Dennis the Menace is to get a CGI makeover for a new generation in a series set to air on the BBC next year.
The mischief-making Beano character and his faithful companion Gnasher will make the 3D leap in the new series for CBBC.
“We’re thrilled to be working with CBBC on the new series, which will see us bring Dennis to life and bang up to date in CGI for the next generation of Beano fans,” said Emma Scott, chief executive of Beano Studios.
The 52-part series of 11-minute episodes, called Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed, will see the 10-year-old Dennis “aged up a bit” visually in his 21st-century makeover, which will air in late 2017.
Previous series, the last of which aired in 2013 on the BBC, showed Dennis only in 2D.
“Dennis and Gnasher have been unleashing their own particular brand of mischief on CBBC for many years and their ardent fans will be delighted by this wonderful new series from two of the UK’s most notorious rascals,” said Cheryl Taylor, controller of CBBC.
Beano Studios has also hinted that a Dennis-led Beano movie may be in the works, saying that it was “exploring plans” to take its characters to “bigger screens and stages worldwide”.
The company was set up earlier this year by parent company DC Thomson to lead a digital rejuvenation of the 78-year-old magazine’s characters including Minnie the Minx and Bananaman.
The venerable title, which holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running weekly comic, sells 38,000 copies per week in the UK.
However, Scott is keenly aware of the need to win over the YouTube and iPad generation, setting up a new online portal, Beano.com.
In 2012, DC Thomson shut the Dandy, the UK’s oldest children’s comic, and put it online following its 75th anniversary.
However, the attempt to give the title a breath of digital life failed and the website was shut.
