Dustin Ellis to Develop and Co-produce Original Kids and Family Fare
Partnership Commences with Animated Series Laugh on Lorp and Aloha Hoku
Boca Raton, FL – March 31, 2022 – Grom Social Enterprises, Inc’s (NASDAQ: GROM) Hollywood-based original storytelling division, Curiosity Ink Media, today announced that it has enlisted the diverse writing and producing talents of animation veteran Dustin Ellis (Mixed Nutz, Babak and Friends: A First Norooz) to further the company’s expanding roster of original franchise properties. Ellis will commence his duties by working on two original animated series recently unveiled by Curiosity: Aloha Hoku and Laugh on Lorp (working title). The appointment of Ellis was made today by Russell Hicks, Chief Content Officer of Curiosity Ink Media.
Ellis will oversee writing and development for select original story-telling IP (intellectual property) for Curiosity, which is dedicated to the creation and development of premium kids and family entertainment. Founded in 2017 by former long-time Nickelodeon executive, Russell Hicks, celebrated advertising executive Brent Watts and toy/marketing/production executive, Jared Wolfson, Curiosity aims to serve content-starved programmers around the globe with premium, multiplatform content expressed through theatrical distribution, TV series for linear and streaming programming providers, as well as publishing and licensing. Grom acquired a majority stake in Curiosity Ink Media in 2021.
“Dustin brings a unique understanding of animated storytelling, and we are in awe of his considerable talents,” explains Hicks. “Partnering with Dustin on Aloha Hoku, a gentle animated series about a young girl who blends Hawaii’s stunning beauty with positive messaging through song, and Laugh on Lorp, which follows a junior high student abducted by aliens who think he’s Oprah Winfrey, should give everyone a good idea of his considerable range. From all of us at Curiosity and Grom, welcome, Dustin!”
Ellis, along with actor/comedian Maz Jobrani, serve asco-creators of Laugh on Lorp, an animated sitcom centered on an aspiring teenage comic who is mistakenly abducted by aliens who believe he is Oprah Winfrey. Ellis reunites with Jobrani after an earlier collaboration on the PBS multicultural animated series, Mixed Nutz, which Ellis wrote, directed and co-produced. He also co-created and developed Curiosity’s new animated preschool musical series Aloha Hoku, with Jody Kamisato and Honoka Katayama, based on YouTube sensation Katayama’s celebrated blend of ukulele music.
Ellis began his career as an animation writer/producer for Warner Bros. Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Universal Cartoons. In 2005, he and his wife wrote and produced the direct-to-DVD cartoon, Babak and Friends: A First Norooz, a special about the Persian holiday similar in format to A Charlie Brown Christmas. The ground-breaking show starred several well-known Persian actors, including Shoreh Agdashloo and Catherine Bell, and sold over 20,000 copies in limited distribution. Critically acclaimed and covered extensively by the media, the special was screened at the British Museum in London and Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution. As a result of the positive reception for A First Norooz, Ellis spun-off the characters into the series Mixed Nutz, featuring a multi-cultural cast of children learning about each other. The series was a labor of love for Ellis, who is from a multi-cultural background, with an Iranian Muslim mother, an American Christian father and an Iranian Jewish wife.
Ellis is also co-founder of Cross Cultural Expressions, a non-profit organization whose goals are to promote cultural understanding and dialog through therapy, education and the arts. The group works closely with immigrants, refugees and underserved minority populations, such as the Iranian LGBTQ+ community, children and the elderly.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Curiosity Ink Media is a global media company that develops, acquires, builds, grows and maximizes the short, mid & long-term commercial potential of Kids & Family entertainment properties and associated business opportunities. Driven by a best-in-class leadership team, Curiosity Ink Media’s multi-faceted I.P. library is designed to amass ongoing value through strategic stewardship, partnerships and highly targeted market entry.
About Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.
Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is a growing social media platform and original content provider of entertainment for children under 13 years of age, which provides safe and secure digital environments for kids that can be monitored by their parents or guardians. The Company has several operating subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which delivers its content through mobile and desktop environments (web portal and apps) that entertain children, let them interact with friends, access relevant news, and play proprietary games while teaching them about being good digital citizens. The Company owns and operates Top Draw Animation, which produces award-winning animation content for some of the largest international media companies in the world. Grom also includes Grom Educational Services, which has provided web filtering services for K-12 schools, government and private businesses. For more information, please visit gromsocial.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements, which may constitute “forward-looking statements.”. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Grom and members of its management team as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed throughout the Company’s reports filed with Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at www.sec.gov as well as the Company’s web site at www.gromsocial.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
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For Grom Social Enterprises/Curiosity Ink Media
Marianne Romano
+1-818-681-0849
Romanomarianne@me.com
For Investor Relations
John McNamara
TraDigital IR
+1-917-658-2602
john@tradigitalir.com
