London 2012 Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville

London 2012 Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville Return to the Big Screen

London 2012 Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville Return to the Big Screen

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville return to cinemas in the fourth and final instalment of their animated adventures, ‘Rainbow to the Games’. The 15 minute film will be screened exclusively at the ODEON weekend kids club throughout May, offering children across the country the chance to catch the exciting conclusion of Wenlock and Mandeville’s journey on the big screen.

(PRWEB) May 07, 2012

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville return to cinemas in the fourth and final instalment of their animated adventures, ‘Rainbow to the Games’. The 15 minute film will be screened exclusively at the ODEON weekend kids club throughout May, offering children across the country the chance to catch the exciting conclusion of Wenlock and Mandeville’s journey on the big screen. 

• Film stills of the mascots and athletes featured in the film are available to download here
• Footage including the trailer for the final instalment of Rainbow to the Games is available on request.

Wenlock and Mandeville’s first three films showed fans how they were created and their sporting adventures across the UK but ‘Rainbow to the Games’ is their most action-packed adventure yet. The film sees the mascots meeting new friends and athletes, as well as carrying out a daring rescue – all with a nail-biting wait to see if they make it to the London 2012 Games in time.

The story for the film is written by author Michael Morpurgo of ‘War Horse’ fame and features narration by TV and film personality Stephen Fry, while the sound track is composed by British award-winning composer Thomas Hewitt Jones.

Animated versions of Olympic and Paralympic athletes Ben Ainslie, Mo Farah, Oscar Pistorius, Mary Keitany, Jordyn Wieber, Nathan Stephens also star in the film. Tom Daley, Phillips Idowu, Shanaze Reade, Louis Smith, Zoe Smith, Victoria Pendleton also make a re-appearance after starring in earlier films.

Michael Morpurgo said: ‘The London 2012 Mascots were created for children in order to inspire them to choose sport and connect with the magic of the Games. I wanted to write a story full of adventure and heroism, so that children could experience the wonder of Wenlock and Mandeville as they make their journey across the UK towards the London 2012 Games, and ‘Rainbow to the Games’ is the thrilling conclusion to this journey.’

LOCOG Chairman Seb Coe, said: 'As the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games come ever closer, Wenlock and Mandeville continue to play an important role in inspiring young people to get involved in sport. Their journey to the Games has proven hugely popular with children across the country and ‘Rainbow to the Games’ continues to bring the magic of London 2012 to the younger audience.’

‘Rainbow to the Games’ will be shown on 373 screens in more than 100 ODEON cinemas across the country every weekend throughout May. The trailer and story so far, including the previous three films, can be viewed on the Mascots’ website – http://www.london2012.com/mascots.

For more information on ‘Rainbow to the Games’, please contact:
Ashley_Gerrie@JCPR.com 0203 0474 044 / Helena_Wiltshire@JCPR.com 0203 047 2359

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office.

Notes to editors:

Wenlock and Mandeville
The London 2012 mascots were created from the last drops of steel left over from the construction of the final support girder for the Olympic Stadium.

Their names reflect the UK’s rich Olympic and Paralympic histories. Wenlock’s name is inspired by the Shropshire village of Much Wenlock where the ‘Wenlock Games’ was one of the inspirations that led the founder of the modern Olympic movement Baron Pierre de Coubertin to create the Olympic Games. Mandeville’s name is inspired by Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. In the 1940s, Dr.Ludwig Guttmann came to Stoke Mandeville Hospital to set up a new spinal unit to help former soldiers suffering from spinal cord injuries. Looking for ways to inspire those in his care, he encouraged them to take up sport, leading to the formation of the Stoke Mandeville Games, widely recognised as a forerunner of the modern Paralympic movement.

‘Rainbow to the Games’
The final London 2012 Mascots film ‘Rainbow to the Games’ follows Wenlock and Mandeville as they travel around the UK on their journey to the London 2012 Games, meeting new people and trying new sports.

The story is written by children’s author Michael Morpurgo and the film is produced by Crystal CG, the Official Digital Imaging Services Provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The new film ‘Rainbow to the Games’ will be shown on 373 screens in more than 100 ODEON cinemas across the country every weekend throughout May.

LOCOG
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty one domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Gymnova, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, Next, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Technogym, Ticketmaster and Trident.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Supplier, Otto Bock.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, Dow Chemical, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung and Visa.