Dr. Seuss Enterprises says it will be unveiling a massive slate of licensing products and programs at the upcoming Licensing Expo in August.
The company says it continues to focus on its core values of promoting literacy, education, self-confidence, and the wonderful possibilities of a child’s imagination through the works of Dr. Seuss. “The creative, whimsical world of Dr. Seuss and its characters have inspired generations of readers and continues to be a true pop culture and entertainment phenomenon, with major successes both on the page and on the screen,” the company said in a statement.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which owns and represents the brand and licensing for the popular line of children’s books, has built up a formidable reputation in the industry by inking hundreds of licensing deals in every category, and this year has ramped up its global entertainment presence with several projects in development with the world’s most respected studios and publishers.
At the 2021 virtual Licensing Expo, Dr. Seuss Enterprises says it will continue to celebrate the importance of literacy and creativity with the roll out of new product lines, programs, and initiatives, as well as growth of their entertainment and content portfolio. From expansion within a number of categories including entertainment, food and toys, to The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 65th anniversary celebrations in 2022, potential licensing partners will get a comprehensive look ahead at all the places Dr. Seuss Enterprises is going.
Here is the full rundown sent to The Licensing Letter from Dr. Seuss Enterprises:
Entertainment and Digital Content
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is stepping into the spotlight and bringing the magical Dr. Seuss world and its characters to life with new entertainment and content deals including:
- Warner Brothers Animation: The Cat in the Hat feature film will kick off the new Dr. Seuss movie slate in 2024, followed by Thing One and Thing Two in an original feature length animated adventure in 2026. Bad Robot Productions has been tapped to adapt Oh, the Places You’ll Go! for the big screen with J.J. Abrams and head of motion pictures Hannah Minghella as producers on the film, set to debut in 2027.
- Netflix’s Green Eggs and Ham: Warner Bros. Animation’s hit Netflix series Green Eggs and Ham was renewed for a second season.
- The Jim Henson Company: Dr. Seuss Enterprises recently partnered with The Jim Henson Company to bring Come Over to My House, a new television puppet-led docuseries, to fans.
- Dapper Labs: Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Dapper Labs are partnering to create all new digital collectibles to the Flow blockchain. The web-based experience will enable fans of Dr. Seuss’s vast universe the ability to collect digital packs of their favorite characters and wholly own them on blockchain forever.
- Seuss Chef: An inspirational “foodie” brand for kids that takes Dr. Seuss’s signature characters and teaches kids about healthy eating and safe cooking with a side of wild Seussian fun. Seuss Chef will have a variety of fun cooking products and content, including cookbooks and cooking videos.
- Dr. Seuss Workbooks: This fall, Random House Children’s Books will launch multi-subject Dr. Seuss Workbooks, a new series for Preschool through 3rd grade. The books will also be supported by a video series created in collaboration with Big Yellow Taxi featuring fun, original singalongs that will help readers further engage with the characters and subject matter.
In addition to the deals mentioned above, the Dr. Seuss Enterprises team says it’s looking at ways to expand the portfolio into the realm of podcasting and other creative content executions.
Expansion of Overall Merchandising Program
Across the full portfolio of literary properties, Dr. Seuss Enterprises plans to grow licensing programs around the following five categories:
- Entertainment & Content
- Toys
- Food & Beverage
- Health & Beauty
- Infant & Baby
Campaigns
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is building out campaigns around some of the most popular characters and titles heading into the end of 2021 and 2022 including:
- Hats Off to Reading: In March 2022 Dr. Seuss Enterprises will celebrate the 65th anniversary of The Cat in the Hat.
- The Lorax: This year marked the 50th anniversary of The Lorax. To celebrate the iconic books and its environmental and community activism message, Random House Children’s Books announced a program launching at Barnes & Noble with One Tree Planted, along with a robust line up of new book titles. New sustainable partners that were on board for this year’s Lorax celebration include BarkBox and TenTree, which has a second drop coming in June.
- Oh, the Places You’ll Go!: Year after year, graduates find inspiration and take advice from the classic book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!. Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ growing annual program for the book includes partners across all categories, such as Build a Bear, Skechers, Hallmark and more.
- Thing 1 and Thing 2: This year Dr. Seuss Enterprises will debut a new style guide based on best-selling board books.
- Grinch: Following the successful Grinchmas 2020 campaign with Kylie Cosmetics, Skechers and others, Dr. Seuss Enterprises will continue celebrating the holiday season with everyone’s favorite loveable, but grumpy, character. Dr. Seuss Enterprises is also looking ahead to the 65th anniversary of the book in 2022.
New and Expanded Partnerships:
Heading into the end of 2021/beginning of 2022, Dr. Seuss Enterprises already has some exciting deals and partnership plans queued up including:
- Skechers: Expanding on their Dr. Seuss-themed collection, Skechers will be debuting a brand new range of footwear for women and girls featuring the art of the beloved Oh, The Places You’ll Go book.
- Stance: Timed to the 2021 holiday season, Stance is set to debut a new line of Grinch inspired socks and accessories.
- Zrike: New Dr. Seuss inspired kitchenware is set to debut later this year.
- Barkbox: For the 50th anniversary of The Lorax in 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises worked with BARK, the maker of BarkBox, for a line of sustainable dog toys for subscribers and in PetCo stores.
- TenTree: For the 50th anniversary of The Lorax in 2021, Tentree designed an eco-friendly Lorax collection, consisting of hoodies, crewnecks, sweatpants and tees for adults and children.
- Gaylord Hotel’s ICE: The ICE! event at Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville will feature Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and feature hand-carved ice sculptures (made from more than 2 million pounds of ice) that tell the story of how the Grinch tries to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
- Ruz USA: Range of Dr. Seuss inspired crafts and holiday decor including stockings, tree skirts, Santa hats, string lights and tabletop décor, animated train sets, yard stakes and suction lights, stockings and animated train sets.
- American Exchange: Launching in 2021 is a collection of adult and children smartwatches, fitness trackers, analog and digital watches, charging cables, charging cubes, mini speakers, headphones, earbuds, charging pads and power banks with designs from The Lorax, The Cat in the Hat, and Fox in Socks.
- New Expansion in the Toy Category: In 2021 Dr. Seuss Enterprises is making a big splash in the toy category with new releases by Funko Games and CreateOn, who will be respectively bringing the Cat In the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and the Grinch to life in playfully imaginative ways.
- New Locations for The Dr. Seuss Experience: The imaginative and interactive immersion into the wondrous world of Dr. Seuss, which kicked off in 2019 in Toronto, is set to bring some whimsical fun to Houston in May and another new locations in North America in 2021 and 2022.