A Good Year to Watch Toons

Back in 2016, London-based GFM Animation was founded by Guy Collins to create a stand-alone dedicated animation business. “Our objective was to create a pipeline of quality family movies, with engaging stories and first-class filmmaking partners to delight theatrical audiences worldwide,” says Collins. “We felt there was an opportunity to take our tried and tested financing and production structures used in live action and transfer them to independent animated films. And as you can see from our slate we have been pretty successful over a relatively short time.”

Since then, the studio has announced several high-profile animated features: Blazing Samurai, helmed by Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier with Cinesite and Aniventure; 10 Lives with L’Atelier Animation and directed by Chris Jenkins; A Greyhound of a Girl, based on the acclaimed Roddy Doyle book on the fact that if we were to be successful in the animation space, we would need to build a team with experience in animation production.”

A Wonderful Mix

and directed by Enzo D’Alò; Musketeers of the Tsar, from renowned directors Paul & Gaëtan Brizzi; and Humbugged! from Hardy Howl, the fantastic team behind the indie hit Hoodwinked. Collins says he and his team identified a growing space in the market for high-end independent animated movies. “At that time we had many hurdles to overcome on the film Blazing Samurai, not least the collapse of the animation studio we were working with in Toronto. We were focused

GFM’s head of production Sean Feeney says the company prides itself on its eclectic style and subject matter. He explains, “We are always mindful of asking ourselves the following questions: Is it a strong story that audiences will enjoy? Are we partnering with strong, creative filmmakers? Having an existing IP is always a positive, too. But ultimately we don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves. We see GFM Animation as an almost virtual studio, free to work with different partners. It’s all about working collaboratively to bring that story to life. We also work across an extensive range of budgets depending on the IP, director, cast, script, 2D or 3D techniques, etc.” The five-year-old company’s first feature, Blazing Samurai, is in the final stages of production and will be delivered this fall. “It’s not unfair to say this has been a labor of love,” says Collins. “We took a huge amount of financial risk to help the film in its early development stage and later to get it back on track. It has been a Blazing Samurai long process from which we have learnt a lot. Without Rob Minkoff’s unrelenting creative talent, commitment and all the experience he brings with him from directing films such as The Lion King and Mr. Peabody & Sherman, the film would never had made it. Watching the film now as it nears the end of production, we feel a huge level of pride and are so pleased to be working alongside Cinesite, Aniventure, Huayi Brothers and Align, as well as Mark, Rob and respective creative teams. This is a truly independent animated feature with Hollywood-level quality and we can’t

Ready for the Spotlight

U.K.-based GFM Animation prepares Blazing Samurai for global audiences

wait for audiences to see it, too.”

In the coming years, the team at GFM Animation hopes to grow its feature film slate, increasing the number of films delivered each year to three or four, across a range of budgets and techniques. “We are also actively looking at animated series,” says head of marketing Amanda Kerridge. “This is an area we started exploring back in 2019, but then lockdown happened and our attention was diverted elsewhere, but this is an area of growth we’re very much interested in.”

So, what would they like the animation community to know about GFM? “That we’re an approachable and friendly lot, and that we are very active,” says Collins. “We’re all about building relationships and collaboration; bringing our skills and the right people together to get each film made. It’s been a tough year for our industry, particularly the independent sector. But we remain

hugely positive that there is a market for great family content, particularly for theatrical audiences. We think there’s space for everyone. And how great is it that the independent animation industry is growing and thriving, across both the feature film space and series content.” ◆

For more info, visit GFManimation.com.

City of Ghosts

Lazor Wulf Kid Cosmic

The Midnight Gospel

A Good Year to Watch Toons

Just in time for the 2021 Emmy season, we chat with acclaimed TV critic Robert Lloyd about the current state of TV animation and other toon-related topics.

Looking back at the 2020 and early 2021,

can you tell us which new animated shows managed to impress you and why?

Robert Lloyd: I have so much television to keep track of that I’m often late to the game when it comes to animation. But I loved The Midnight Gospel from Pen Ward and Duncan Trussell, and Elizabeth Ito’s City of Ghosts, which are highly personal and stunningly original, though both are built around interviews with real people. They’re really among the best things I’ve ever seen on television.

