EAST HOLLYWOOD – Bureau of Magic, an Emmy Award-winning studio that creates, writes, and produces inclusive family entertainment, is expanding its animated action-adventure comedy, Lost in Oz, into the educational space. Working with Amazon, Bureau of Magic has developed a new series of live-action shorts that explore the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) ideas from the hit series, encouraging families to explore the subjects together through elements of the show.
Produced, written and directed by Bureau of Magic, the videos are exclusively for Amazon in support of its Amazon in the Community program, which includes an initiative that strives to provide valuable resources and ignite passion for STEM education among the next generation. The videos are available on X-Ray, Amazon’s interactive experience that is built into their video players, in addition to YouTube and Facebook.
Set in the Lost in Oz laboratory and hosted by Ashley Boettcher, the voice of Dorothy Gale, each of the five videos explores a different STEM idea that is featured in the animated series including binary systems, the periodic table, gears, mapping, and Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. The live action videos also incorporate the ‘science of magic’ in Lost in Oz with clips from the Prime Original series.
Jared Mark, Executive Producer from Bureau of Magic, said: “This innovative new project with Amazon in the Community is a perfect example of how Lost in Oz is designed to expand in new and exciting directions. Lost in Oz is an ideal platform to explore educational initiatives in a fun way, building on the multitude of STEM ideas embedded within the DNA of the show. We’re very excited to see kids and their families enjoying these videos together, and then going out to explore the science and magic in the world around them.”
These new live-action shorts follow the recent debut of Bureau of Magic’s highly-anticipated new season of Lost in Oz on Prime Video worldwide. In the 13 brand new episodes, audiences follow Dorothy and her friends as they navigate the treacherous outer limits of Oz, reunite with their friends in Emerald City, and work together to create a new and better home for everyone!
Lost in Oz is the magical, modern adaption of the beloved Oz books from L. Frank Baum and was created and produced by Bureau of Magic’s Mark Warshaw, Darin Mark, Jared Mark and Abram Makowka. The music is by Adam Berry (South Park), theme music by Mark Mothersbaugh (The Lego Movie), design by Flaunt Productions (Welcome to Monster High), animation by Polygon Pictures (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and sound design by Bang Zoom Studios (Guardians of The Galaxy).
The Prime Original special Lost in Oz: Extended Adventure scooped up three Daytime Emmy Awards in 2017 for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program, Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation, and Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation. It was also nominated for the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Animated Series and a 2018 Annie Award for Best Animated Television / Broadcast Production for Children.
View an example of the Lost in Oz STEM videos:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi-2-28W0Wo&w=560&h=315]
The Bureau of Magic’s storytelling team’s projects have been nominated for 14 Emmy Awards, winning four, and has been trusted to tell stories about the Wizard of Oz, the NFL, Coca-Cola, Superman, the Green Arrow and the Justice League. They push the bounds of traditional storytelling, having pioneered the concepts of the webisode, the mobisode, digital ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ storytelling, interactive DVDs, and the use of the internet to support a television series for shows including Smallville, East Los High and Heroes.
