Noodle & Caboodle Entertainment and KaizenPop are joining forces to develop Chuck Loris™, an original animated action-comedy aimed at children aged 8–12, with plans to build the property across television, gaming and social platforms.
Created by Rich Staplehurst, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Noodle & Caboodle and a former Moonbug Entertainment executive, the project is being conceived as a connected entertainment universe rather than a series with a separate game adaptation. Noodle & Caboodle will lead the creative development, character design, storytelling and brand extensions, while KaizenPop will work across the series, game and social strategy, alongside production financing and audience development.
Noodle & Caboodle Entertainment building an audience before launch
The property will also join KodaPop, KaizenPop’s IP incubator, through its Creators Program. The initiative is designed to connect projects with creator communities and their existing audiences during development, rather than waiting until a title launches. A social-first rollout for Chuck Loris is planned ahead of its screen debut.
The creative partnership brings together Staplehurst and KaizenPop co-founder and CCO Ailing Zubizarreta, with co-founder and CEO Bruno Zarka overseeing the production and financial framework as producer. The announcement follows the appointment of former Disney development executive Jay Francis to Noodle & Caboodle’s advisory board.
Staplehurst said the project draws on his childhood interest in action heroes and his own karate training, with the aim of combining martial-arts philosophy and entertainment.
“I want to make something with a hint of nostalgia that is fresh and exciting for young audiences, whether they practise martial arts or not,” he said. “It’s an action-comedy where the morals and philosophy arrive inside the entertainment rather than on top of it.”
Zubizarreta said the concept’s central idea is about understanding principles rather than simply copying them. “What KaizenPop does is find the kids that world belongs to and bring them to Chuck Loris™ before the series arrives, never after,” she said.
The property is now in active development, with both companies set to attend MIPJUNIOR in Cannes this October.
