INTERVIEW. On your TV on 10/10 at 10:10: Ben 10 supervising producer Will Patrick talks about the making of the brand-new Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie coming to Cartoon Network on 10 October 2020.

by Thinus Ferreira

It's so easy to remember: 10/10 at 10:10 - Tomorrow, on Saturday, 10 October 2020 at exactly 10 minutes past 10, the brand-new Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie will premiere on the Cartoon Network (DStv 301) and I got the scoop in a sit-down interview straight from Will Patrick, the supervising producer.

The new Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie features new characters, settings and powers for Ben in his most epic adventure yet - the first movie for the new iteration of Ben 10 that made its worldwide debut in 2016.

Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie features around a "blast from Ben's past" returning to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Grandpa Max team up to help protect the world in Ben’s absence. But when the boy hero is confused for the villain in space, Ben must figure out a way to get back to Earth to help save it.

I spoke to Will Patrick, the supervising producer of Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie, as well as of the series about the new film. 

How is Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie different than the series and also the same?

Will Patrick: We wanted to raise the stakes more. 

We wanted to bring back some things from the older series that new viewers will enjoy and that older fans will remember, as callbacks, but the writing process for the film really comprised the full crew and the entire storyboard team of the series worked on the movie and they all brought their own ideas and interaction of course for the initial structure and outline of the movie. 

So as far as the process went there were a lot of people involved. We played around with a lot of different kinds of ideas. We wanted it to be distinct but we also wanted to keep it fun like the show but still elevate the stakes and make it feel a bit more important than just another adventure for Ben.

Ben is in a sense removed from the other characters for a while in the film. Is that to bring out story or character development for Ben first, and you also took him much further away spatially than what happens "regularly" to him. Why was it important to almost separate the characters?

Will Patrick: We wanted to raise the stakes and Ben's comfort zone is his family - that's really where his strength comes from.

Ben doesn't always realise that necessarily until he is separated from Gwen and his grandpa. To really, really chase Ben up a tree a little bit, separating him from his family a bit really raises the stakes definitely.

With the world in a Covid-19 pandemic and countries in different states of lockdown, how has impacted the production of the film? I would think that animation would be impacted less because the animation and voice recording can happen separately but how did Covid influence the making of the movie?

Will Patrick: Most of the writing and storyboarding were finished before the lockdown happened, so it didn't impact the movie too much but we did do all of the editing and sound mixing during quarantine.

It didn't impact the movie too much but towards the end with the editing process we had to figure out how editing work and mixing works when I'm home with my personal computer and on my headphones. That was a little tricky.

How difficult is it to come up with new and creative ideas in terms of spacesuits and characters and creatures for Ben's environment and to put the character in or does it write itself? How long do you guys have to think out new situations and how his transformations will impact those circumstances?

Will Patrick: As far as design goes a lot of that comes from the art director.

I mean, designing space suits is the fun part. He was having a blast with that! That's one of his most favourite things to do - designing space ships and different kinds of aliens.

The trailer had 1.5 million views on YouTube so there's obviously such an ongoing strong audience for this character and his stories. People watch it for the entertainment value but what is maybe one or some of the underlying messages you try to convey?

Will Patrick: It really is an emphasis on the importance of family coming together to defeat a strong opponent. It's really about having fun and triumphing over aliens. 

How does working on a movie compare to a season of episodes? How much longer does it take to make a movie like this compared to an episode and how is the production process of such a "stand-alone" project different?

Will Patrick: With a stand-alone episode we usually have a single storyboard team working on each episode.

They receive an outline, it's only 2 people so they put their heads together and really make it their own and really put their own spin on it. 

With the movie it's 5 board teams all working together, so it's a lot more coordination between them, it takes a lot more time. 

We broke it up into sections, so that each board team has sections and it's a lot of talking to each other about making things flow together, setting things up and paying them off later. It's a lot more of a balancing act with a movie.

Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie is broadcast on Saturday 10 October 2020 on Cartoon Network (DStv 301) at 10:10 with repeats over the coming months.