Craig McCracken’s Kid Cosmic is a delightful, desert-set serial adventure comedy about a pack of accidental superheroes, including a toddler and a senior citizen, fending off alien invaders. The drawing, which might be described as sketchbook naturalism, is full of incidental detail — it reminds me of Studio Ghibli films like From Up on Poppy Hill or Whisper of the Heart — and the seasonal story arc lets the story and gags unroll at a slower pace and over longer stretches than the 11-minute stories McCracken has previously told. I also liked Central Park and Star Trek: Lower Decks, and need to spend some time with Birdgirl and The Great North.

This past year has been a specially rich period for shows featuring diverse characters and culture. Which ones stood out for you?

City of Ghosts is set amid minority cultures and subcultures in the real places of Los Angeles, including Boyle Heights, Leimert Park, Little Tokyo and Venice, and uses the voices, memories and observations of real residents, recast as ghosts and interviewed by a kid team of paranormal investigators. It’s about how the past informs the present, and possibly the future, with a luminous photo-based look and an attitude of joyful melancholy. It’s also maybe the best show ever about L.A. And though

it first appeared in 2019, the second season of Henry Bonsu’s Lazor Wulf arrived at the end of 2020; it’s a simultaneously busy and leisurely afrofuturist small town surrealist sitcom whose cast includes wolves, a horse, humans and God, with a clean, geometric look that embraces flatness. It comes in from someplace outside the usual cartoon lineages.

Which shows do you think need to be praised for taking chances and offering beautiful animation as well as memorable characters and writing?

Everything by Craig McKracken, who is very much in touch with his inner child. Shadi Petosky’s Danger & Eggs, with its themes of risk and inclusiveness; I like its delicate line as well. Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh had great knockabout energy and bold visuals. Anything from the Adventure Time diaspora – Rebecca Sugar’s Steven Universe, Ian Jones-Quartey’s O.K. KO! Let’s Be Heroes, Julia Pott’s Summer Camp Island – these series can be a little strange, and occasionally very deep, but I think the best cartoons for children aren’t necessarily “made for children.” (And the best cartoons that are actually aimed at children are the ones that also work for adults, which I suppose is another way of saying they’re made for the people who make them.) It’s good to see things that are challenging and mysterious, or smart and satirical, when you’re young — things that you understand imperfectly but that make you want to know more. Being talked down to just keeps you down. Classic Looney Tunes, The Simpsons, Adventure Time — they make for a healthy diet.

Certain shows like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken seem to have cornered the market year after year. Why is that?

All awards are reductive by nature — they represent the intersection of what the voting body is likely to have seen and what’s likely to appeal to a wider range of tastes. People also tend to vote for things they’ve never actually seen but have heard of — and all voting bodies, including the one we all belong to as citizens, can be a little lazy when it comes to doing their homework — so big name shows will dominate for years. This happens with the Emmys and live-action series as well. And there’s a kind of old and new media loop that pushes certain things forward into view and leaves others by the wayside. That’s not to say those shows aren’t good. Whatever you think of The Simpsons nowadays, really terrible shows rarely get trophies. It’s just math that more great work will be passed over than rewarded; that’s why I put no stock in awards. Any awards.

How do you feel about reboots of older favorites like Animaniacs, Looney Tunes, Rugrats, DuckTales, Muppet Babies, etc.?

I’m not particularly a fan of reboots, though sometimes they produce interesting, or even historically important, results – Ralph Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures kick-started the creator-division, historically allusive, slightly subversive cartoon renaissance of the 1990s. Lauren Faust’s My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, made something special out of a franchise made to sell toys. And, of course, Space Ghost Coast to Coast is the greatest reboot of all time. (Honorable mention to Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.) But there was some vision there, not just hauling some old characters back out of an inkwell you happen to own. I would rather see something completely new and surprising.

