Toon Factory’s New Series ‘How to Squoosh’ Sets Canal+ Kids Launch

French animation studio Toon Factory (Sardine in Outer Space, The Little Vampire) will soon launch its latest 2D comedy for kids 5-7, How to Squoosh (52 x 11′), which will premiere locally on Canal+ Kids very soon. Adapted from the books by author Catherine Leblanc and illustrator Roland Garrigue — 18 so far, published in France by Glénat Jeunesse, the first four episodes were premiered at the Marseille Series Stories festival in November, followed by a signing with Garrigue, who also serves as art director for the series.

“With the trust that Glénat and Canal+ put in us, we have been able to make this adaptation into a very funny series while never making fun of children’s fears,” said Thierry Berthier, Co-Founder of Toon Factory and series producer. “Helping them to understand them, learn about them and tame them is more than just a wish, it’s our objective.”

The show’s launch will be bolstered by a campaign which will plaster 200 posters around Paris.

“I squoosh, you squoosh, we squoosh … happily all sorts of monsters and fears and hassles of children’s lives, and have been doing so for more than 15 years at Glénat Jeunesse! The series of works created by Catherine Leblanc and illustrated by Roland Garrigue counts more than 25 products including albums, coloring books, CD-books … and even a dictionary!” said Aude Sarrazin, Youth Editorial Director at Glénat. “We are really happy to know that children will soon discover the gently off-beat and really efficient spirit of the series on the screen!”

“At Canal+ Kids, we care very much about providing youth programming which entertains children while also supporting them through various stages of their development. From a very early age, managing emotions, managing fears is part of their everyday lives, and it is important for children to be able to face up to them and overcome them. We were really won over by the How to Squoosh book collection which explores these issues with intelligence and humor, and we are proud to propose an animated series which although a comedy still sends a little shiver down the spine,” Christine Cauquelin, Director of Documentary, Youth & Animation Channels and Program Units at Canal+, commented.

“Monsters and nightmares had better watch out, because thanks to the terrific twosome of Chloé and her monster Spookie, children will be in charge and have all the keys they need to carefreely face up to the biggest frights with humor. The fear’s going to be on the other foot!”

Synopsis: Welcome to How to Squoosh, the show that squashes, squishes and squooshes monsters and anything else that frightens (big or little) children. Witches, ogres, ghosts and monsters had better watch out if they don’t want to get squooshed as flat as a pancake. How to Squoosh is a fun-filled program where children play with their fears and squoosh them to get rid of them. Presenting the show is a terrific twosome: Chloé, the intrepid squoosher in chief, who, for all of her eight years, is nobody’s fool, and Spookie, the reflection of her own fear and faithful monster who she thinks she has tamed. But we soon discover that things are a bit more complicated than that…

In addition to Garrigue, the series lead creative team includes director Aleksandar Dzoni-Sopov (Galactic Agency; creator/pilot co-director of the Cartoon Forum-selected series Rek & Nola; both with Studio100) and lead writer Vincent De Mul (Presto! School of Magic, Mighty Mike, Pat the Dog, Chaplin & Co.)

“When I drew the first albums in the series How to Squoosh, I thought a lot about the cartoons of my childhood, but I never thought that one day they’d become cartoons themselves,” said Garrigue. “It’s an immense joy and massive privilege to see my characters coming to life on screen!”

Leblanc and Garrigue’s books are published in English by Insight Kids as the How to Banish Fears series, with titles including How to Knock Out Nightmares, How to Zap Zombies, How to Get Rid of Ghosts and How to Outwit Witches.

Toon Factory was founded in 1999 by Thierry Berthier and Maureen de Choiseul. The company comprises divisions dedicated to animation production (Toon Factory and Story), technical services (Tabb Productions, Chromatik) and content distribution (Toon Distribution). The studio has produced and co-produced roughly 20 series, including Samson and Neon, Little Devils 3 and Sardine in Outer Space. Its distribution catalog includes Kodansha’s Chi’s Sweet Home and Chi’s Sweet Adventure (outside Asia and English-speaking countries).

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