Ben 10 goes Kevin 11 as Cartoon Network renews animation series reboot for a 4th season in 2020.

Cartoon Network (DStv 301) has renewed the reboot of Ben 10 for a 4th season that will be broadcast in 2020.

Ben 10 follows Ben Tennyson who found a mysterious Omnitrix that opened up a world of alien superpowers to him.

Ben 10 is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and is created and executive produced by Man of Action Entertainment, with John Fang serving as executive producer.

The 4th season of Ben 10 will see Ben, his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max venturing to some of the world's most popular destinations including Italy, Japan and Mexico. 

It will also feature new alien transformations as well as action-packed battles with villains. Ben will also discover a special key that upgrades his beloved Omnitrix to add "Omni-Kix" armour enhancements to his aliens so he can power up during the action.

Ben 10 is currently in its third season, with new episodes being broadcast across Africa and the rest of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. 

The 3rd season of Ben 10 will start in the United States and Latin America in February and Asia Pacific in March. The new episodes will feature new aliens, vehicles and villains, including a new character named Kevin 11, who serves as Ben's 11-year-old nemesis. 

Kevin 11 developed the Anti-trix, a custom version of Ben's Omnitrix which he can activate to produce alternative versions of Ben's heroic aliens.

TNT going HD, Ben 10 sold to SABC, Showmax getting content from [adult swim], as Turner holds its first-ever Turner Upfront Africa event.

At Turner's first-ever Turner Upfront Africa event held on Tuesday in Johannesburg, Turner made several announcements and a programming slate, as well as new local partnerships, a pop-up channel coming for 2019 and that TNT (DStv 137) will be upgraded to a high definition channel.

At the Turner Africa Upfront held at The Galleria in Sandton, Turner announced that the TNT channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform will soon be switched to high definition (HD).

It comes after MultiChoice and Turner replaced the outdated TCM that had little relevance to African audiences in mid-September with TNT. The channel's viewership since September to October jumped by 45%.

Content from Turner's Cartoon Network and Boomerang linear TV channels will also be available from today on an on-demand basis on Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) video streaming service, Showmax run by MultiChoice.

In a new distribution deal with Showmax, Turner is also making content from its [adult swim] animation channel available to a millennial audience on Showmax from mid-November. 

[adult swim], one of Turner's TV channels overseas,offers a mix of animation, stop motion and live-action comedy that will be available on Showmax.

Plans are also underway to produce original digital productions to further localise Turner's online platforms. "We are currently in discussions to produce an exclusive local version of our YouTuber, Toony, for our African digital platforms," says Julien Borde, the head of Channels for Africa at Turner.

In a deal with the South African public broadcaster, the animation series Ben 10 will be broadcast on the SABC. It will also help Turner to bring its kids content to South African and African viewers in vernacular languages.

Following the first season Ben 10 premiere in July, Turner will rebroadcast the first season on SABC2 in Afrikaans and on SABC1 in SiSwati before the end of this year.

"Partnering with the SABC reflects our strategy to expand our brands' presence in South Africa," says Guillaume Coffin, the vice-president head of sales and business development at Turner for the Africa region.

"We are thrilled to bring Ben 10 to new fans and audiences across more screens and in new languages. Turner is dedicated to a localisation strategy that adapts to the cultural differences of its African markets," he says, adding that "this effort has helped Turner address the gap in locally-relevant content, drive programming that resonates with African audiences, and boost brand value across the continent".

Turner is also working on a Super Hero HQ animation pop-up channel that will run in MultiChoice's DStv in 2019.

Then Turner also plans to debut Mike and Rob on Cartoon Network in 2019, a new animation series about two witty microbes making jokes with local comedian Trevor Gumbi supplying a localised voice-over.

"As Turner, our audience needs are becoming more pertinent and we're constant challenging ourselves to be more innovative and creative in our offering to keep attracting and entertaining our loyal fan base on-air, online and for real," says Jaime Ondarza, the senior vice-president for Turner Southern Europe & Africa and CEO of Boing SpA.

