NEWS
“Blippi” wraps Singapore shoot; Moonbug Entertainment, Mediacorp count down to mid-2025 premiere of first Asian original
19 May 2025
On a typically sweltering Sunday morning in May, young Blippi fans swarmed the Hoods Inc Productions studio in Singapore for a live-action Blippi moment. The excitement was all about high-energy host Clayton Grimm, who was filming the final clips of a two-week shoot that had taken the Moonbug Entertainment production team up, down and across the island for the first local version of the pre-school educational series.
On his first production trip to Singapore, Moonbug Entertainment’s L.A.-based director of production, Thomas Smeltzer, has by this Sunday pretty much closed his risk register and laid to rest his fears of all the things that could have gone wrong – filming overseas, working with a new production company, using a whole new crew... “If I’m being honest, that was my biggest concern,” he says.
The Singapore team filmed 20 episodes in two weeks, approx two episodes a day. Smeltzer says this is the first time 20 episodes of "Blippi" have been shot in a straight span of two weeks.
“That’s a lot of content not only to capture, but for the talent to memorise and have the energy to voice... When you are behind the camera, if you’re not feeling well, you can hide, but talent, if they’re not feeling well or have a raspy voice, it affects the product,” Smeltzer says.
“The fact that we were able to shoot 20 episodes within two weeks with a new production company...” He pauses. “Even the weather seemed to be on our side. It did rain, but it rained when we were indoors and when we were outdoors, it held off. Everything kind of fell into place. We definitely could have experienced much worse”.
Post production is being done in Singapore, with creative overseen by L.A. “The heavy lifting will be done in Singapore,” Smeltzer says.
The series, scheduled for release on Singapore National Day (9 August), was announced in December 2024 as the first original production by Singapore’s Mediacorp and global kids specialist, Moonbug Entertain...
On a typically sweltering Sunday morning in May, young Blippi fans swarmed the Hoods Inc Productions studio in Singapore for a live-action Blippi moment. The excitement was all about high-energy host Clayton Grimm, who was filming the final clips of a two-week shoot that had taken the Moonbug Entertainment production team up, down and across the island for the first local version of the pre-school educational series.
On his first production trip to Singapore, Moonbug Entertainment’s L.A.-based director of production, Thomas Smeltzer, has by this Sunday pretty much closed his risk register and laid to rest his fears of all the things that could have gone wrong – filming overseas, working with a new production company, using a whole new crew... “If I’m being honest, that was my biggest concern,” he says.
The Singapore team filmed 20 episodes in two weeks, approx two episodes a day. Smeltzer says this is the first time 20 episodes of "Blippi" have been shot in a straight span of two weeks.
“That’s a lot of content not only to capture, but for the talent to memorise and have the energy to voice... When you are behind the camera, if you’re not feeling well, you can hide, but talent, if they’re not feeling well or have a raspy voice, it affects the product,” Smeltzer says.
“The fact that we were able to shoot 20 episodes within two weeks with a new production company...” He pauses. “Even the weather seemed to be on our side. It did rain, but it rained when we were indoors and when we were outdoors, it held off. Everything kind of fell into place. We definitely could have experienced much worse”.
Post production is being done in Singapore, with creative overseen by L.A. “The heavy lifting will be done in Singapore,” Smeltzer says.
The series, scheduled for release on Singapore National Day (9 August), was announced in December 2024 as the first original production by Singapore’s Mediacorp and global kids specialist, Moonbug Entertainment.
Like they have at attractions such as Clymb in Abu Dhabi, the San Diego Zoo in California and The Pet Zoo in Brazil, the promise in Singapore was to take “young viewers on learning adventures... while exploring the sights and sounds of the city-state”.
The Singapore locations chosen for the 20 x 11-mins local series include the Mandai Zoo, Singapore Science Center and Jewel Changi.
The decision to land in Singapore was supported by a content deal Mediacorp signed with Moonbug Entertainment in May 2023 for close to 80 hours of children’s programming.
For Moonbug Entertainment’s APAC head of distribution and brand partnerships, Yasmin Zahid, "Blippi Singapore" is part of broad development plans across the region, including branded linear channels and podcasts.
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