When “Paw Patrol: The Movie” hits theaters and the Paramount+ streaming service, it will kick off one of ViacomCBS’ most ambitious efforts to take on Disney in the streaming wars.

The release of the feature film based on the animated children’s series about a group of rescue dogs who protect their community, will be backed by an “eight figure” marketing blitz, with 1,800 TV ads across channels like Nickelodeon, Reuters reported from New York.

It involves partnerships with almost 200 companies — from Kellogg’s cereal to Best Western hotels — on tie-ins for toys and other products, many of which will come with a free trial of Paramount+.

The strategy is the highest-profile example of a game plan ViacomCBS has developed to build out its kids’ franchises – including  “SpongeBob,” “iCarly” and  “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” – and use their success to help become a credible competitor in the war for paying streaming subscribers at a time when consolidation in the industry is leaving the company at a disadvantage.

“Disney is the gold standard in terms of really creating and monetizing franchises,” said CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi.

“ViacomCBS is looking to do the same thing, but they haven’t been as aggressive in terms of actually getting an early start and pivoting into streaming and taking some of the potentially game-changing actions that we’ve seen from other companies, especially with the way COVID affected the industry. So the  ‘Paw Patrol’ film could be a litmus test in terms of going day-and-date streaming and theatrical,” Amobi said.

It will also mark the first time ViacomCBS has debuted a film in theaters and on Paramount+ simultaneously, a decision the company announced in June. According to executives, it assessed the likelihood of parents bringing their unvaccinated children to theaters amid rising cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

In the near-term, ViacomCBS’ family films will likely debut theatrically and on Paramount+ on the same date, via a very short theatrical window followed by a Paramount+ release, or skip a theatrical release altogether, said Brian Robbins, the president of Nickelodeon, the ViacomCBS kids’ channel where  “Paw Patrol”   debuted as TV series in 2013.

The“Paw Patrol” film, the first theatrical spinoff of the TV show, has among the most tie-in products and global retailers of any film the company has distributed, said Pam Kaufman, President of ViacomCBS Consumer Products.

ViacomCBS is also betting on its  “Star Trek” franchise, among others, premiering its first-ever animated series for families – “Star Trek: Prodigy”– later this year on Paramount+, followed by a second viewing window on Nickelodeon.

And on streaming, ViacomCBS is among the smallest of its peers, with 42 million total streaming subscribers compared to Disney’s 174 million. Even as ViacomCBS is seeking organic growth, non-Executive Chair Shari Redstone has sought partners as Discovery and Amazon bulk up through their acquisitions of AT&T’s WarnerMedia assets and MGM, respectively.

Last week, ViacomCBS and Comcast announced a joint streaming service, SkyShowtime, which will launch in smaller European markets next year.