American Greetings Entertainment — with partners Dentsu and OLM and in association production studios Sprite Ent. and OLM Digital — has kicked off production of a new construction-themed fantasy series for kids titled Tinpo. The 78 x 7 min. CG show has been ordered by CBeebies (BBC) in the UK, and is expected to debut in 2018 in the UK and elsewhere.
“Tinpo is an irresistible, fun and funny take on classic themes of construction and problem-solving,” said Jackie Edwards, Head of BBC Children’s Acquisitions and Animation. “And we love that co-story editors/head-writers Davey Moore (Thomas & Friends) and Emma Hogan (creator of Nelly & Nora) have developed a series in which the winning construction plans are never the most practical but rather the most creative, surprising and fun.”
The UK-Japan-US co-pro follows “Team Tinpo,” the heroes of Tinpo Town. Designers and builders, the little inventors think way outside the box as they ideate the most fun ways possible to solve problems in their unique world.
“Team Tinpo’s approach to problem-solving and construction uses comedic trial-and-error that we’ve never before seen in a preschool series,” said Karen Vermeulen, Head of Co-Productions for AGE. “As a master of tech, Tinpo has a device that permits his team to interact with virtual projections so that they may work through the folly of his wild ideas until arriving at the right one for the job.”
Toshiaki Okuno, CEO of OLM, added: “From an animation perspective, rarely do we see a preschool series with the physicality of Tinpo, as he and his team will literally bend the laws of physics to test an idea. Both our company and Dentsu, Inc. see Tinpo as that rare project that organically infuses original twists with universal preschool themes and as a result, we are confident that this series will have strong worldwide appeal.”
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