Disney’s kids novella launching in the UK

Disney is launching its kids telenovela Violetta on Disney Channel in the UK.

The show has performed strongly for Disney on its channels in Latin America, southern Europe and France and its UK launch will make the first time Disney Channel UK has shown a dubbed drama series.

Disney said the cumulative European audience to date for the series is 20 million and in Italy it released the final two episodes theatrically, where it only trailed The Great Gatsby with opening weekend box office receipts of €2 million (US$2.6 million).

The second season of show stretches to 80 45-minute episodes. Over two series the show follows a musically talented teen, Violetta, at home in Buenos Aires and as she travels to Europe.

The show was Disney Europe’s first full-fledged investment in the telenovela genre and Disney’s regional hubs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Latin America all contributed to the budget. It is produced in Argentina by Pol-ka Producciones.

Violetta was the first ever telenovela for the French Disney Channel when it launched last October. The series will launch in the UK on Disney Channel on Monday July 22 in a 5.40pm slot, with new episodes every day over the summer.