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Paul Scheer will lend his voice talents to an upcoming animated series created for exclusive release on Vine. The actor has signed on to the web series White Ninja, set to debut on December 5, 2015.

The White Ninja Vine series is based on a web comic by the same title, which released strips on Cracked.com until August 2013 when the comic went on an undefined hiatus. Scheer, known for his work on shows such as FX’s The League and Hulu’s Hotwives of Las Vegas, will voice White Ninja’s titular character, who is described in a release as “intellectually restricted and, apparently, pain impervious.” White Ninja’s voice cast also includes Kathleen Barr (Ed, Edd n’ Eddy), Shannon Chan-Kent (Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony), Brian Drummond (Inspector Gadget, DragonBallZ), and David A. Kaye (Make Way for Noddy, X-Men Evolution).

Six Vine stars have also joined the White Ninja project as directors.

Screenvision, the on-screen advertising force catering to about 50% of the nation's theater chains, announced Wednesday a new deal with Kidtoon Films to deliver G-rated family films to theaters for "off-peak" programming. The deal is part of an overall initiative by Screenvision to provide nontheatrical entertainment content to theaters through its high-definition screen-advertising network in an effort to lure patrons to theaters when they are underutilized. Some of the Kidtoon Films programming will include Tom & Jerry in The Fast and the Furry, produced by Warner Bros. Animation; My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas, produced by Hasbro, Inc. and SD Entertainment; Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy, produced by Warner Bros. Animation; and Make Way for Noddy Christmas, produced by Chorion and SD Entertainment.

LONDON -- British kids and drama licensing group Chorion Plc. said Monday that it has signed a major deal with Japanese licensing agent Oriental Land Co. that will see Chorion's CGI animated show Make Way for Noddy air on three Japanese networks. Noddy, which is set to roll out on PBS later this year and has deals in 115 territories, will air on cable net Kids Station, satellite network BS Fuji, and Megaport Broadcasting, a national digital interactive television network. Chorion said it plans to tap Japan's $10 billion-a-year toy market with the rollout of a major book, video and licensing campaign in the country, which has more than 5 million children younger than five. To that end, it has signed a licensing deal with local agent ORE for publishing, video and licensing rights. "Taking 'Make Way for Noddy' to Japan represents a landmark achievement for Chorion and the Noddy brand," Chorion chief executive Nicholas James said in a statement. "The recent sales in major territories such as Japan, the U.S. and mainland China underline the character's international appeal and the major licensing prospects for the brand."...

LONDON -- Entertainment group Chorion plc said Tuesday that it has signed a stateside distribution deal with PBS for Make Way for Noddy, the CGI animation series based on the classic English book series by Enid Blyton. Announcing the group's half-year results, chairman Nicholas James said that the PBS distribution contract is a "landmark deal" for Noddy, which already airs in 100 broadcast markets around the world. Chorion said it will make new animation elements for the U.S. show, which will air as a half-hour block on PBS's branded kids block as well as daily on the PBS Kids digital channel. James said the group will be putting together a range of merchandising and licensing relationships for the property, which has no publishing track record in the United States.