Animation production companies La Cabane (France) and Thuristar (Belgium) will be introducing the international animation community to their first original television special, A Lamb’s Stew (30 min.) at this month’s Cartoon Forum co-production pitching event. The studios have previously teamed up to produce four specials for the series Mush-Mush and the Mushables, including International Emmy Award nominee The Guardian of the Forest.
At last year’s Cartoon Forum, La Cabane and Thuristar jointly pitched Luce in the Lovely Land, a preschool-targeted series based on the multi-award-winning short film Luce and the Rock by Britt Raes. T he pitch ranked first in attendance among European co-productions, and the show is now being developed in partnership with France Télévisions and VRT-Ketnet.
Aimed at family audiences, A Lamb’s Stew tells the story of Billie, a young lamb determined to prove that sheep are just as brave as other animals. She sets out to lure a wolf into a trap, only to discover that he isn’t the monster she thought he was. Through the fluffy heroine’s journey, the film questions how preconceived ideas shape our worldviews. It invites us to embrace individuality — and to not judge a sheep by its wool, nor a wolf by its fur.
Joeri Christiaen is helming A Lamb’s Stew as director and art director. Although he has specialized in CG animation over the years, for this project he draws inspiration from traditional animation, nudging CG animation (produced in Blender) to a stylized look with flatter compositions and shot-driven lighting, while preserving lush backgrounds and detailed textures.
Christiaen also wrote the script, with Claire Paoletti as a writing consultant during development. Paoletti was co-writer of the Annecy Cristal and Annie Award winner Shooom’s Odyssey. The special features music by Frederik Segers and Jan Duthoy, who have composed for My Knight and Me, Mush-Mush and Presto! School of Magic.
“After 15 years of directing series, including My Knight and Me and Mush-Mush, I wanted to delve in a more personal project, and a longer, deeper, standalone story. It’s an exciting new challenge, both creatively and technically, and we’re assembling a talented team to rise to the occasion!” said Christiaen.
A Lamb’s Stew will be presented in Toulouse, at the opening of Cartoon Forum on Tuesday September 17 at 10 a.m. (Blue Room), by writer-director Joeri Christiaen and producer Perrine Gauthier. . The special has already received the support of the MEDIA Creative Europe Programme in 2024.
“We enjoy developing and proposing programs that are very different to each other, in terms of visual style, topic, audience and format,” Gauthier noted. “A Lamb’s Stew is fully in line with that approach and we’re honored that the project will open what promises to be a great edition of Cartoon Forum, with a high-quality selection.”
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