Spanish animation will have a strong presence at this year’s edition of Cartoon Forum which takes place in Toulouse, France, Sept. 16-19. We spoke to three of the producers who are presenting their hot new animated shows at the Forum this week to learn more about their studio’s exciting projects:
Iván Miñambres, Exec Producer, Uniko Estudio Creativo
Can you tell us about the history of the project?
Titan Fofu is a series created and directed by María Luquero. It is a 3D animation project for preschool children. The series combines adventure and comedy while teaching emotional intelligence to kids. It is produced by UniKo and Abano Producións, and we are currently in the development phase with the support of Ibermedia Next and in collaboration with Matte, an animation studio in Ecuador.
What are your animation specialties?
Titan Tofu is a co-production between UniKo and Abano, two of the leading animation companies in Spain. We produce projects with a broad international vision and high artistic and narrative value. Together, we have made seven feature films and 18 animated shorts, winning over 500 international awards, including six Goya awards and the recent Grand Prix Contrechamps at Annecy for our film Sultana’s Dream.
What would you say sets you apart from other animation studios?
We like to produce boutique projects. Audiovisual formats are treated like unique “perfumes,” with great artistic quality and universal themes. We put all the passion and care necessary into making both the process and the final product unique. We typically use internationalization tools and support funds to attend specific events, such as this case with Cartoon Forum. It is a fundamental institution for being present at international events that allow us to showcase and launch our projects.
What are some of the other projects you are working on now?
In addition to Titan Tofu, we are currently in full production on two animation projects. The third feature film by Alberto Vázquez, which we are producing, will be called Decorado. We are also working on Bea Lema’s debut short film, El Cuerpo de Cristo, based on the comic of the same name, which won the Audience Award at the last Angoulême Festival.
What would you like the animation community around the world to know about you? That Titan Tofu is a wonderful project, and if you are a distributor, sales agent, or TV channel looking for a unique preschool project, don’t lose focus on this series. Our main goal is to secure a sales agent for the sereis who can help us consolidate the series, complete the financing, and begin presales so that the series can reach children all over the world!
For more info, visit uniko.com.es
José Maria Fernández de Vega, CEO/Founder, Glow
Can you tell us a bit about the history of your company/studio/project?
All Good is the project that our production company, Glow, is presenting at Cartoon Forum 2024. It’s an incredibly fun and unique comedy series aimed at a young adult audience, with storylines and characters that will delight viewers around the world. This series is a mix of talent and art, combining the originality of its creators, Diego Porral and Joaquín Garralda — two creatives with extensive experience in animation and successful previous projects — with the exceptional writing of Sam de Ceccatty, who brings a very original vision to this universe, and finally, the animation production expertise of Glow, with previous successes such as Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’and participation in some of the best productions of recent years, like Unicorn Wars and Sultana’s Dream. Some “interstellar event” has brought us all together at a specific moment and with a brilliant project like All Good, and that’s why we’re so excited to present it at Cartoon Forum.
What are you company’s animation specialties?
Our specialty is 2D animation, although we also work in live-action, and our skills in digital compositing allow us to focus more on the stories than the techniques. Glow combines in-house production with services on the best and most original animated projects, much like Diego Porral, who, in addition to being one of the creatives behind All Good, has directed and worked on productions such as Scavenger’s Reign, Love Death + Robots and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. So, we love mixing and working with different techniques.
What would you say sets you apart from other animation studios?
Since its inception with our first film (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles), Glow has been characterized as a “boutique” studio-producer, meaning we put a lot of care into what we do, both artistically and in production, and we do it in a special way: by enjoying the processes. For us, it doesn’t make sense to undertake big projects if we’re not happy doing them, and that care we put into our audiovisuals also applies to human relationships. We want to make the world happy with our productions and be happy making them. For a production company-studio like Glow, located in a small region of Spain like Extremadura, having the support of ICEX to “open us up to the world” and attend markets has been very significant. This has also allowed the company to grow in projects and artists, continuously providing opportunities to new talents.
What are some of the projects you are working on now?
Diego Porral, Joaquín Garralda, and Sam de Ceccatty are the creators of All Good, but they also juggle other commissioned projects. For confidentiality reasons, we can’t always disclose what they’re involved in, but we can say they are spectacular, and we can’t wait for them to be announced. Meanwhile, Glow is working on Alberto Vázquez’s new film, Decorado, which we are co-producing with wonderful partners like Abano, Uniko, and Sardinha em Lata, all of whom have had successful previous productions. The film is currently in full production and is looking spectacular. We also have recently completed short films in distribution, such as O Estado de Alma and Medea a la Deriva, based on the novel by Fermín Solís, who also wrote Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. As for “services”, a few days ago, The Stone of Madness was announced at Gamescom, the new game from The Game Kitchen, creators of Blasphemous, for which we created and produced the game’s cinematics. We’re eagerly awaiting its release because it’s a very beautiful project.
