U.K. animation will be making a return to Cartoon Forum this year in a special initiative Animation UK Meets Europe, spearheaded by Animation UK in partnership with the BBC, Disney+, Warner Bros. Discovery and SKY and supported by agencies across the U.K., including Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Scotland, Creative Wales and Film London.
Cartoon Forum is a pitching and co-production forum for animated TV projects that will take place in Toulouse from September 18 to 21. For three days, producers have the opportunity to pitch their projects in front of potential partners. The event gathers about 1,000 professionals from 40-plus countries. Since its inception, Cartoon Forum has helped 956 animation series obtain financing to the tune of 4 billion euros.
For the Animated UK Meets Europe sessions, a total of five new projects in development from U.K. creative voices will be pitched together with a U.K. broadcast partner in a 90-minute pitching session with each new project actively looking for collaboration with a European partner.
“We are delighted that the U.K. animation industry is being provided the opportunity to profile our highly regarded sector known for its creative excellence, innovation, storytelling, iconic characters and humor,” said Kate O’Connor, Executive Chair of Animation UK. “We look forward to showcasing new projects supported by our partners, as well as our centers of excellence across the U.K., and having a renewed presence this September at Cartoon Forum where we will celebrate Animation UK with friends and partners across Europe. We are actively looking for European co-production partners for all of our animated projects which will range from preschool to family and adult.”
Learn more about Cartoon Forum’s U.K. spotlight here. The five new projects being pitched are:
Duck & Frog, a 50 x 7’ 2D animated series for 7-12 year olds produced by Sun & Moon Studios with support from BBC Children’s & Education.
Duck & Frog is a modern take on a classic slapstick, dialog-free comedy, about a long-suffering duck trying to live a quiet life and his larger than life, eccentric frog flat-mate who tries to live a loud one.
Huggy the Hugasaurus, a 78 x 7’ stop-motion animation series for preschoolers produced by Yamination Studios and Threewise Entertainment with support from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Meet Huggy, the world’s first “Hugasaurus,” navigating her way through a world of fun, feelings and first times to make everyone’s problems a thing of the prehistoric past! If it’s not a happy ending, then it hasn’t ended yet.
The Wolfbjorns, a 26 x 11’ 2D animated series for 7-10 year olds produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions with support from BBC Children’s & Education.
Get ready to meet the Wolfbjorns, the most outrageous Viking family you’ve ever met! In this 2D animated sitcom we follow the antics of Ulf, a quiet young Viking and his loud, unconventional family as they struggle to adapt to life in modern society while holding onto their Viking roots.
Pleasure Beach, a 12 x 22’ animated series for a young adults/adults produced by Nexus Studios with support from Disney+.
In the formerly famous seaside town of Branbourne, pier manager Peter Gregg cooks up fantastical schemes to bring back the grandeur, and the tourists, with the help of his Gen Z deputy Jean Grover. Co-created by visionary director Laurie Rowan and acclaimed stand-up comedian Sean McLoughlin, and produced by award-winning Nexus Studios, Pleasure Beach is a surreal workplace comedy with a wicked wit and a bold animated imagination.
Magic Animal Friends, a 46 x 11’ 2D animated series (with 3 x 22’ specials) for 4-7 year olds produced by Coolabi Productions and Paper Owl Films with support from Sky Kids.
Magic Animal Friends is an animated adventure-comedy series, based on the global best-selling book series. We join eight-year-old besties, Lily and Jess, on their adventures into the sparkling world of friendship Forest. They are accompanied by the exuberant and flamboyant cat, Goldie, He introduces them to his super-cute animal friends which frequently find themselves embroiled in magical muddles and mayhem.