"We are benefiting from high awareness and a great level of brand recognition with our brands in Africa."

"CNN International is widely known to be the most trusted source for news and information on the continent while our kids' channels, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, have been leading and gaining market share within the pay-TV kids industry for almost 4 years now."

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Do everything turn, turn, turn: Turner's first-ever (and colourful) Turner Upfront Africa dazzles with a rotary, turntable stage.

Ben's 10 again: Turner Africa's Cartoon Network on DStv debuts the brand-new Ben 10 series in South Africa and across Africa 6 months before America.

There's only two animated, forever 10-year olds and while yellow Bart Simpson will arguably always be the funnier one, Ben Tennyson who is getting a reset in a whole new series of Ben 10 starting on Cartoon Network (DStv 301) from today at 17:05, will always be the one having the bigger adventures.

As a worldwide animation hit with kids and their parents, the rebooted Ben 10 will kick off today - on 10 10 2016 - exactly 10 years after the Emmy Award winning series started on Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network.

The show that went on to spawn not just various alien creatures from Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix, but 4 follow-up series as well as animation and live action series, grew a cult following with the term "Ben 10" in South Africa even coming to denote a romantic entanglement between a woman with a much younger man.

The moniker is indicative of how Ben 10 not just became an entrenched viewer phenomenon outside of America but of how deeply it infused itself over the past decade into the pop culture zeitgeist - especially in South Africa.

That viewer fevour is part of the reason that Cartoon Network decided to roll out the reset Ben 10 in specifically South Africa and other countries months before the new animated series will start in the United States in April 2017.

In the new Ben 10 produced by Cartoon Network Studios, Ben Tennyson - slightly updated but all the original fun intact - is back to the 10 year old boy who can transform into various alien creatures aided by his Omnitrix to not only save Earth but the universe.

"We have an unrivaled joy and passionate love for animation," says Colman Murray who was just appointed as Turner's business development director for Turner Africa - the first African-based appointment for Turner Africa where Turner Broadcasting runs channels like Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Boing among others.

"Ben 10 along with our other superstars, The Powerpuff Girls, are all superstars in their own right. And they're squeaky clean and they love Cartoon Network."

"Ben 10 is a global phenomenon," says Colman Murray. Since its launch in 2006, Ben 10 has been a top-grossing franchise for the Cartoon Network as viewers bought toys, DVDs and video games.

"Ben 10 is also the most downloaded Cartoon Network app, generating 283 million plays in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region alone and 400 million page views."

Ben 10 has been seen in 170 countries in 30 languages, reaching over 312 million homes worldwide.

"Such is Cartoon Network's commitment to South Africa, that we're launching Ben 10 on DStv six months ahead of the United States," says Colman Murray.

"The 10-year old Ben Tennyson discovers an amazing alien watch called the Omnitrix. He's on holiday with his grandfather Max when he gets this awesome device that gives Ben the ability to transform into any of 10 spectacular and powerful aliens."

"With this watch he can control time, he can control water, he can change his size, he can become extendable like chewing gum. This watch fundamentally changes Ben's life from being a normal 10-year old dealing with bad guys to a lot of opportunities," says Colman Murray.

"In the new Ben 10 starting on Monday on Cartoon Network at 17:05, the re-imagined Ben returns to the 10-year old where the story started, travelling the country with his grandpa Max and cousin Gwen."

"Ben finds the Omnitrix and a world of extra-terrestrial superpowers open up to him. And this mysterious watch transforms him into 10 different aliens."

"We are seriously excited at Cartoon Network about this new series," says Colman Murray.

"Kids will meet a more modern, relatable Ben 10. Ben 10 is relateable because everyone wants to be and can be a hero in their own right - but only if they believe in themselves".

"Ben's character is timeless, so we felt the time was right to bring him back. Our South African audience can now look forward to brand-new episodes with a brand-new look and feel. With this new series there's action and comedy content aimed at the core audience of 6 to 7-year olds."

"One young South African fan had the following comment about Ben 10: Other superheroes are born with powers. But Ben 10 is like us, he's like me. I really want to be his friend," says Colman Murray.