What would you like the animation community around the world to know about you?
That there are still different and unique stories that haven’t been told yet, and Glow is in this industry to bring them to screens worldwide. We hope to begin financing All Good’ so that we can move into production in 2025. And to continue creating and participating in the most beautiful, unique, and original stories in the world of animation.
For more info visit theglowanimation.com
Pete Keydel, CEO, Mago Production
Can you tell us a bit about the history of your project?
Limbo Ville came to life during the pandemic when the creators sadly lost their beloved ferret, Lacasito. They were struck by how people didn’t quite understand why they were grieving—apparently, mourning a pet isn’t universally recognized. This got them thinking: What if spirits are real? Can people stay with their loved ones forever, even in the afterlife? And here’s a fun one—what happens if someone dies in a really ugly house? Are they stuck there forever? Since nobody had the answers (big surprise!), they decided to make them up themselves. That’s how their action-mystery-adventure-comedy series was born. It’s a wild ride that touches on reuniting with lost loved ones and introduces the delicate topic of grief to kids—with a good dose of humor, of course.
What are your animation specialties?
At Mago Production, we like to keep things interesting. We’re not just sticking to one animation technique, we mix it up. We develop our own projects and offer work-for-hire services tailored to our clients’ needs. In our latest series, The Little Orchestra, which we’re just wrapping up, we’ve played around with 2D traditional, 2D cut-out animation, and even sprinkled in some stop-motion sequences. And for our animated feature film The Light of Aisha, we took things up a notch with 3D animation and added some stop-motion scenes. We like to keep our animators on their toes!
What would you say sets you apart from other animation series?
Limbo Ville isn’t your typical ghost story. It’s a series that blends humor, adventure, and a dash of the supernatural, all while tackling the heavy topic of grief after losing a loved one. Sure, there are plenty of shows about parallel worlds, but Limbo Ville brings the spookiness right into the real world, where the living and ghosts coexist in a city bursting with secrets. One of the coolest parts? Our ghost real estate agency. Our characters help spirits from different eras, or those inspired by beloved book and film characters, find their dream (afterlife) homes. Because, let’s face it, whether you’re dead or alive, everyone deserves a nice place to hang out—or haunt! This show is a unique and eerily fun proposition, with characters that will charm you, make you laugh, and maybe even scare you just a little bit (but not too much — We still want the little ones to tune in!).
What are some of the projects you are working on now?
We’re wrapping up the 2D kids’ series The Little Orchestra (26 x 11 minutes)—it’s been a blast! We’ve also just kicked off an international co-production for the series Belzebubs (13 episodes of 22 minutes each), which is sure to be devilishly good. Meanwhile, our 3D animated feature film The Light of Aisha is in the final stretch and will be released in cinemas in 2025. And of course, we’ve got Limbo Ville in the financing stage here in Toulouse. Our permanent team in Barcelona is a tight-knit crew of 10, but right now, we’ve got around 50 people working across our productions. This number dances up and down depending on the projects—just six months ago, we had over 100 talented folks bringing our stories to life all at once.
What would you like the animation community around the world to know about you?
We’re all about collaboration at Mago Production. We love co-producing and teaming up with different cultures from all around the globe. So, if you’ve got a project idea, we’re all ears! As for Limbo Ville, we’re hoping to introduce a series that shakes up the world of children’s animation by tackling important topics that are still a bit hush-hush. With its mix of mystery, adventure, and life lessons, we think Limbo Ville has the potential to set a new standard in kids’ entertainment. We’re super excited to see how it evolves and can’t wait for you to see how Mago Production, along with the creative minds of Pilar and Raquel Maestre, brings this one-of-a-kind vision to the screen.
Goals for 2024 and beyond: Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, our mission is clear: keep pushing the envelope in kids’ content. We’re all about developing projects that align with our editorial vision while boldly exploring new frontiers in both series and animated films. We want to keep innovating, crafting stories that not only entertain but also spark important conversations in a way that resonates with today’s young audiences. And most importantly, we want to keep having fun while doing it—because loving what we do and enjoying the creative process is what keeps us going. Get Ready for Limbo Ville!
For more info, visit magoproduction.com
