Genius Brands International Secures Four New Licensing Partners for the Rainbow Rangers Preschool Brand, Which Debuted to Strong Nielsen Ratings With the Animated Series on Nick Jr. on November 5th

Cra-Z-Art, Esquire Footwear, Integrity Vitamins, and Townley Girl Join a Roster of Over 25 Licensing Leaders for 2019 Retail Program Launch

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rainbow Rangers, the new animated adventure series for girls, which premiered on Nick Jr. on November 5^th, continues to attract new licensing partners in Genius Brands International, Inc.’s "Genius Brands" (NASDAQ: GNUS) ramp up to the 2019 U.S. retail launch of the preschool brand. 

Rainbow Rangers, the new animated adventure series for girls, which premiered on Nick Jr. on November 5th to stellar Neilsen ratings, continues to attract new licensing partners in Genius Brands International, Inc.’s "Genius Brands" (NASDAQ: GNUS) ramp up to the 2019 U.S. retail launch of the preschool brand.

Genius Brands’ SVP of Global Licensing Lloyd Mintz announced today that the Company has signed four new licensing partners, including Cra-Z-Art for crafts and activities; Esquire Footwear for shoes and footwear; Integrity Vitamins, for developing a line of chewable, all natural, vegan, gummy vitamins for kids based on the colorful Rainbow Rangers characters; and Townley Girl, for a line of age-appropriate cosmetics and a variety of health and beauty products.

“We are thrilled with the response from licensees who are clamoring to be associated with this fresh, colorful and exciting new preschool brand,” explained Mintz.  “There is already an amazing consumer awareness for the brand, heightened by the premiere on Nick Jr., of course.  And once the licensing program launches at retail outlets throughout the country--starting in back-to-school 2019 with over 300 product SKU’s coming to the marketplace--we fully anticipate Rainbow Rangers will be among the top ‘must have’ consumer products for children of all ages throughout next year.”

Genius Brands has partnered with over 25 blue-chip industry-leading licensing partners for the retail launch of Rainbow Rangers, including Mattel Inc. (master toy), MacMillan Publishing (master publishing), Bentex (master apparel), A.M.E. (sleepwear), Berkshire Fashions (cold weather accessories), BioWorld (bags, backpacks), Ceaco (puzzles), Disguise (Halloween costumes), Handcraft Manufacturing (packaged underwear), H.E.R. Accessories (jewelry and hair accessories), Jay Franco (bedding and bath), Dynacraft (bicycles), Kid Galaxy (bubble toys), Kiddieland (foot-to-floor ride-ons), Planet Sox (hosiery), Spirit Halloween (direct-to-retail program), KIDdesigns (youth electronics line), and Basic Fun! (novelty toy line). 

About Rainbow Rangers
The Rainbow Rangers series follows the thrilling rescue-based adventures of seven 9-year-old girls who are Earth’s first responders, protecting people, animals, resources, and the natural beauty of our world. The Rainbow Rangers, who live in the magical land of Kaleidoscopia at the other side of the rainbow, have their own distinctive personalities and superpowers. Whenever there’s trouble for the people or animals of Earth, our seven heroines zoom into action and ride their Spectra Scooters across the rainbow to save the day. Viewers will join them on exciting adventures, but also see them at home having the same daily dramas and hilarities as every preschooler watching the show. And at its heart, Rainbow Rangers is about empowering and encouraging girls to take action and make a difference in their own homes and neighborhoods to improve and safeguard the planet. Every viewer—boys and girls alike—will see themselves in at least one of these strong, unique and empowered Rangers!

Boasting a unique and highly-accomplished team of creators from the animated motion picture world, Rainbow Rangers’ creative development and production team includes Rob Minkoff (Disney’s The Lion King director), Shane Morris (Disney’s Frozen co-writer), Tim Mansfield, and New York Times Bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer Elise Allen (Dinosaur Train, Lion Guard, Barbie specials) who is serving as head writer and co-creator. Genius Brands’ Chairman and CEO and multiple Emmy Award-winning producer of more than 5,000 episodes of children's programming, Andy Heyward, serves as executive producer, with legendary Disney alum Ruben Aquino creating key designs. Aquino is responsible for the design and animation of many of Disney’s most iconic characters from award-winning films including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mulan and Frozen.   

About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Genius Brands International, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNUS) is a leading global kids media company developing, producing, marketing and licensing branded children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media and retail distribution. The Company’s “content with a purpose” brand portfolio, which is led by award-winning creators and producers, includes preschool properties Rainbow Rangers for Nick Jr. and Llama Llama for Netflix; award-winning toddler brand, Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM series, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; and financial literacy and entrepreneurship series, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club. The Company’s content catalog also includes the animated series, Stan Lee's Cosmic Crusaders, created with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment. Seeing the need to provide kids and parents with a safe viewing environment that offers premium enriching and engaging programming, Genius Brands launched the Genius Brands Network – comprised of Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV, as well as an exclusive Kid Genius Cartoons Plus subscription channel on Amazon Prime. The Network channels are available in approximately 80 million U.S. households via a variety of distribution platforms, such as OTT, set-top box, internet and mobile. Through licensing agreements with category leading partners, characters from the Company’s properties also appear on a wide range of consumer products for retail. For additional information please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its patent business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1693fb6a-c233-4a78-a371-77f98b6fde6e

Released November 27, 2018