Mattel and Tongal team for 70th anniversary of Thomas and Friends

Mattel has joined forces with Tongal - the creative content platform, to celebrate 70th anniversary of its popular brand Thomas and Friends. As a part of this collaboration, Tongal will create a 30-minute documentary to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Thomas and Friends in 2015 and depicts its rich history, current success and future. Titled Thomas and Friends: 70 Years of Friendship, the documentary premiered on YouTube on July 14 and is the first long-form content available on the Thomas and Friends YouTube channel. Moreover Tongal will also create video content for Mattel’s other popular brands American Girl, Barbie and Hot Wheels. All of the new content is scheduled to debut on each brand’s respective YouTube channel throughout 2015. The partnership is part of Mattel’s plans to create and deliver content beyond the toy aisle.  Additional productions across other Mattel brands include American Girl series of short fims, Barbie with a roster of music videos, Hot Wheels series of YouTube exclusive videos and Monster High, with a three to five minute live-action film. According to Sid Mathur, Senior Vice President, Strategic Development, Mattel, “In collaborating with Tongal, we’re finding new ways to create and deliver engaging content that take brands like American Girl, Barbie and Hot Wheels beyond the toy aisle to computer and mobile screen and showcase fans’ passion for their favourite childhood brands.” “Working with Tongal, we have been able to tap into a new pool of content creators that expand and diversify the kinds of content we can offer to fans.” James Dejulio, Co-founder, President and Chief Creative Officer of Tongal, added, “Mattel has an amazing portfolio of iconic brands, and we’re confident that our passionate group of independent filmmakers will bring these classic characters to life in fresh and exciting ways for the next generation of fans.”