Injecting real-life lessons into entertainment has been one of the goals of children’s animation creators, who have been observing the steadily growing need for edutainment over the last few years. Since families are co-viewing media content more than ever and 42% of parents are prioritizing educational content, children’s IPs are balancing the fun and the education to appeal both to adults and children.

This is why Nelly Jelly, a Lithuanian children’s IP, is taking a kids-first approach to offer children a fun way to learn key life lessons. By creating a character that is as relatable as is magical in the eyes of a child, the brand has produced varied content that has helped parents to propel their children’s emotional, educational, and psychological development.

Educational animation shapes growing minds

Studies suggest that animated children’s content not only molds childhood experiences but also teaches essential life skills. Children’s animation creators are basing their content around the notion—from Sesame Street teaching children how to count and CoComelon helping children to learn about letters, colors, and animal sounds to Ask the StoryBots explaining the more complex subjects like why the sky is blue.

Simona Krasauskienė, CEO of Nelly Jelly, stresses that children’s intellectual development and the way it affects their daily lives are key priorities for IPs like Nelly Jelly. By combining the educational and the fun in equal measure, the brand has come up with a formula appealing to both grown-ups and children.

“Preschoolers often seek answers to a multitude of why, how, and what questions to understand the way the world works—the relentless efforts their parents put into work, the potential consequences of neglecting hygiene, and the origins of beloved mythical creatures like the tooth fairy,” Krasauskienė says. “Our mission, as a kids-centric IP, is to equip parents with effective tools for engaging their children in meaningful conversations about these questions. We prioritize the creation of educational children’s content to captivate young minds and facilitate constructive dialogue between parents and their curious little ones.

Nelly Jelly, which has rapidly become a household name, is turning the imaginary adventures of a 5-year-old girl and The Mess Mess Gnome, pets Choo Choo and The Pirate, and friendly monsters Onster and Ponster as her companions into learning opportunities for children up to seven years old. Whether it is a story about overcoming laziness and finding the fun in daily chores or a tale about fostering healthy communication between the parents and the children and helping the adults see the world through a child’s eyes, the character learns something about the surrounding world in all of her feats.

For instance, Nelly Jelly and the Big Dark book, which has received nationwide recognition from the target audience, teaches children how to tame the dark and use fear to their advantage. Nelly Jelly is afraid of the dark like many children around her age. However, through creative determination, the girl goes on a journey to tackle her fear once and for all. The story encourages children to overcome their fears and bravely go into the world, as well as use the tools at hand—imagination, ingenuity, and support of the family—to deal with daily challenges.

Other stories stimulate both social and emotional development: Nelly Jelly and the Mess Mess Gnome teaches how to be tidy, Nelly Jelly and the Terrible Injustice helps children to deal with jealousy, and Nelly Jelly and the Runaway Ears encourages a closer relationship with the parents.

Edutainment spread out across platforms

Although the behind-the-scenes of children’s content involves different talents, Nelly Jelly focuses on collaborating with professionals who have qualifications in children’s development, Greta Stankutė, the brand development manager, says.

“We are prioritizing children’s needs and work closely with psychologists and educators to offer an angle that is both captivating and also has a real educational value,” Stankutė adds. “That said, educational content needs to be wrapped up in entertaining imagery and vivid storytelling to retain children’s attention and ensure the message gets through to them.”

Given that children have a number of platforms at their disposal on a daily basis, Nelly Jelly uses multiple media to allow children with different learning capabilities easy access to a multiplatform educational content: books, a YouTube channel, a recent blockbuster movie Nelly Jelly: My Movie, theatre productions, a musical, and even a range of consumer products.

Just now, the brand has moved onto another platform—a consumer loyalty program with a national retailer that promotes emotional intelligence and educates children on how to acknowledge all of their feelings. Since the pandemic has affected the way people, and especially children, deal with their feelings, the campaign offers children the chance to address the issue with the help of their favorite characters like Nelly Jelly, The Mess Mess Gnome, or the monsters Onster and Ponster in the form of a sticker or a plush pillow.

Following the kids-centric approach to animation, Nelly Jelly is now expanding into international markets and is actively searching for partners—international broadcasters and publishers—to collaborate on animated series based on the books of the Nelly Jelly universe. The brand has recently partnered with Caravanserai Partners, a licensing company in Spain, to expand its licensing program in the Iberian Peninsula territories.