BOCA RATON, Fla., June 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GROM), Curiosity Ink Media – a prolific creator of original multiplatform family entertainment – today announced an expanded relationship with creator Dustin Ellis (Laugh on Lorp, Aloha Hoku, Babak and Friends: A First Norooz) to develop an original animated comedy feature, Heston of the Apes, that Curiosity is preparing for theatrical distribution. The film’s premise follows the misadventures of a naïve, and stubborn, chimpanzee whose life in a science lab is about to change as he prepares for space travel. Ellis and Curiosity Ink Media will oversee the writing, story development and overall direction for the film, which was penned by Ellis. The project was announced today by Russell Hicks, Chief Content Officer of Curiosity Ink Media. For investor relations information on Grom Social Enterprises, Inc., visit https://investors.gromsocial.com.
Heston of the Apes follows Heston, a confident chimpanzee torn away from his mother early in life, to be raised in a lab by a scientist who trains him to become – as he believes it – a heroic space explorer. When he’s in fact finally launched as a test subject instead, he crash-lands into an animal safari theme-park. Believing he’s arrived on Mars, the park’s ape family finds him quite irritating and arrogant, but nonetheless an accomplished and intrepid space explorer, and so they set out to help rebuild his spaceship in the hopes that all of them can finally escape the park together. Meanwhile, the scientist embarks on a mission of his own to locate Heston and bring him back to the lab. As he closes in, Heston’s new ape family must not only unite to prevent Heston's capture, but also to show him the concept of 'family' and where he truly belongs.
“Dustin Ellis has a knack for hilarious and offbeat storytelling and Heston of the Apes is a prime example of his brilliance,” explains Hicks. “As Curiosity Ink Media strives to deliver one-of-a-kind characters, situations and stories, we’ve gone completely ape over Dustin Ellis!”
Ellis began his animation career in various production roles at 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.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Curiosity Ink Media is a global media company that develops, acquires, builds, grows and maximizes the short, mid, and 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.
For Grom Social Enterprises/Curiosity Ink Media
Marianne Romano
+1-818-681-0849 or media@gromsocial.com
For Investor Relations
Colette Eymontt
TraDigital IR
+832-331-2399 or colette@tradigitalir.com
