NEW YORK, March 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mainframe Studios, WOW! Unlimited Media’s (TSX-V: WOW / OTCQX: WOWMF) Vancouver based animation and live-action television production studio, has received impressive nominations from both the Daytime Emmy Awards and The Canadian Screen Awards for its hit YTV/ Netflix Original series ReBoot: The Guardian Code.  These major accolades come at a time of significant growth for WOW! Unlimited Media as it looks to reshape the future of the animation content landscape.

ReBoot: The Guardian Code, the first TV series to use the UnReal game engine for its animation, garnered multiple Daytime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Sound Mixing, and Outstanding Performer in a Children’s, Family Viewing or Special Class Program category for actress Hannah Vandenbygaart.  Meanwhile, The Canadian Screen Awards, which celebrates the finest in Canadian TV, film, and digital content each year, nominated the creative teams behind ReBoot: The Guardian Code in two of their categories: Michael Hefferon, Larry Raskin and Kim Dent Wilder for Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series and Michael Dowding, Steven Elford, and Marcel Williams for Best Visual Effects.  

“Being honored with nominations from these esteemed organizations alongside other top creative minds in the industry helps further our mission of creating engaging, original content that helps set a new standard in both animated and live action kids’ space,” said Michael Hefferon, President of Mainframe Studios and Executive Vice President of Wow! Unlimited Media, as well as creator and producer of ReBoot: The Guardian Code.  

Kim Dent Wilder, Executive Producer on the series and Mainframe Studio’s Senior Vice President of Production commented: “We are delighted that our work on unique and innovative programming like ReBoot: The Guardian Code, is being recognized among our peers."

ReBoot: The Guardian Code is a thrilling hybrid live-action/ CG-animated original series following the journey of four teenagers, Austin, Parker, Tamra, and Trey. On their first day at Alan Turing High, these unsuspecting teens discover they’ve been preselected to become the Next-Generation Guardians of Cyberspace with a mission to save the world – by defending it in cyberspace. With the help of VERA, ReBoot’s heroes digitize into cyberspace where they use their code-based powers to combat viruses unleashed by a merciless hacker.  Known only as ‘Sourcerer’, this devious hacker seeks to rule the world by controlling cyberspace, and it’s up to the Guardians to stop him.  The show was inspired by the original ReBoot series that premiered on Corus’ kids channel YTV in 1994 and aired until 2001.

“As a studio, we strive to raise the bar for the world of animation.  We hope to continue to identify and implement the best in animation technology to help tell our stories, just as we have with ReBoot: The Guardian Code,” said Steven Elford, Vice President of Creative Technology for Mainframe Studios. Additionally, Elford was instrumental in implementing the UnReal game engine for the series.

These nominations come during a true boom in the kids’ content and animation industry, with WOW! Unlimited Media perfectly situated at the forefront.  Established by industry luminaries Fred Seibert, founder of Frederator and producer of all-time animation hits like Adventure Time and The Fairly OddParents, and Michael Hirsh, godfather of the Canadian animation scene and founder of Nelvana and Cookie Jar, WOW! Unlimited Media combines two of the biggest animation studios (Frederator Studios and Rainmaker/ Mainframe Studios) and along with its bold vision, takes center stage in the emerging battle for animation supremacy.  The company quickly put itself on the radar with a number of high-end properties including Castlevania, a top-rated animation series on Netflix, ReBoot: The Guardian Code (Netflix), Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (with Mattel for Netflix), Bee & PuppyCat (Cartoon Hangover Select/ Verve), and Spy Kids: Mission Control (Netflix).  Currently, WOW! Unlimited Media has several major projects in the works for a number of third parties, including Amazon’s Costume Quest which was released in March 2019.

About Mainframe Studios
Mainframe Studios produced the first ever CG animated series ReBoot in 1994. The studio, along with the company’s feature division, Rainmaker Studios, has produced over 700 half hours of television and 60 + movies, working with global partners in helping to realize some of the biggest branded entertainment. Working with top global talent, the studio utilizes the latest technology in driving innovation to the creative content it produces for key broadcasters, home entertainment and interactive companies from around the world.  Based in Vancouver, Mainframe Studios is a division of WOW! Unlimited Media, a publicly traded entertainment company with offices in Toronto, Vancouver, New York and Los Angeles.  

About Wow Unlimited Media Inc.
WOW! is creating a leading next generation kids and youth entertainment business by focusing on creating top end content, and by building and partnering with the most engaging platforms. The Company's key assets include: Frederator Networks Inc., which includes the world's #1 digital animation network, Channel Frederator Network, Frederator Studios, an animation production company, as well as video-on-demand channels on digital platforms; and one of Canada's largest, multi-faceted animation production studios, Mainframe Studios, which produces animated television series and long-form animated features.

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