’s top five children’s shows, animation series “Masha and the Bear,”has been revealed expand into longer-form content, including a feature film, as well as podcasts, tech-driven content and custom-made content for social media platforms, said Antartica, the Russian company behind the show.

The popular animated series is now available in 43 languages and broadcast in almost every part of the world. it also holds the Guinness World Record as the most watched animated video on YouTube for the episode “Recipe for Disaster,” which has recorded almost 4.5 billion views.

Animaccord has recently confirmed that it is in development with the first-ever Masha and the Bear animated feature film, which will be released by 2025 and will produce four stand-alone themed specials in 4K with running times of 22 minutes.

It is currently seeking to partner with a global film distributor on the project. “Masha and the Bear: Masha’s Christmas,” set to be released by the end of this year, will introduce 12 new characters, including one called January, seen here for the first time.

Animaccord manages one of the largest children’s multinational content networks on YouTube, with 144 million followers. At the end of last year, “Masha and the Bear’s” English YouTube channel had doubled the number of its subscribers compared with the same period in 2019 from 10 million to 20 million, and now has almost 25 million subscribers. Targeting family audiences, the creators are looking to expand from the property’s primarily preschool base, appealing to kids who grew up with Masha and are receptive to seeing the character in a new light. The show currently enjoys a high level of parental co-viewing, with show themes and situations relatable to everyday family life.