Netflix is opening its first location-based entertainment (LBE) experience at KidZania in Japan based on its upcoming animated series Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure.
Launching on 31 July 2022, the Netflix pavilion is located at the new KidZania in Fukuoka. KidZania is an edutainment brand and interactive city for children offering career experiences.
The Netflix-sponsored attraction will allow children to experience the career of a stop-motion animator and bring characters to life. Kids will be immersed in the world of Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure.
“We are pleased that by joining KidZania Fukuoka as a sponsor, children and their families living in Kyushu will be able to feel closer to Netflix and have the unique experience of seeing what it’s like to work at a production studio,” said Masato Shimoi, Netflix’s director of business development for Japan.
Children will work together in teams to create an original story by placing characters Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma in Nakasugi Land.
Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure
They will produce a short video using the same stop-motion technique used in the new series, and their finished videos will be shown on a big screen in the theatre room.
“Stop-motion is a film-making technique where objects are shifted slightly in each individually photographed frame,” said a release from Netflix. “When the frames are played back quickly, the subjects of the film then appear to move fluidly.”
The first season of Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure premieres worldwide on Netflix on 25 August. In the series, characters Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kaoru, and Kiiroitori visit an amusement park that is about to close.
“There, they take part in many escapades and meet different characters over the course of this heart-warming eight-part series of 15-minute episodes,” said Netflix.
Netflix recently acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company (RDSC) and plans to use this golden ticket to create “immersive experiences”. The streaming giant has also launched a handful of Stranger Things-themed attractions.
KidZania Fukuoka is the third KidZania attraction in Japan. As well as Netflix, companies featured include ANA, KDDI, Mitsubishi Motors, Seiko and Yakult.
Images: Netflix/KidZania
