Alongside a deal renewal with Madame Tussauds for the lifelike Stan Lee wax figure in New York City, Panini has launched a limited-edition San Diego Comic Con card activation as a prelude to a broader collectible card line.

Elsewhere, Topps has secured a sidecar license that operates alongside Marvel’s exclusive trading card deal.

“We are executing on a focused strategy to convert Stan Lee’s extraordinary cultural equity into ongoing revenues and long-term shareholder value,” said Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO of Kartoon Studios.

“Having led programs at Marvel that generated billions of dollars in retail sales, Bob Sabouni has built a growing roster of world-class partners, adding to the Marvel film and Walt Disney theme park licenses, we have put in place. Our goal is to build a highly scalable, global consumer products business around one of the most iconic names in pop culture.”

Sabouni added: “We are working on and expect to announce another dozen licenses in various categories before year’s end. Stan Lee’s name resonates across generations and continents.

“By combining the film and theme park licensing rights – secured by Marvel and Disney – with carefully chosen brand partnerships and content deals, we can deliver authentic, high-quality products and experiences that deepen fan engagement, create meaningful new revenue streams, and ensure Stan’s rightful place as the Father of Pop Culture endures for generations to come.”

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Plans include an animated holiday movie, five holiday specials and a four year 104-episode series on Amazon Prime Video.

“Disney created an iconic and tremendously successful global brand with Winnie-the-Pooh that we have all admired so much over many decades,” said Kartoon Studios’ Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward.

“When the property went into the public domain, we knew we could only undertake creating Pooh for a new generation if we could bring a completely new, different and unique look that was contemporary, protectable, and gave voice to the characters and stories created by A.A. Milne, as has never been done.

“We are thrilled to launch with Amazon Prime Video and Alliance Entertainment to deliver unique and exceptional content, as we build out a new iteration of this entertainment brand and Winnie-the-Pooh-branded consumer products to the global marketplace.”

The Winnie-the-Pooh holiday movie will premiere on December 24th 2025 on Amazon Prime Video, through Kartoon Channel!’s subscription distribution agreement with them. This will also see the launch of the merchandise programme, distributed through Alliance Entertainment Corporation.

Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-the-Pooh animated content is being developed with a ‘yarn- based’ design informed by “the best of both AI and human creativity”.

Heyward continued: “In designing Kartoon Studios’ ‘Winnie-The-Pooh, we combined the best of both AI and human creativity to arrive at the unique look of the characters and backgrounds that could not have been imaginable prior to the advent of AI in our industry. Our use of our AI platform will enable us to bring a level of efficiency, speed-to-market and creativity to the production heretofore not possible.

“At a time when our world can be confusing for children, Pooh is an oasis of goodness, grounded in family, friendship, kindness, and love. Those are the exact values our version of Pooh will showcase as we focus on building Kartoon Studios’ Winnie-The-Pooh into a long-term global megabrand, through which the simple and comforting values A.A. Milne originally imagined, will endure forever.”

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