TEAMTO 15 Years of growing success

TEAMTO

15 YEARS OF GROWING SUCCESS

15 years ago TeamTO began its journey towards its welldeserved legacy for pushing boundaries, innovative storytelling, and artist-driven creativity, defining the company as a global leader in universally appealing and entertaining kids content. In 2020 the company marks its 15th anniversary with a host of ground-breaking accomplishments.

Jade Armor

This year alone – even with the COVID challenge – TeamTO entered production on girl-led action comedy Jade Armor; started delivering Presto! School of Magic, the only animated kids show about the art of magic; partnered with Federation Entertainment for distribution of Presto!; and pitched its first preschool show Tiny Island at Cartoon Forum 2020 – where it ranked among the festival’s top five programs. Since its founding in 2005 by Guillaume Hellouin, Corinne Kouper and Caroline Souris, TeamTO has created awardwinning, world-renown series including its original Emmy®-nominated IP Angelo Rules, Mighty Mike, My Knight and Me, Oscar’s Oasis, and the feature film Yellowbird. It is also the studio behind eOne’s Ricky Zoom and PJ Masks; Activision Blizzard’s Skylanders Academy; and Disney’s Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor. TeamTO’s outstanding content is 100% a result of its creative team, starting at the top with multi-award winning and visionary founders, Corinne Kouper and Guillaume Hellouin, carried out by hugely talented developers (Emmy nominated Mary Bredin); directors (Chloe Miller, Guillermo Garcia Carsi, Franz Kirchner), writers (MJ Offen, Amy Jackson, Andy Reingold) and hundreds of talented artists.

influential women in French animation, President and co-founder of LES FEMMES S’ANIMENT (French version of WIA) and a10-years board member of Animation France. She was awarded the Cartoon Forum European Producer of the Year Award in 2010, the Cartoon Movie Producer of the Year in 2015,as well Emmy and Pulcinella awards and nominations.

How did you get where you are today?

I would not have gotten where I am if I hadn’t met inspiring women who helped me break into the business, lending me a welcoming hand in a world where men were so dominant. Dora Benousilio (The Crossing,Les films de l’Arlequin) was one of those women I will never forget.

What are the greatest milestones for the company?

Salon du Livre 2006 where I discovered the ANGELO RULES’ books (2013 Emmy Nomination, 2010 Pulcinella Award), the release of the YELLOWBIRD feature film in 2015, and in 2013 the development of PJMasks for 3 seasons with Christian de Vita.

Mighty Mike

What sets you apart from other content creators?

Probably our desire to work in the shadow of our artists, not the limelight.

And what do you hope will be your legacy?

Not ready to leave a heritage quite yet... still lots of other people to work with and lots to accomplish!

Guillaume Hellouin, President, cofounder. In addition to producing TeamTO’s slate, he is the visionary behind TeamTO’s revolutionary Rumba software and the training program at the inclusive animation school l’ECAS.

What contributes to the artistic and commercial success of your productions?

Trying to not compromise, pushing ideas to their limits, not copying ideas - trying new ones, not giving in to what other people say is good but going with our own instinct. Pulling ideas from unusual places and really being open to new ideas. Moving beyond what already exists in content spaces.

Mary Bredin, Creative Development Producer

What are the programs you are most proud of and why?

Tiny Island will be the show I am most proud of, because of working with Guillermo as a director on this show, he really brought out the “funny” in the show (and in me!). We had a really good process and I think that is so important for developing animated stories. I also was able to build on everything I have learned about pre-school in my career, what works or doesn’t work, and applying what I like best from all the shows I have worked on in the past (like Justin Time, Pikwik, True and the Rainbow Kingdom…)

Presto! School of Magic

Chloe Miller, co-creator and Director of Jade Armor

Where did your inspiration for directing JADE ARMOR come from?

I have been fascinated with the idea of having a girl character with kung fu skills for many years so Jade Armor comes from that place. I’ve always been obsessed with anime, even as a kid, so I’m thrilled to bring some of that quirkiness to this series. I’ve also been inspired by working with an amazingly strong female creative team, it has been so rewarding to channel our ambition into such a fun character that we know will inspire girls in the real world.

Patricia de Wilde, SVP of Marketing, Marketing

What are the latest Licensing developments?

We’re harnessing the current international success of our slapstick pug show Mighty Mike, which connects with kids of all ages, to launch a fun and endearing licensing program geared at a family demo. This is the TeamTO recipe: an amazing quality show with heart, made for a global audience to engage fans for the long run. And with Jade Armor, we are starting to put in place the building blocks for a new kind of female heroine with great licensing potential.