Where Disney’s recent Mickey Mouse shorts strike me as aesthetically and spiritually unrelated to the originals, the HBO Max Looney Tunes Cartoons is a very well made pastiche of classic Warner Bros., and much better than the 2011 Cartoon Network The Looney Tunes Show, which recast Bugs and Daffy as best friends and suburban roommates and changed their proportions. Peter Browngardt, who made the pleasingly hectic Uncle Grandpa, developed it, and his team has really internalized the nuts and bolts of the originals. At the same time, I don’t quite see the point, past the advantage of throwing in some modern tech and

Catbug

Robert Lloyd

culture allusions (and putting animators to work); the originals are out there and are worth watching a thousand times over. We have the technology to make new movies with “Cary Grant,” but the Cary Grant movies we have are enough.

Still, it’s a matter of perspective: There are kids for whom Space Jam is their primary experience of Looney Tunes, just as Space Jam: A New Legacy, coming in July, will be for others; my feelings on the subject won’t make theirs any less worthwhile. Some people think The Phantom Menace is a good movie, and may the Force be with them.

Finally, what are some of your favorite animated characters of all time and why?

Jay Ward’s characters were a formative influence – Rocky and Bullwinkle (and Boris and Natasha), Peabody and Sherman, George of the Jungle (I still say “tee-NEE-tee” for TNT), Super Chicken, that whole crew. Even Captain Crunch – I watched those commercials as if they were 60-second shorts. Their mix of daring and cluelessness appealed to me; Ward and his writers were smart about what’s stupid, and I was aware early on that the strength of the writing and design made the limited animation beside the point. Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil had a different look but was hip in a similar way (lots of puns), and (as I would later learn) true to the letter and spirit of the ‘50s puppet show that inspired it. Bugs Bunny was a model for attitude; Daffy Duck for bad attitude. The Fleischer Popeye, for Jack Mercer’s improvised muttering. (I didn’t really cotton to the fact that it was a cartoon about sex and violence until much later.) I watched a lot of Felix the Cat as a kid, an oddly disturbing cartoon, and Gumby, even more so – though of course I identified with Pokey, who knew when to back out.

Homer Simpson is obviously a brilliantly original character – a Dumb Dad, but a unique conglomeration of unchecked appetites assembled in the service of satire. The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter – it was Craig McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky who got me looking at cartoons seriously again. If I look at what’s on display on my bookshelf, it’s Adventure Time characters (Ice King is a singular creation); a stuffed Puppycat, from Natasha Allegri’s Bee and Puppycat; loved the Breehn Burnshelmed seasons of the Pen Ward-created scifi adventure Bravest Warriors – an ensemble rather than a character, I suppose. But if I had to choose one: Catbug, obviously. ◆

Robert Lloyd is the TV critic at the Los Angeles Times. Sometimes, usually after dark, he masquerades as a musician (credits available on request).

Island of Animation Dreams

A Spotlight on Animation Production in Tenerife

Tenerife Film Commission director Ricardo Martínez Cedrés guides us through some of the latest developments and opportunities for animation productions in the scenic Canary Islands.

Can you tell us a little about the latest animation and VFX incentives offered to the productions in Tenerife?

Tenerife, the biggest of the Canary Islands, in Spain, offers a superb 50%-45% tax rebate for international productions taking place on our island. The requirements to obtain this tax rebate are simple and easy to meet. First of all, the total budget of the film or the series has to be more than 2 million euros. In the case of animation projects or postproduction, including VFX, foreign producers will have to spend a minimum of 200,000 euros on the island, always through a local animation studio. Afterwards, the foreign producer will get 50% back of the first million that has been spent in Tenerife and 45% for the rest, in the case of investing more than 1.9 million euros, the first million will raise up to 54% of deduction. In addition, there is no VAT for international productions that are serviced by Canarian production companies. We also offer a 5045% tax credit for Spanish productions or coproductions. So there are plenty of options to produce animation with studios from Tenerife.

What are some of the biggest benefits of producing animation in Tenerife?

It is a great combination, not only because of the unbeatable 50-45% tax incentives for national and international productions. Thanks to the Canary Islands Special Tax Regime, new animation companies that settle down in Tenerife can pay only 4% of corporate income tax, instead of the average 25% in Europe. Therefore, local studios can present

very competitive prices for their high quality

work. And of course, Tenerife has a great worklife balance and top tier IT infrastructures, as the second highest performance computer in Spain is available to rent for rendering and great data connectivity.