Cartoon Network reboots Ben 10; reboot series starting 10 October with Ben 10 back as a 10-year old boy - a decade after the hit show first started.

After starting Ben 10 in 2006, then growing him up in subsequent series and even doing movies and live-action films with the aged character, the Cartoon Network (DStv 301) is spinning the Omnitrix back 10 years to a time when Ben 10 was, well 10.

On 10 October (then 10th of the 10th month, get it?) Cartoon Network is rolling out the new-old, back-to-10 Ben 10 with the rebooted new Ben 10 series.

On 10 October Ben 10 will start on the Cartoon Network in South Africa and Africa, starting at 17:05 - months before it will be broadcast in America from April 2017.

The newly rebooted Ben 10 is a complete reinvention for a new generation of kids, with new episodes of the original character.

In the decade since it started, the hugely successful show that won 3 Emmys has spawned its own social moniker where a "Ben 10" has come to refer to a relationship between a woman with a much younger man.

While the world has moved on and seen things like the interactive Pokemon GO, it's the imaginative Ben 10 world where the character transforms into various alien creatures to save the universe that still captures the imagination of young viewers.  

"Our African audience last saw 10-year old Ben Tennyson on 2006 and we decided to transition him back to the age of a goofy, unconventional kid-hero to target a brand-new audience," says Tramm Wigzell, the vice president for multi-platform at Cartoon Network.

"Ben will still transform into his signature mature aliens and fight all the villains that once plagued the city, but this time around he is more modern and relatable with younger fans, but also familiar to our die-hard fans.

"Ben is a character that grew with his audience, making him one of the most relatable cartoon heroes ever to feature on the channel and now we are rewinding the clock to captivate the next, new generation of Ben 10 viewers," says Tramm Wigzell.

"We are really excited - kids will meet a more modern, relatable 10-year old Ben. The show has always been about an average kid that finds himself in extraordinary circumstances - boy, girl, no matter your age, or cultural background, Ben 10 us relatable because anyone and everyone can be a hero in their own right."

"We think Ben's character is timeless and so it felt like the right time to bring him back. Our African audience can now look forward to a brand-new show,with all new scripts and a brand-new look and feel, in order to build a brand-new generation of Ben 10 fans," says Tramm Wigzell.

The new Ben 10 will see a reimagined Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max as they travel through America during their summer vacation.

When Ben finds the Omnitrix - a mysterious watch that transforms him into 10 different friendly aliens, an world of extra-terrestrial superpowers opens up to him.

The new Ben 10 is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

Ben 10 returning to the Cartoon Network in 2016 with a new version exactly 10 years after it started; will be seen on DStv before America.

Ben 10 is returning to the Cartoon Network (DStv 301) next year with new episodes and a new look as the animation show gets reset for a new generation of young viewers exactly a decade after it first began in 2006.

Cartoon Network Studios will produce a brand-new Ben 10 which will start in 2016 on Turner Broadcasting System's Cartoon Network.

Interestingly, the new Ben 10 will first be seen on Cartoon Network's global versions like on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform across Africa and on the version of the channel elsewhere in the world, before starting on the Cartoon Network in the United States in 2017.

The original Ben 10 was a ratings hit, and spawned multiple live-action movies, an animation movie, as well as additional animation series like Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse which all saw the character grow and develop.

The new Ben 10, revolving around the 10-year old kid hero Ben Tennyson who can transform into different aliens for different tasks and different fights as he tries to protect the galaxy, will have both fan-favourite as well as many new aliens.

The new Ben 10 will start when Ben, his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max travel the country during summer vacation when Ben finds the mysterious Omnitrix which allows his to transform into various aliens.

"We decided it was time to introduce Ben to a new generation of kids," says Rob Sorcher, Cartoon Network chief content officer. "Ben 10 has been an overwhelming success story across all media platforms and we know kids around the world will be eager to see the reinvention of this beloved character."

So far the Ben 10 franchise has raked up more than $4.5 billion in global retail sales to date thanks to toys, clothes, interactive games and of course the show.