Sanrio Europe

Warner Bros. Unveils Ambitious Animation Slate at Annecy

At the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation presented a seven-film theatrical slate and signaled a renewed commitment to original theatrical animation under President and Chief Creative Officer Bill Damaschke. The studio debuted a new logo and a Looney Tunes short while outlining releases through 2028, led by The Cat in the Hat (November 2026) directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja with Bill Hader voicing the Cat. Key collaborations include Locksmith Animation on Bad Fairies and The Lunar Chronicles, a Hello Kitty feature with Sanrio and New Line Cinema, and Oh, The Places You’ll Go! featuring Ariana Grande and Josh Gad. Other announced projects include Margie Claus (2027 holiday), Dynamic Duo (Batman-era adventure), reimaginings of Tom & Jerry, Thundercats and Meerkats, and Prehistoria, the feature debut of Vivienne Medrano. The presentation follows a period when several Warner animation projects were shelved or sold to independent distributors.

Marvelkids.com And Sanrio Accused Of COPPA Violations; Ad Tech Vendors May Be Liable, Too

On December 18, 2013, the Center for Digital Democracy filed two complaints with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accusing Marvelkids.com (a Disney-owned Marvel Entertainment property) and the Hello Kitty Carnival app of COPPA violations for collecting children’s personal information without parental consent and sharing it with advertising partners. The complaints allege that Marvelkids.com’s data handling involved ad-serving companies, and that the Hello Kitty Carnival app allowed third parties to collect a child’s location, photos, and device identifiers. Ad-tech operators Tapjoy, MoPub, and Flurry were named as collectors of children’s data, with Marvelkids.com’s privacy policy listing DoubleClick as a third party. COPPA updates in July broadened the definition of personal information to include photos, location data, videos, and persistent identifiers like cookies and mobile device IDs. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, criticized the practices, while Flurry stated it restricts analytics usage in apps directed to children under 13.

Why Popchips Sees Value In Stickers

Digital stickers are being embraced as a marketing tool, with Popchips partnering with RadiumOne to develop flavor-themed stickers using RadiumOne’s Photo Effects suite. The initiative aims to boost authentic engagement and gather data on which flavors resonate, by analyzing sticker shares across apps. Popchips cites benefits over traditional banners and notes RadiumOne’s ability to integrate across mobile platforms with reporting. Facebook’s Sticker Store is not used in this effort. Reports indicate Line earned about $17 million, roughly 30% of its Q1 revenue, from stickers. Brands like Hello Kitty are considering selling stickers directly, creating an additional revenue stream. RadiumOne also highlights access to its 125 million-user network, potentially increasing reach for Popchips’ campaigns.