What are some of the animation studios and productions that are based in the region right now?

Several studios abroad have opened new branches in the island, including studios from mainland Spain, increasing the number of companies from the industry already established in Tenerife. B-Water Animation Studios (part of TT Productions) has offices around the world; in Tenerife, with a crew of 120 people, they have just finished Pettson & Findus (S3 & 4) and are currently working on Treasure Trekkers (S2) and a TV movie — their director is the Oscar nominee Thierry Marchand. They are known because of the constant innovation in the pipeline, implementing real time to generate greater efficiency in the different productions. Other studios include In Efecto Atlantis (Tara Duncan), La Casa Animada (Cleo), Mondo TV Producciones Canarias (MeteoHeroes, Grisú), Tomavision (Talent Explorers, Emmy & GooRoo) and 3 Doubles Producciones (Momonsters, 4 Day Before Christmas, Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow).

What would you say few people realize about the animation scene in Tenerife?

Since 2016, our local animation industry has quadrupled in size. At the moment, there are around 350 people working in our eight animation studios and very top talent are keen on moving from big European cities to Tenerife because of its work-life balance. It is a fact that there is an ‘Animation Hub’ in Tenerife and also the Canary Islands has plenty of talented artists. We are only a two-hour flight from Madrid and four hours to main European cities, making Tenerife a destination with easy access for co-production. Tenerife also hosts the Quirino Awards.

Can you talk about the wonderful work-life balance in Tenerife and the quality of life in the region?

Tenerife is well known because of its excellent work-life balance. The island has one of the best climates in the world with its 23ºC average annual temperature. Add to this its impressive nature: 48% of the island is a natural protected area with beaches and great forests reachable in only 30 minutes’ drive from the main cities and offices. The cost of living is also lower than in Europe — the nice and fresh Spanish food is also enjoyable. Tenerife offers without a doubt the perfect balance between leisure and work, and animators, producers and other creatives really appreciate it. ◆

For more info, visit tenerifefilm.com/animation .

A Northern Gem

Inspired by Quebecois cultures, 10th Ave Productions Uncovers Felix and the Hidden Treasure.

In the early 2000s, screenwriter/director/producer Nancy Florence Savard founded 10th Ave Productions to create unique and inspiring animated projects for family audiences around the world. Having established herself in

Saint-Augustin-De-Desmaures, near Quebec City, Canada, Savard developed, directed and co-produced the first Canadian stereoscopic

CGI animated feature film. The charming 2013 film, The Legend of Sarila, was the result of 12 years of work, and was inspired by Inuit culture and traditions. It was the first 3D animated feature entirely produced and financed in Canada.

The award-winning movie was also the first in Canada to be directed by a woman.

Since then, 10th Ave Productions has been committed to developing a 100% Canadian animated feature and TV series industry, with public partners like Sodec, Telefilm Canada and the City of Quebec, and private partners like the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Québecor Fund. With their support, 10th Ave produced its follow-up films: Rooster Doodle-Doo (2014) and Mission Kathmandu: the Adventures of Nelly and Simon (2018). In addition to numerous festival selections and awards around the world, 10th Ave Productions was named the 2019 Film Producer of the Year by the Quebec Media Producers’ Association (AQPM).

In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, 10th Ave Productions released its fourth 3D animated feature, Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa (Felix and the Hidden Treasure in the U.S. and U.K.). Despite audience limitations due to strict health measures, the film has shown good results since movie theaters reopened in Quebec. Over the months to come, Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa will be presented at various festivals and will be released theatrically in the USA, England, France, Spain, the Middle East and numerous other countries.

Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa is based on an original idea by director Nicola Lemay (Les Yeux Noirs, Nul poisson où aller, Noël Noël) who initially conceived it as a comic book. When Savard proposed bringing the story to the screen, Nicola joined forces with screenwriter Marc Robitaille (Un été sans point ni coup sûr, Le Club Vinland) to write the script. On this project, Savard decided to create her own animation unit: 10th Ave Animation. With help from five other Quebec studios, the production employed over 200 people and took more than 24 months to complete. Despite the pandemic, the team finished the film, working remotely.

