Netflix and Activision Blizzard Studios have partnered up to bring Australian kids a new TV show, Skylanders Academy.

Activision Blizzard, the video game industry giant which moved into film and TV production last year, is partnering with Netflix on a new kids show, Skylanders Academy.

The two season Netflix partnership is another large step for Activision Blizzard in using its IP to broaden its creative reach and appeal.

The Skylanders ‘toys-to-life’ video game series began in 2011, and has since sold over 250 million toys.

Another recent foray into film by Activision Blizzard is this year’s Warcraft movie, also based off a popular video game series, which has been critically canned (a 31% Rotten Tomatoes score) but is still performing well at the box office internationally.

Skylanders Academy, beginning in spring this year, is one of five new kids offerings from Netflix which re-hash existing stories, the other four being popular books Llama Llama and Hilda, and movie franchises Spy Kids: Mission Critical, and Spirit Riding Free.

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“At Netflix, we invest in stories that our members will love and cherish,” says Andy Yeatman, director of global kids content for Netflix. “This passion for discovering great storytelling extends to what we offer our youngest members, and we’re excited today to announce a lineup of original shows that will bring a number of well-known and beloved characters to kids and families around the globe.”

“Over the last five years, millions of families around the world have welcomed Skylanders characters into their homes. Now, they’ll be able to watch their favourite characters come to life on Netflix,” said Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard. “We couldn’t have found a better home for Skylanders Academy and look forward to sharing our extraordinary characters with Netflix audiences around the world.”

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