Magnús Scheving had an idea, developed it and became one of the best-known entrepreneurs in the country, but the adventures in LazyTown and the message it conveys have had an impact almost all over the world. Although the media giant Turner has bought a majority stake in the company, Magnús is still at the helm.
There is life and excitement in LazyTown. There are many people around the stage and the girl who plays Stephanie repeats the same scene several times until everyone is satisfied. Magnús Scheving is dressed in a suit and presides confidently. He is home a few hours later; two hours after midnight. These recording days are long. He invites people to the living room and there is a fire in the fireplace.
He was sitting in the living room about twenty years ago when he got the idea for LazyTown. Much has changed since then, and the message of LazyTown has influenced millions of people around the world. “I think that certain things emerge from certain environments. Startups don’t just emerge because some person is so imaginative. It has to do with the environment, education, funding systems and how governments promote innovation. I think everything has its place and time, and it’s important that the person is in the right place at the right time.”
In the right place at the wrong time
Magnús emphasized that his company produced entertainment for children where the message was related to health and wanted the company to be at the forefront of that in the world. “Most people would probably have tried to convey what people should do by saying it directly. For example, You should eat healthy food! I wanted LazyTown to influence what people did without saying it directly. We do this by getting the message across around the stories in each episode.” He says it was difficult at first. “I had to have the idea, the vision, I had to sell the idea to get funding and work on introducing the idea to others.” He emphasized being involved in everything. “Of course, the person has to be involved in everything.
For example, who should answer a question about whether there are butterflies in LazyTown and whether they talk? No one knows except the author. I had to write the rules of the game. What I found most exciting was that I wanted to do something that was really impossible to do.”
He says he set a goal for the company to take about sixteen years to build. “I think I got half of it wrong – it’s going to take thirty years. I think the owner of LazyTown, Turner, will make a huge profit in the next thirty years. Health is not going anywhere. I think we’re at the right time, but when LazyTown started, we were right at the wrong time. Nobody understood exactly what we were talking about.”
The work has been great these years and Magnús says that success is 99% hard work and only 1% due to genius. He then talks about the importance of “man number two” which in his case is his wife, Ragnheiður Melsteð, who has worked a lot with him. “I advise all entrepreneurs to choose good people with them. I think that’s the main thing.”
Turner bought the majority share
Difficult conditions in the financial markets also made it difficult for LazyTown. LazyTown went through a restructuring of its operations and finances, which included negotiating with creditors. The intention was to find a strong partner who could help increase the company’s value, not just financial value, but someone who could help the company achieve its goals. It worked out and last year the media giant Turner Broadcasting bought the majority share of the company. Magnús, who now owns a minority stake, is still the company’s CEO and has a contract to play Sportacus for the next two years.
No LazyTown TV episodes had been filmed since 2006 until filming began this summer, and thirteen episodes are being filmed, plus a film is in the pipeline. The hardest part about this is that the price of children’s content on television has dropped in recent years; you no longer get paid to make children’s content, and in many places advertising has been banned in connection with the showing of children’s content, which I think is ridiculous. This means that TV stations are not willing to pay for the content, but the cost of producing it has not decreased.”
It has still been crazy to do, as Magnús puts it, regardless of the filming of TV series. “There have been LazyTown plays performed all over the world, books have been written, we have worked with governments and we have been involved in raising money for charities.”
LazyTown is not just a TV series. There are various campaigns that have had a say, such as a 28% increase in sales of vegetables and fruit in ASDA stores in the UK at the time and a 29% increase in an effort in Mexico. Then there are energy campaigns in the name of LazyTown in many countries, LazyTown sports clubs for children in Mexico, the British government’s current campaign to get children moving through the “Change4Life” campaign, of which LazyTown is a part, and various types of charity work.
Experience has been accumulated and Magnús says that LazyTown will create a lot of knowledge in the television and film industry. “Icelanders had never before sold an Icelandic television series outside of Iceland on this scale, and today, people who participate in the production of LazyTown, for example, are nominated for Grammy awards. Then we have one of the greatest experiences in the world of using “green screen” for filming. The knowledge has become enormous. Then LazyTown provides jobs for many people and puts billions into the Icelandic economy.”
Impact around the world
Sure, the story of LazyTown has often seemed like a fairy tale. “I have often wondered if it was worth it. Would I do it again? The answer would probably be no. It is probably just too difficult. Maybe too much of a sacrifice in many ways. I have not experienced going to the cinema on weekends without thinking about work in many years. I have never experienced going somewhere over the weekend without getting twenty or thirty work-related calls. I have never gone to bed without knowing that I would do something the next day that I had never done before and I had to find a solution to that. I wanted to pay all my investors and I wanted to do better and do better and then you decided to work longer or organize yourself better.”
“When I look back, I feel like I did my best. I don’t think I could have done better myself. Was it fun? It was an awesome time. Wow, what great things we did. For example, it’s great to travel all over the world and suddenly discover that 70% of the largest nations in the world know LazyTown, which is probably the most well-known Icelandic brand. It’s incredible to be in a car in Mexico and suddenly see kids in LazyTown costumes. Then I’ve received incredible letters from parents. I received letters from parents whose children were born with their umbilical cords out and couldn’t eat – but they ate for the first time when they watched LazyTown. I’ve also received letters from parents of children in the hospital who have asked me to come there.”
“There’s a responsibility in being an entrepreneur. And it takes work. You can’t do everything you want to do. Then there are endless stories about a person, which also affect the family. I feel that LazyTown has a huge impact all over the world. I have worked with Michelle Obama and governments; for example, I recently received a call from the President of Colombia, who asked me to come, but he wants to make a big effort in that country.”
Magnús, who is almost fifty, is as youthful and light as ever. Yet he says: “There is one thing: I don’t want to be too old in the costume. I still have to jump and do splits. I think it’s also good to know when to stop. I have a contract for two more years and it’s kind of mandatory to play Sportacus – I hope I can hang in there for that period.”
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