Nancy Florence Savard

A Remarkable Island

“Though the challenge was great, the team, led by director Nicola Lemay, art director Philippe Arseneau Bussières, and animation director Yann Tremblay, maintained its resolve to get a Quebec-made film onto the screen,” says Savard. “The story unfolds in the unique setting of the Iles de la Madeleine, with their impressive rust-hued dunes and iconic lighthouses guiding sailors to safety. This setting is familiar to our art director Philippe, whose parents have lived there for years.”

Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa tells the story of 12-year-old Felix, whose father disappeared at sea two years ago. During his mother’s absence, Felix, convinced that his father is alive, sets out to find him, helped by Tom, a retired sailor; Rover, a cat who acts like a dog; and Squawk, Tom’s one-legged parrot. Together, after a difficult journey, the friends arrive at Darkshadow Island, ruled by the megalomaniacal Morgäa, who possesses a hidden treasure.

This animated adventure emphasizes the importance of family – the family we build with the ones we love, whom we strive to keep near us throughout our lives. The story also contains a touch of philosophy, teaching the importance of life’s every decade and reminding us that eternal youth is an illusion. The creative team at 10th Ave hopes these subjects will stimulate discussion at home after the film is over.

“As with all our previous projects, 10th Ave Productions is proud to be putting Quebec on the screen: its plants, its animals and countryside, so varied and exotic in their particular details,” Savard points out. “Blending techniques, 10th Ave delights in seeing its artists’ talents in the creation of designs, the elaboration of color schemes and the texture of productions. Though many stories have local settings, 10th Ave seeks out stories whose universal themes will attract international audiences with values that appeal to all.” As its fifth film now goes into production, the company hopes to launch co-production projects in the near future. Today, 10th Ave is developing no fewer than six animated features in the adventure, fantasy and comedy categories. It also has animated TV series in the works, featuring characters from its films, as well as a collection of Holiday Tales that could be in preproduction by next winter. In short, 10th Ave has plenty of projects coming along, including a follow-up to Felix’s adventures. ◆

For more info, visit www.10ave.com and felixandthetreasureofmorgaa.com

Alberto Vázquez’s feature Unicorn Wars is featured at Annecy this year.

As in years past, Spanish animation will have a strong presence at this year’s Annecy Festival and Market. We had the chance to talk to Tito Rodríguez, marketing director of Spain’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) to find out about the exciting details.

“First up, we’ll turn the spotlight on the use of disruptive technologies, presenting the three winning projects of the first Next Lab edition: Joaquín Martínez (Going Down), María Burgués and Enric Sant (Ibis) and Rubén Fernández (Protocolo Flambé) will be talking about their projects in an online presentation on June 16th and will travel to Annecy to have physical business to business meetings,” notes Rodríguez. “We will also be highlighting women’s work in animation, extending the news about upcoming initiatives such as the Mia Anima mentoring program or the first Manifesto of Good Practices in Equality of the Spanish Animation Industry presented by DIBOOS [Spanish Federation of Animation Producers].

Spanish studios and companies will also be represented online, under the Animation from Spain pavilion powered by ICEX banner. Among the titles presented at Annecy are two new shorts— author and illustrator Pere Ginard’s Dad Is Gone and Shira Ukrainitz and Omar Razzak’s La Prima Cosa, which are playing in the Official Selection and Perspectives programs of the festival, as well as Alberto Vazques’s highly anticipated Unicorn Wars, which is one of the features in the Work In Progress showcase According to the film’s Iván Miñambres (UniKo), Unicorn Wars’ is a fantastic movie that centers on the ancestral war between the bears and the unicorns that inhabit the magic forest. “It’s actually the story of an internal war between two twin brothers for the love of their mother and the conflicts of their past,” he explains. “It is a step forward both narratively

Spotlight on Spanish Talent

Top Spanish animated projects and new industry initiatives steal the limelight at Annecy.

and technically with respect to Psychonauts (Vázquez’s debut feature) with which we hope will reach a wider audience. The film is currently in full production between studios in Galicia (Abano Prodcións), Basque Country (UniKo) and France (Autour de Minuit and Schmuby). It is expected to be completed by mid-2022.”

