Brands with Influence named licensing partner for “Bollywoof”

Headed by Martin Lowde, CEO, and Dom Wheeler, Director of Licensing, Brands with Influence is an award-winning leading licensing agency which has created successful international programmes for brands including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Vegesaurs and Countryfile and will start rolling out  BOLLYWOOF from this month.

BOLLYWOOF is a heartwarming and hilarious story of a Springer Spaniel called Basil who has a wonderful life in the Yorkshire Dales.

However, when his family relocates to Mumbai for work, Basil gets accidentally loaded onto the wrong flight and ends up lost, the other side of the India, in Kolkata where he would almost certainly be doomed were it not for his fortunate rendezvous with Santosh, a street-dog who has dreams of being a movie star. With his help, Basil completes the epic 2000 mile journey to Mumbai, where Santosh fulfils his dream of stardom, and Basil reunites with his family!

Martin Lowde, CEO at Brands with Influence explained why he felt this movie had such great potential for licensing:

“From the moment we were first introduced to Basil, we fell in love. The beautiful animation makes this an incredibly exciting opportunity for licensing. While new brands are often seen as a risk, occasionally you come across a story and a range of characters that you just know will have global appeal.”

Andrew Baker CEO of Cantilever Media added:

“We have known the team at BWI for many years, and believe they have the right strategy to bring this exciting new movie to the market. We have big ambitions for BOLLYWOOF, and we’re excited to be working with a really great team. We know BWI will deliver for us.”

Jason Newmark, Producer of BOLLYWOOF commented:

“We tell the story of the adorable Basil, lost in India, far away from everything and everyone he’s ever known.  On a journey of self-discovery, Basil must make new friends and embrace a new culture to reach his destination.  It’s a story for dog lovers the world-over which is a huge market.  Bollywoof presents many compelling opportunities for merchandising and licensing that we are excited to explore with BWI.”

BOLLYWOOF is directed by Frederik Du Chau, the filmmaker behind the 2005 hit family movie Racing Stripes. It reunites The Amazing Maurice producers Cantilever Media with Sky Cinema, which will release in the UK and Ireland, alongside UK and India-based animation studio Redefine Originals, part of DNEG.

UK’s Newscope Films co-produces alongside Good Story Productions and Parti Productions. The script was developed with the support of the BFI. Embankment Films is the sales agent for the film worldwide.

The new CGI animated movie will be released in Autumn 2026 on Sky Cinema. Brands with Influence is in the process of negotiating individual licensing deals for the brand across the global distribution footprint that has already been secured.