LOS ANGELES, Oct. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global sensation L.O.L. Surprise!™, the highly popular brand from toy and entertainment company MGA Entertainment (MGA), today announced the global premiere of L.O.L. Surprise! The Skate Dance Movie on Oct. 3 on YouTube Kids globally in English, French, and Spanish, as well as other languages on L.O.L. Surprise! localized channels. The premiere marks the brand’s commitment to building up young kids and recognizing them for what’s inside, versus external achievement, aligning with International Day of the Girl celebrations soon after on Oct 11.
The movie incorporates themes of friendship, acceptance, passion, and trying your best. Ambitious Tween, Ali Dance, has a lead role in Skate Fest, and gets the lead in the ballet too. But when it turns out they’re happening the same day, she still commits to both! When it all becomes too much pressure, her friends help Ali find a new groove all her own.
The pressure to achieve placed on young kids is increasingly challenging to their mental health. According to a recent poll by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 89% of parents today say kids mental health is more important than academic achievement. What if we found a way to remove that external pressure and focus on celebrating what’s inside?
“In The Skate Dance Movie, Ali Dance learns to have fun again, blend the two things she loves, rather than trying to be perfect,” says Anne Parducci, Chief Content Officer at MGA Entertainment. “L.O.L. Surprise! is a refreshing counterbalance to the competitive ‘grit’ that many young achievers are faced with. The brand helps foster an internal dialogue that builds positive affirmations, sense of acceptance, and joy in trying new things – all through the power of play and kids’ entertainment.”
“L.O.L. Surprise! has taught me to try new things and to focus on having fun rather than being the best,” said Avery King, playing the lead role, Ali Dance, in The Skate Dance Movie. “Just like Ali, I’ve felt overcommitted and stressed when doing too many things at once. Ali showed me that I can take a deep breath and focus on having fun while supporting my friends. Now I just need to get the pink hair! With L.O.L. Surprise, trying my best has never felt so good!”
This wholesome message reaches Gen Alpha in the place they are most engaged: YouTube. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, 81% of all parents with children age 11 or younger say their child watches videos on YouTube, with 34% indicating that they do so regularly. The streaming service is also completely free, unlike other services with a paywall, making the content more accessible to more families globally. L.O.L. Surprise! has over 2.3M subscribers on YouTube in the U.S. (not including additional localized channels), growing since its start in 2016, and is committed to bringing new content and formats to engaged fans with L.O.L. Surprise!: The Skate Dance Movie.
Throughout 2024, L.O.L. Surprise! is encouraging kids to ditch the “perfect” and discover “What’s Inside” with the movie’s release as well as new accessory and feature-rich dolls to aid in self-discovery, self-expression and playfulness. New this holiday season includes the Tweens Costume Surprise™ fashion dolls, which includes:
- Blind Packaging: This is the first time the brand offers fully blind packaging for a fashion doll versus the smaller Tots in L.O.L. Surprise! (Although the little ears on each package do denote which character is inside, so parents can easily choose their kids’ wishlist dolls.)
- Characters and Accessories Seen in L.O.L. Surprise!: The Skate Dance Movie: The collection includes four fan-favorite Tween characters, also featured in the movie, including an adorable inflatable pet costume, trendy new fashions, and more.
- Interactive Unboxing: An outrageously fun, experiential reveal includes multiple layers of surprise. Once you tear the perforated edge at the bottom of the packaging, simply lift the lid off the box and begin to see a large paper bag automatically inflate. Rip open the bag and discover which cute pet costume is inside. Next, find which beautiful Tween is hidden inside the costume itself by opening the Velcro in the back.
The Skate Dance movie is available on YouTube @LOLSurprise and the YouTube Kids app beginning October 3 and features 4 songs: Somewhere In Between (a new version), We’re Not Perfect, Do What You Love, and Meet My Family. The L.O.L. Surprise!: The Skate Dance Movie album is now available on music streaming platforms. The movie is also available Oct. 3 in German, French, LATAM Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Greek, and Turkish, with additional languages such as Polish, Dutch, Czech, and Italian coming soon after.
The cast includes voice actors such as Avery King, playing Ali Dance; TikTok star Frankie McNellis (known for the Netflix feature adaptation of Broadway's 13: The Musical), playing Emma Emo; Nyara Afshar (known for Pokemon: Path to the Peak), playing Aya Cherry; Jessica Mikayla (known for Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse), playing Hoops Cutie; Everly Hobert (known for Pokemon: Path to the Peak), playing Center Stage; and Ayla Rae Neal, playing Queen Bee.
L.O.L. Surprise! dolls are available now at Walmart, Target, Amazon, and The MGA Shop and major retailers globally. To stay up to date with the latest news and content, visit the official website lolsurprise.com and social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
About MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment is one of the largest privately held toy and entertainment companies in the world, known for its commitment to creativity, quality, and innovation. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices globally, the company creates innovative, proprietary, and licensed consumer products and entertainment properties, including toys, games, dolls, apparel, consumer electronics, home décor, stationery, sporting goods, movies, and television series. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!™, Little Tikes®, Rainbow High™, Bratz®, MGA’s Miniverse™, Yummiland™, CarTuned™, GrossMos!™, Pixel Petz™, Micro Games of America, Fluffie Stuffiez™, BABY born®, and Zapf Creation®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgae.com or check us out at LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
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Amanda Magalski FINN Partners for MGA Entertainment mga@finnpartners.com MGA Newsroom MGA Entertainment +1.818.221.4431 news@mgae.com
