Toronto, Canada (September 25, 2023) – Sinking Ship Entertainment (SSE) announced today it has inked a deal with educational toy company Safari Ltd® for a new plush toy based on the CG rendered chimpanzee character Greybeard from the highly anticipated series JANE which released earlier this year and is currently streaming on Apple TV+. Produced in association with the Jane Goodall Institute, the live-action/CG-hybrid kids and family series follows nine-year old Jane Garcia as she embarks on fantastical adventures with her friends to help save wild animals around the world.

In the tv series, Greybeard is both Jane’s stuffy toy and imaginary friend and chimpanzee, offering comedic relief and companionship. Safari Ltd will be developing a variety of sizes of plush, based on the character, aiming to be on retail shelves in 2024.

“Safari Ltd. is a trusted partner and industry leader, whose values align with the mission of our series” adds Kate Sanagan, Head of Sales and Distribution. “We are thrilled to bring Greybeard to life and bring the magic of Jane into the arms of our audience.”

Jane, the series, was recently nominated for the prestigious Television Critics Association Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming, and nominated for three Directors Guild of Canada Awards. In April 2023, Apple TV+ and SSE launched the museum exhibit based on Jane, Jane’s Endangered Animal Experience, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, produced in partnership with Flying Fish Exhibits. Jane’s Endangered Animal Guide the book, released this June with Mango Publishing.

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About Sinking Ship Entertainment

Named as the number one Kids’ Entertainment Production Company on Kidscreen’s Hot50 list in 2020, Sinking Ship Entertainment is a globally renowned and industry leading Production, Distribution, VFX and Interactive studio specializing in children’s and family content. Since its founding in 2004, Sinking Ship has won 25 Daytime and Children’s and Family Emmy® awards, including series wins for Ghostwriter (Apple TV+), Dino Dan: Trek’s Adventures (Nickelodeon), Odd Squad (PBS KIDS), and Giver (ION) and was named the Most Innovative Producer at the 2021 Banff World Media Festival. With a global reputation for quality, groundbreaking original series and companion interactive and live experiences, Sinking Ship has produced more than 24 series and distributed to more than 200 countries across the world. 2023 has seen the launch of the anticipated series Jane, co-produced with the Jane Goodall Institute (Apple TV+), their first fully 3D animated series Builder Brothers Dream Factory, in partnership with Scott Brothers Entertainment (Corus Entertainment), and production of their first family series Beyond Black Beauty (Amazon Freevee). The company is currently in production on Dino Dex (Prime Video, Amazon Kids+, TVOkids), the third series of its hit dinosaur franchise. For more information visit our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Safari Ltd.

Since 1982, Safari Ltd. has been on a mission to manufacture toys that educate children about the importance of nature and its conservation through the joy of play. For these past 35 years, Safari Ltd. has fostered curiosity and imagination in children around the world. Safari Ltd. highly values the artistic process behind their unique toys. Their sculptors and artists meticulously research every animal’s anatomy prior to creating a lifelike model. Each product is then manufactured and delicately painted. No two Safari Ltd® figures are exactly alike, each enjoys its own unique artistic touches! Safari Ltd. has earned accolades from educators, families, parents, writers, therapists and industry leaders who all agree that Safari Ltd.’s toys strengthen developmental skills and ignite imaginative play!

About Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global community conservation organization founded in 1977 by Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, world renowned ethologist and conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace. JGI advances her lifelong work, inspiring hope through the collective power of individual action.

Aligned with local communities worldwide, JGI makes a difference through community-centred conservation and the innovative use of science and technology. Every conservation effort is tailored to the needs of local people, in harmony with local biodiversity. The result: projects that empower all involved to work together to conserve the natural world we share, which in turn improves the lives of animals, people, and our shared environment.

As JGI fights to protect the present, the youth of JGI’s “Roots & Shoots” program work to protect the future. This environmental and humanitarian program empowers young people of all ages worldwide to become compassionate citizens, gain skills, and implement positive change in their local communities through projects that benefit people, animals, and the environment.

Through this multi-layered approach, all those who are a part of JGI share Dr. Goodall’s key tenets of connectedness, which in turn shows the power behind her words “everyone can make a difference.