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44 September 2011
SeaWorld splashes
into kids content
SeaWorld, the brand wrapped around 10 marine-themed amusement parks across
the US, has taken its fi rst steps into the kids entertainment biz with its newly formed
SeaWorld Pictures division. Family entertainment and marketing vet Scott Helmstedter,
tapped as chief creative offi cer, says the division is an expansion initiative
of SeaWorld’s new parent company, venture capital fi rm Blackstone.
“The company has new goals and a new vision to take our message, our brand and our
content outside of the parks,” says Helmstedter.
Prior to joining SeaWorld, Helmstedter co-founded and served as president of L.A.-based
In Motion Entertainment, where he developed and produced projects for Disney, Universal,
Sony, MTV, Fox and ABC, and consulted on the production of several SeaWorld live shows.
The division launched this spring with the release of Turtle: The Incredible Journey, Sea-
World’s fi rst feature fi lm for the North American market. The fi lm follows the migration of a
loggerhead turtle from hatching to maturity, and its return to its nesting grounds—a perfect
fi t with the division’s mandate to produce content about connecting and caring for the natural
world. (The limited US release to 24 theaters in late June, earned US$2,891 per location
on its opening weekend, according to online boxoffi ce database, Box Offi ce Mojo.)
Helmstedter says the company is also exploring TV and animated content, which will
be produced within their own divisions. At press time, he couldn’t give details on the yetto-be-named
divisions or their development slates, but says there are several projects in the
pipeline in-house and with partners that will be announced in coming months. Beyond that,
he says the company is very focused on the kids space and will be on the hunt for new liveaction
and animated projects at MIPCOM next month and Kidscreen Summit 2012.
Additionally, Helmstedter says SeaWorld has plans to expand its currently modest
consumer products program and further leverage its library of music and the more than
30,000 hours of fi lm footage amassed since the fi rst park opened in 1964. It depicts rescues,
conservation activities and SeaWorld’s menagerie of animals. –Kate Calder