Israeli start-up Smartoonz has sold its animated series ‘Monkey See Monkey Do’ to Walt Disney Company. Revenue from the deal is estimated at millions of dollars over the coming years.

France 5, Al Jazeera Kids, Canada’s TVO, and Eastern Europe’s Minimaz have also bought the series.

Tel Aviv-based Smartoonz has five employees. Smartoonz managing director and head of production Yuval Levy told Israel’s leading business daily Globes, “Eighteen months ago, distributor HIT Entertainment approached us, and they decided to distribute the content. ‘Monkey See Monkey Do’ has been sold to Disney Latin America, and it continues to be distributed in many countries around the world, including Canada and the US.”

mipTV representative in Israel Guy Martinovsky says: “One of our advantages is that our culture is very close to Anglo-Saxon culture, more than in other Asian countries, which might produce cheaper shows, but which lack the grasp of details that Israelis have.”