WildBrain Polly Pocket

Inside the world of Polly Pocket: dubbing and subtitling the children’s show

About the client

WildBrain is the creative force behind some of the most beloved kids' and family brands, including Peanuts, Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget and Strawberry Shortcake. With a major animation studio in Vancouver, Canada, the media and production company’s library has amassed approximately 13,000 half-hours of content. Their shows have been broadcast on TV and streamed online in 150 countries, on over 500 platforms. Polly Pocket is another household title in their content portfolio, which they make in partnership with brand owner Mattel. The brand sparks fond memories for more than just the current generation of children, so when WildBrain approached us to produce multilingual dubs and subtitles for the series, we were eager to reconnect with our inner child and lose ourselves in the world of Polly Pocket.

The project

Services:
Dubbing, Subtitling and Graphics Localisation

Languages:
Italian, French, German, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian

VSI established a partnership with WildBrain many years ago, having localised hours of content for them under their former name of DHX Media. We also completed work on two previous seasons of Polly Pocket and were commissioned for a third. The TV show, based on the original toy, is a collaboration between Mattel Television and WildBrain studios. A young girl with a thirst for adventure and helping others, Polly owns a magic locket that can shrink her and her friends to a miniature size.

For series 3 of Polly Pocket, we produced dubbed audio, subtitles and graphics for 13 episodes into six languages, all to be viewed on multiple platforms. We also dubbed the show’s catchy songs, which had us humming along!

Our approach

The final deliverables for Polly Pocket had to be delivered within four months, so we drew up a production schedule that would ensure we’d meet the required turnaround. VSI London’s Broadcast team coordinated the large-volume, multilingual project, which brought together teams from our facilities around the world. With a global team of talented, linguistic and technical experts on board, we got to work on localising the popular children’s show.

Our dedicated project manager kept WildBrain updated with their progress, from the initial planning to the production stage. They ensured that the scripts, screeners and graphic lists were reviewed and approved by WildBrain at each step of the project, to guarantee that the localisation process was in line with the client’s views and plans. The project manager also liaised with the various creative teams in each territory on the localisation of the subtitles, dubbed audio and graphics. They played an active role in maintaining consistency in the translation across all services, and they advised the client on which graphics required translations for viewers in different territories.

Outcome

We greatly enjoyed working on series 3 of Polly Pocket and had fun partnering with WildBrain on all three seasons of this successful show. It allowed us to take a walk down memory lane and reminisce on our childhood, as well as see what new and exciting adventures the much-loved character has embarked on.

As kids around the world are enjoying these new episodes of Polly Pocket, we look forward to the opportunity to team up once again with WildBrain on their future multilingual dubbing and subtitling projects.