A Cartoon Forum Sampler

A quick look at some of the new shows that will be pitched at the Forum this year:

Rabarbar

This charming 2D-animated series (26 x 11’) from Denmark’s Copenhagen Bombay studio follows the adventures of a young girl who moves with her barbarian parents to the ancient metropolis of Weinlos — home to a host of fantasy creatures (trolls, elves, etc.) who adhere to a strict social hierarchy. Studio founder Sarita Christensen tells us, “The show is created by the talented Rune Ryberg, who is a very strong comic-book artist and animator. He is super creative and able to create the most whimsical and crazy characters with his designs. Our well-regarded writer Stephanie Wahlstrom has also created very many shows for children in this target audience (six- to 11-year-olds). I believe that this team is very strong and together they have shown us a different way approaching relevant topics such as identity, friendship, family, bullying and the importance of standing up for yourself.”

Hey Fuzzy Yellow

This innovative preschool offering is billed as “a show like you haven’t seen before!” Produced by Germany’s Toon2Tango, Italy’s Mondo TV and Jungle Fruit in the U.S., the series uses an unconventional curriculum basis to equip children with 21st century skills and an approach that “mirrors the parenting values of Millennials,” per the offcial description. We love the colorful designs and the attractive visuals which support a hybrid magazine format showcasing the arts, academics, exploration and logic/emotion. As the producers point out, “Hey Fuzzy Yellow sits in a place where no other show sits: in spite of it being strongly curriculum driven, it has lots of music and is also the funniest preschool show you have seen in a long time!”

Goat Girl

Ireland’s Daily Madness is bringing a fun and hilarious show about a 13-year-old girl who is raised by mountain goats and has to attend a regular boarding school with regular humans. As producer Lindsay Ad ams tells us, “When I started Daily Madness, the frst show I wanted to option was an animated comedy with a female lead. I was looking for the animated answer to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt by Tina Fey! After two years of attending markets, we just realized that it didn’t exist any where as an option we could pick up... so we locked Shannon George and Kristina Yee in a room together for three days in August 2018 to come up with a bunch of concepts. They came up with a beautifully simple and hilarious idea: Goats are cool, what if a girl was raised as a goat?”

Adams points out that Goat Girl is defnitely not a show made for girls only. “Comedy is comedy and laughs are laughs,” she says. “Therefore, this is a gender-neutral series for a gender-neutral audience. However, we are all aware that when it comes to down-to-earth, slice-of-everydaylife comedy shows, they tend to lean towards boy lead characters (and majority male creators/writers). This is where Goat Girl stands out. Behind the scenes, having a series that is created by women, directed by women, produced by women and written by women also helps to ensure that we continue to move towards more equal representation in the comedy sections of the animation industry.”

Belzebubs

An animated show about a family of Devil worshippers may defnitely be a frst! This offbeat 13 x 22’ series is based on a popular webcomic by JP Ahonen, who started drawing this family of metal cultists as a therapy project. As Finnish studio Pyjama Films CEO/producer Terhi

Väänänen explains, “The comics quickly gained a half a million online readers. We originally joined the project by making two animated music videos for the band, but in the series we’ll be focusing on the horrendously adorable family life of the Belzebubs. Our aim is to fesh out the comic’s characters and their stories and use the comics’s slice-of-life glimpses as an inspiration for the series’ overarching storyline.”

Väänänen says the 2D animated show is made for a young adult audience, but it stays away from the typical cynical outlook on life and relationships that similar shows have. “It’s breaking taboos, especially on religion and sex, but instead of mocking them, its approach is warmhearted banter. You can describe The Belzebubs as Addams Family meets Modern Family. The family and the band members worship the Devil, but their daily, even mundane struggles are relatable for anyone!”

The Olive Bunch

Cyprus-based animation studio Pixel Group is showcasing a beautiful 2D animated show about three friends living in a charming Mediterranean town. Amira, Stephano and Yani live in Cyprus and search for their place in the world through carefree and inventive play. They’re often guided by advice from Grandma Lola and her folk tales that connect her to the land of the olive grove. “We are a studio established in Cyprus and this is our second TV show to be pitched at the Forum,” says the show’s co-creator and producer Maria Pavlou. “The team developing The Olive Bunch has worked on animated series and short flms for world-wide brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime and Netfix and have also been nominated for BAFTA, Emmy and Annie awards!” In addition to Pavlou, the team includes Katerina Pantel (show co-creator and art director), Magnus Kravik (director and storyboard artist) and Michael Papanicolaou (lead character animator).

Zombillenium

Two of France’s top animation houses Maybe Movies and 2 Minutes will be back at the Forum this year with a really fun show based on the spooky comedy saga published by Le Journal de Spirou, which inspired the acclaimed 2018 movie by Arthur de Pins and Alexis Ducord. The 12 x 26’ show (2D/CG mix) centers on an amusement park run by a cheerful gang of quirky monsters, hired by the Devil himself! Co-producer Chrystel Poncet says, “Our goal is to develop and consolidate a meaningful European franchise that deals with our culture, our values, gives food for thought and entertains! We truly think that Arthur de Pins’ ground-breaking concept has all the right ingredients for that.”

Poncet points out that the show’s serialized format, mix of comedy and suspense, high-quality cinematic look based on de Pins’ elegant graphic style and the fantastic soundtrack make the show a winning proposition. She and many of the series’ creative team, including showrunner de Pins and director Sabine Hitier will be attending the event in Toulouse. “Cartoon Forum is the frst step for us to debut our show on the European scene,” Poncet says. “It’s a great opportunity to catch the attention of show buyers and potential partners.” ◆