A Spellbinding Adventure

A Spellbinding

Adventure

Expect some enchantment from Federation’s latest animated offering: Presto! School of Magic.

Presto! School of Magic

Afew years ago, director Ben Stassen’s nephew have turned their old mansion into Belgian-French movie House of Magic Presto! School of Magic, where Lisa, Dylan and introduced worldwide audiences to fellow aspiring magicians Nica, Violet and Vinthe adventures of a special cat who fnds refcent learn the tricks of the trade. They all have uge in the house of a kindly magician. This a different reason for attending the school – year, a CG-animated new spinoff series based but they have one thing in common: a passion on the nWave and StudioCanal movie will for illusion, conjuring and the art of magic!” be introduced in international TV markets. According to the show’s director, David LoProduced by TeamTO in co-production with pez, the production took the risk of imitating Belgian partners Panache Productions and La 2D concepts as closely as possible, both with Compagnie Cinématographique, Presto! School the characters and the settings. “The backof Magic has also secured partnerships with grounds are presented in a unifed, tone-onFrench broadcasters M6 and Canal+. The setone manner in order to make the characters ries is currently being produced and animated stand out better,” explains Levy. “The characby TeamTO in Paris and Valence. ter design was inspired by current flms and

“We know that magic is timeless, mesmerseries such as Trollhunters, Hotel Transylvania izing and especially intriguing for kids,” says and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with an Monica Levy, head of sales for Federation added dose of cartoonishness and some manKids & Family, which is distributing the 52 x ga, particularly in the expressions. In terms 11-minute series globally. “Produced by our of the animation style, TeamTO also tried to partners TeamTO, this light and fun series will mimic 2D squash-and-stretch as much as posintroduce children to what lies behind the sible, with effcient poses, pithy and dynamic curtain through the eyes of our heroes. And movements, some extreme expressions and like in Glee and other shows that allow young elasticity.” ‘Presto! School of Magic is produced by one of the leading studios in Europe with the Emmy Award-winning Corinne Kouper as exec producer,so it is guaranteed to be original, top-quality and hilarious.’

— Monica Levy, head of sales for

people to discover their hidden talents, Presto! School of Magic shows what it takes to become a great magician.”

The series features a group of talented and curious kids who dream of becoming magicians. “Star students Dylan and Lisa cannot believe how lucky they are to be part of this new school,” notes Levy. “Lorenzo — a retired magician of international renown — and his

Federation Kids & Family

In addition, Federation continues to offer the 52 x 11’ animated show Squish to content buyers around the world. Produced by sister company Cottonwood Media, the show follows the adventures of single-celled organisms as they face the usual trials and tribulations of kids everywhere. Levy points out, “Coincidentally, the series provides a light-hearted platform to potentially create conversations for children about viruses, bacteria and more, so they are also reassured that not all viruses, bacteria etc are bad.”

Levy says she and the rest of the team at Federation were able to quickly adapt and work effciently through the lockdown period in France. “The fact that the whole world was

Squish

also working to a new rhythm via Zoom, Teams and other similar platforms meant there was a strong element of solidarity and mutual understanding on the business front, which was incredibly bonding,” she notes. “The challenge we found was the initial return to the offce post lockdown. For example, when we had meetings with some staff in conference rooms while others were working from home, it created some technical and audio hitches — especially as wearing a mask and socially distancing around a desk while trying to speak to others via a computer screen was not as easy as we had thought. We have now found a great middle ground. A few days a week we are all back in the offce (with masks of course) and other days we are all working remotely. This is a nice balance, and it’s lovely to be back in the offce and to see each other.” ◆

To fnd out more about Presto! and the company’s other shows, visit www.fedent.com.