Genius Brands International Teams With Disney's Lion King Director Rob Minkoff and Frozen Co-Writer Shane Morris on Preschool Adventure Series, "Rainbow Rangers"

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Global Retail Program Based on the CGI Animated Series in Development

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/21/16 -- Global brand management company Genius Brands International, Inc. ("GBI") (OTCQB: GNUS) is partnering with Rob Minkoff, Director of Disney's Lion King, and Shane Morris, co-writer of Frozen, on the development and production of a new animated preschool series, "Rainbow Rangers." The announcement was made today by Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO, GBI.

Featuring CGI animation, the creative team is in development on 52 x 11' episodes of "Rainbow Rangers." Minkoff will produce the series with Morris serving as producer and head writer along with his partner Tim Mansfield. Key series designs were created by Brittany Myers and Ruben Aquino, who was a supervising animator on many of the major Disney characters from Little Mermaid through to Frozen. Emmy Award-winning producer Andy Heyward will executive produce. GBI anticipates premiering a "Rainbow Rangers" special in fall 2017 with a full series launch in spring 2018. Additionally, the company is concurrently in development on a global licensing, merchandising and retail program to coincide with the series launch.

"Rainbow Rangers" follows the adventures of seven unique magical girls from the other side of the rainbow who serve as Earth's guardian to protect it from a wicked villain through teamwork, bravery, creativity and compassion.

"We are absolutely ecstatic to be working in collaboration with Rob, Shane, Tim and Ruben on developing this joyous, empowering adventure for little girls," said GBI's Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. "The creative genius being poured into this original and powerful property is already attracting incredible interest from all sectors of the industry."

"Rainbow Rangers' is an exciting premise with fantastic characters and an incredible world," added Morris. "It's also inspirational. It's about the amazing power and strength of these seven magical girls. I truly enjoy writing stories that demonstrate girls can do anything, and when girls work together, well, anything is possible."

"With two young children at home, I've been exposed to a lot of TV animation lately and felt it was time to jump in with both feet," explained Minkoff. "Paw Patrol' and 'Octonauts' are two of my son's favorites. But my youngest is a girl, and I want her to have something that focuses on mission-based stories. So the appeal of a team of young girls protecting the planet is a bullseye and couldn't be more timely. 'Rainbow Rangers' is truly an incredible opportunity, and I'm very pleased to be working with GBI's creative team."

"We are very eager to debut the concept to potential media, licensing, and promotional partners at this year's MIP Junior," said Stone Newman, who was recently promoted to GBI's President of Global Consumer Products, Worldwide Content Sales & Marketing. "Our schedule is already fully booked, and we have no doubt 'Rainbow Rangers' will be a huge hit for us at the market."

About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands International, Inc. "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia content. Led by award-winning creators and producers, the company distributes its content worldwide in all formats, as well as a broad range of consumer products based on its characters. In the children's media sector, GBI's portfolio features "content with a purpose" for toddlers to tweens, which provides enrichment as well as entertainment, including tween music-driven brand SpacePOP; preschool property Llama Llama debuting on Netflix and starring the voice talent of Jennifer Garner; award-winning Baby Genius, re-launched with new entertainment and over 40 new products; adventure comedy Thomas Edison's Secret Lab®, available on Netflix, public broadcast stations and GBI's Kid Genius channel on Comcast's Xfinity on Demand; Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, created with and starring iconic investor Warren Buffett. The company is also co-producing an all-new adult animated series, Stan Lee'sCosmic Crusaders, with Lee's Pow! Entertainment and The Hollywood Reporter. Additionall, under GBI's wholly owned subsidiary, A Squared Entertainment, the company represents third-party properties, including From Frank, a humor greeting card and product line, and Celessence Technologies, the world's leading micro encapsulation company, across a broad range of categories in territories around the world. For additional information please visit www.gnusbrands.com.

Forward Looking Statements:
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.

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Source: Genius Brands International, Inc.

Released September 21, 2016