Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Mercury Filmworks (Hilda, Kids Cosmic) has partnered with French-Canadian animation house Stim Studio (The Amazing Maurice, upcoming Garfield movie) to co-produce the animated television series Octicorn & Friends (52 x 11’), based on an Amazon Book of the Year Hello, My Name Is Octicorn from debut authors Justin Lowe and Kevin Diller.
Octicorn & Friends is a preschool comedy series about friendship and feelings. Octicorn is half octopus, half unicorn, and full of all kinds of big feelings! Sometimes those big feelings lead Octi and his friends into comic adventures. But no matter what they are feeling, they can always count on each other… and cupcakes. In every episode Octi and co have an adventure that unearths a feeling that gets explored, and model coping skills for kids.
“Felix and Jordan have established themselves as industry leaders in the world of CGI feature animation on some of the biggest blockbuster movies, and we are thrilled to join forces with their new company Stim Studio as co-producers on Octicorn & Friends,” said Chantal Ling, Vice President, Original Series and Co-Productions, Mercury Filmworks.
“We intend to stay true to the mission behind the Octicorn books that fans know and love, but we plan to deliver a fresh new style and feel to the series, bringing Octi to life as he continues to explore the nerves, stress, glee, delight and all feelings kids experience, as well as modeling different skills to give our young audience a toolkit to aid them in navigating these emotions.”
Stim Studio’s co-CEO Jordan Soler added, “It’s amazing to have the opportunity to partner with Mercury Filmworks on Octicorn & Friends. They are the ideal partners, and we have full confidence that their 2D animation experience and knowledge, combined with our 3D expertise, will result into something refreshing that resonates with kid’s emotions and feelings.
“We are thrilled to create something that has the potential to not only entertain but also connect with people on a deeper level and have a positive impact on children’s lives. Octicorn will help kids to process their emotions, better understand themselves and make them more confident fitting in with their peers, all with a touch of humor. We feel fortunate to be part of such a beautiful project and are eagerly looking forward to seeing the result of our collaboration.”
