Millennium Entertainment

Licensed mall shows and events for some of the biggest names in entertainment
  • Millennium Entertainment International (MEI) is one of the biggest producers of licensed live family entertainment in South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Started by fellow Australian Nicholas Larkin in the early 1990’s, the company has grown from humble beginnings to now having offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London and producing shows all around the world. John has been instrumental in that growth, having conceived, written, recorded, directed and created content for 90% of MEI’s shows and events.

  • Besides the large-scale touring ticketed shows like Smurfs Live on Stage, Barney and Ben 10, MEI’s core business remains the licensed mall show and special events market throughout Asia and the Middle East. Here, unlike other regions in the world, there has always been a strong demand for high quality licensed entertainment particularly in shopping malls, who use it as a major competitive vehicle to drive traffic and increase sales. John and MEI pride themselves on creating entertaining shows with broad family appeal using high quality production values and talented international performers.

  • John’s connection to Nick Larkin started when they both worked together as performers in Australia. In fact, John initially worked as a performer hosting one of MEI’s first licensed shows, the Simpsons Live on Stage, held at Centrepoint Shopping Centre in Singapore in 1990. It was the start of a long-lasting professional relationship between the two, and John has since gone on to create and write countless mall shows for countless licensors: everything from Barbie to Ben 10, Hanna Barbera to Hello Kitty, and Spiderman to Smurfs.

  • Besides the writing process, John also creates and produces all show content including fully produced soundtracks with bespoke music arrangements and/or original songs, recorded cartoon voices and sound effects, and often multimedia components in the form of projected graphics, animated video content, and on-screen app interactions. John also operates as the creative director on many projects, overseeing the stage design and artwork, and casting and both voice talent and stage performers, as well as stage directing a number of performances.

Shopkin's Shoppies ​(Moose Toys)
"Shoppies Shop For a Star" - A storyline stage musical based on Moose Toys’ Shopkin’s characters, featuring original songs in a 4-girl pop group style for kids and  tweens. Snappy dialogue in "now" language and lots of humour. Christmas variant also created. Show concept, scriptwriter, co-composer & music producer, show director, casting director.

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
"AdFANture Time" - World premiere live stage production based on the quirky CARTOON NETWORK cartoon series, featuring songs from the animated series along with new original songs in a newly created "out there" story and a cool set. Show concept, scriptwriter, show director, co-composer & music producer, voice director.

Hello Kitty's Karaoke TV (Sanrio)

A fast paced story driven show starring Hello Kitty, Dear Daniel, Bad Batdz Maru and My Melody performing cover versions of big hit pop songs "on-air" while the show host tries to keep the madness under control in the ad-breaks. The show was performed in major shopping malls in Asia, before undertaking a three month season onboard Star cruises Hello Kitty themed cruise ship. Show concept, scriptwriter, show director, music producer, voice director.

Power Rangers (Saban)

With renewed interest in the Power Rangers re-boot, John was asked to create a stunt/action show to be premiered in Dubai. The story starts as a regular "meet and greet" by the Power Rangers, but soon turns into a real life drama when the series baddy Vekar tries to use the appearance as a chance to bring them down. The live action and fight sequences take place live on stage, with on screen video crosses to Vekar's space ship. The multi-media content consisted of re-edited and re-voiced footage from the TV series, mixed with animated graphic sequences to accompany the action on stage, and a fully produced audio track of high energy fight sequence music, voice recordings, sfx and underscore. All content written and creatively directed by John Rowe.
A section of the audio/video master for ​Power Rangers Live.
​The multimedia production included a video screen in the stage design, and on-screen scenes and sequences interacted with the live story on stage, and also provided animated graphic sequences to accompany live action. Audio production, voice direction and creative direction by John Rowe.

Ben 10 Live (Cartoon Network)

 One of Cartoon Network's most popular original creations and successful brands, Ben 10 has had numerous incarnations throughout several animated series and movies. John has created, written and directed live action/stunt shows for many of these variants: Original Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien and Ben 10 Omniverse. Each show featured live actors in the lead roles and specialised stunt performers in full alien costumes, plus a large multi-media component with cartoon animated sequences built into the live story, and on-screen graphics to accompany the on-stage action, along with a fully produced audio track of music, character voices and sfx. ​All content written and creatively directed by John Rowe.
A section of the audio/video master for ​Ben 10 Omniverse.
The multimedia production included a video screen in the stage design, and on-screen scenes and sequences interacted with the live story on stage, and also provided animated graphic sequences to accompany live action. Audio production, voice direction and creative direction by John Rowe.

