Multi-award winning Rastamouse is based on a world created by co-authors Michael de Souza and Genevieve Webster. Rastamouse made his first appearance in the book entitled Da Crucial Plan.
Written in rhyme and accompanied by amazingly colourful illustrations the original book was joined by additional titles, Da Bag-a Bling and Double-Crossing Diva, making a unique literary series which continues to receive wide critical acclaim.
Developed, produced and made in the UK by Three Stones for the UK’s number one preschool channel, CBeebies, it was the stop-frame animated TV series, launching in January 2011, that introduced Rastamouse magic to the wider UK and international audience.
Described as a “TV revolution” and the “biggest children’s TV launch since the Teletubbies”, Rastamouse broke all kinds of records for the children’s programming on the BBC iPlayer and has become a genuine transmedia success story proving his value as a digital brand with natural expansions into music, radio, storytelling apps and online games.
Rastamouse social media:
A strong ratings performer and now an established BBC favourite, Rastamouse not only appears online and on CBeebies radio but also makes regular live event appearances at BBC branded events and for BBC Learning initiatives.
During 2013, alongside Mr. Bloom, the Rastamouse team toured venues all across the UK performing to 150,000 people across 24 performance days. 2014 saw an expanding live presence with Rastamouse taking centre stage for the ‘CBeebies Big Band Arena Tour’ as well as a return to the Edinburgh Festival for a second weekend residency taking over the BBC’s Potter Row venue.
Early in 2015 Rastamouse made a valuable, live contribution to the BBC’s Comic Relief joining ‘Dermot’s Day of Dance’.
Conceived as a fundamental element within the show the Rastamouse music has carried the brand far and wide reaching beyond the initial target preschool audience.
Composed by the highly respected multi-instrumentalist producer Andrew Kingslow and with its “irie vibe” and retro hand made feel, Rastamouse has the coolest kids soundtrack on TV.
With a first album launched in summer 2011 the Rastamouse Company was delighted to sign a new deal with Demon Records during 2015 to relaunch and repackage the original album and to produce a second album, Best Friends, which was released March 2016.
During October 2015 Amazon’s owned Audible launched a specially recorded one-hour audio special, Rastamouse: Da Big Carnival, featuring a host of characters, and music, in a unique adventure. The launch also also saw Audible distribute 20 episodes of the For Real FM radio show across their online network.
With significant social media engagement; a strong performance via BBC Worldwide channels in South America is allowing the company to engage local agents to provide regional expansion a process that will also be mirrored in the other territories and international markets that have become early adopters of the charms of Rastamouse and his friends. With a strong trans-media performance Rastamouse has gained a measurable following and awareness in territories that have not yet been explored through traditional broadcasting.
Away from the UK’s television screens and BBC activities, Rastamouse always makes an instant impact. Whether it be trending on Twitter, appearances on ITV’s breakfast show, or bowing to pressure to make headlining live appearances such as the Glastonbury Festival in 2011, through love and respect Rastamouse and his friends will “always make a bad ting good”.
This is a strong and positive message that inspires the audience, no matter what their age, and a universal brand value that is allowing Rastamouse to develop and grow internationally with English speaking and non-English speaking audiences.
With an expanding slate of stories, assets, imagery, audio and most importantly potential to evolve further into the live arena, and into new areas such as education – via the Rocksteady Reggae School, Rastamouse is maturing into an evergreen brand.