Ice Age Live (20th Century Fox)

A wildly popular animated movie, John was asked to create an interactive mall show for the movie franchise. Starring the three main characters Sid, Diego & Manny, along with a live host and a team of puppeteers, the show featured interactive games and music themed as a day at Campo De Sid. Hand and rod puppets, plus a giant Manny the Elephant puppet combined with suit characters and the live host on a large themed set.
Voice direction, audio production, stage direction, choreography and puppet direction by John Rowe. Music production by Stefan Nowak.

Oddbods (One Animation)

One Animation's successful animated web sensation, the Oddbods, is a comedy sketch style series which takes a funny look at life's lighter moments through the eyes of cute characters with wildly different personality types. John Rowe was commissioned to create a live show experience that introduced the key characters and presented them in a way that was true to the style of the animations. The story he came up with involved a live host called "Annie the Animator" who uses an out there software program to put together a new Oddbods animation for the studio, when a glitch causes the characters to pop off the screen and onto the stage. The show is 25 minutes of musical mayhem and highly interactive multi-media components on screen. The video screen is built into the set, and the animator host appears to control the video content. It features scenes from the online animated series, and lots of bespoke graphics to support the story. Audio production, creative direction and video editing by John Rowe, who also wrote and directed the stage production, and composed an original song for the finale.
A section of the audio/video master for Oddbods Live.
The multimedia production included a video screen in the stage design, and on-screen scenes and sequences interacted with the live story on stage, and appeared to be controlled by the live host (this video has a rough recording of the scripted live dialogue read by John Rowe). Audio production, creative direction and video editing by John Rowe.

Modhesh (DSS)
MEI has created and produced countless bespoke shows for Dubai Summer Surprises featuring their own mascot character Modhesh, and an array of other cartoon characters across numerous themes. John has conceptualised, scripted, composed, recorded and produced all of these stage productions, and stage directed many of them. Many of these shows have been translated and recorded in Arabic, and some have been bi-lingual productions utilising both English and Arabic speaking actors. John has also created two special Eid celebration shows, and the Opening Ceremony for the 2001Dubai Summer Surprises. He has also composed numerous original songs for the various shows.

And other assorted sweets...

Some extra music selections....
Furby Live multimedia show master - Opening Song

The full list...
  • Power Puff Girls (Cartoon Network)
  • Dexter’s Laboratory (Cartoon Network)
  • Johnny Bravo (Cartoon Network)
  • Cow & Chicken (Cartoon Network)
  • Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
  • Ben 10 (Cartoon Network)
  • Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends (Cartoon Network)
  • Puffy Ami Yumi (Cartoon Network)
  • Tom & Jerry (CN - Hanna Barbera)
  • The Flintstones (CN - Hanna Barbera)
  • The Jetsons (CN - Hanna Barbera)
  • Yogi Bear (CN - Hanna Barbera)
  • Scooby Doo (CN - Hanna Barbera)
  • Spongebob Squarepants (Nickelodeon)
  • Nickelodeon Game Show (Nickelodeon)
  • Pokemon (The Pokemon Company)
  • Teletubbies (CBeebies)
  • Zingzillas (CBeebies)
  • The Smurfs (IMPS)
  • Furby (Hasbro)​
  • Shopkins (Moose Toys)​
  • Hello Kitty (Sanrio)
  • Mr Men (Sanrio)
  • Bugs Bunny (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Sylvester & Tweety (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Yosemite Sam (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Marvin the Martian (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Lola Bunny (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Tasmanian Devil (Warner Brothers / Turner)
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks (Bagdasarian)
  • Barney (Hit Entertainment)
  • Bob the Builder (Hit Entertainment)
  • Thomas the Tank Engine (Hit Entertainment)
  • Fireman Sam (Hit Entertainment)​
  • Angelina Ballerina (Hit Entertainment)​
  • Noddy (Enid Blyton)​
  • Barbie (Mattel)​
  • Spiderman (Marvel)
  • Action Man (Mattel)
  • Power Rangers (Saban)
  • City of Friends (CreaCon)
  • Modhesh (Dubai Summer Surprises)
  • Ice Age (20th Century Fox)
  • ​Oddbods (One Animation)
  • ​Classic Fairytales & Christmas Originals (Unlicensed)
MEI Showreel 2008
"The key to writing for kids is not to write for "kids".
After all, kids are nothing but little adults and adults are nothing but little kids. "
​John Rowe