Plans for a Brighter Future

Spain will also have a stellar VR presence. As José Luis Farias, creator and Founder of Paramotion Films points out, “For the past ten

years, most of the companies have been using the same technology and keep on working with the same organizational structures in animation and vfx. However, there are new and inspiring projects that are generating ideas break the habit, thinking out of the box, such as NEXT LAB which is an initiative by Paramotion Films, that aims to change this trend in a disruptive way. Participants in the workshop spend six weeks learning new tools and producing at the same time to creator a teaser for an animated project. Mixing Quill and Unreal leads those projects to a new level in less time, achieving a more intimate relation between the artist and

Going Down by Joaquín Martínez

Ibis by María Burgués and Enric Sant

the final result, making technology an ally instead of an enemy in the creative process.”

Another exciting development is the special initiative titled Mia Anima, launched by MIA association (Spain’s Women in the Animation Industry), which brings together more than 100 animation professionals. This mentoring program involves six animation projects from Spain and Latin America (features, shorts and TV Series), through which participants will undergo four months of assessment by experts followed by an event including pitching sessions. (More info will be available this September on their website animacionesmia.com.)

Nathalie Martínez, member of the board in charge of Equality Policies at Diboos, adds, “2021 will bring exciting new initiatives in the area of women in animation promotion, with the first Manifesto of Good Practices in Equality of the Spanish Animation Industry being presented around June. Other initiatives are the call for women on their very first projects in development, ‘Diboos Opera Prima,’as well as Diboos Women’s Mixer, a bimonthly gathering for women producers and entrepreneurs.”

In the coming months, under New Spanish Animation, a new brand launched by ICAA at the past edition of Clermont-Ferrand festival, the Institute will continue to highlight the work of our studios, producers and talents, this month at Annecy/MIFA, as well as the Pixelatl festival in September and in Ventana Sur’s Animation! in December,” says Rodríguez. “We also try to actively participate in markets that take place in our country such as Quirino Awards, and we will be again present at WEIRD Market in October, the same month in which a beautiful project will see the light, that will represent a turnaround in the promotion of our cinema, involving an ‘animated’ key art. But I can’t reveal any more at the moment, because it’s Top Secret!” ◆

For more info, visit icaa.es

Beardy Bodo

Riki Continues to Deliver the Global Hits

For the past two decades, animation fans have been following the fortunes of Russia’s Riki Group closely as the studio continued to build on the success of global franchises such as Kikoriki and The Fixies. We recently caught up with Anna Mysskaya, the head of Riki’s international division to find out what’s cooking at the company this year.

“The Fixies and Kikoriki continue to skyrocket,” she says. “While the 4th season of The Fixies is in production, we are also developing a spinoff show and another feature. Recently, the beloved characters were chosen as mascots of the Russian Pavilion at the World Exhibition Expo 2020, and also inspired H&M to launch a joint sustainable collection and a special episode to promote environmental principles among children. The Fixies have dramatically expanded their footprint in China recently and as of 2020 reached 13 billion views on Chinese platforms and became #1 among Russian IPs according to the ratings of Youku, Tencent and IQIYI.”

Mysskaya says like many animation providers, the studio saw the demand for content increase during the pandemic. “In the past year the role of content has become more important than ever before,” she says. “This increased competition among the quality IPs that are offered on the market challenges us. We were able to develop several new extraordinary projects. In addition, two new animated features and new seasons of Kikoriki, The Fixies, Tina & Tony and BabyRiki are currently

in production. The English-language Fixies YouTube channel reached the milestone of 1 billion views and 1 million subscribers.” One of the Riki’s newest offerings is Beardy Bodo, a highly entertaining show that has a deeply effective educational component. “We developed this project as an unusual educational show that combines cognitive elements and silly humor. It also promotes open communication within a strict framework of education,” says Mysskaya. “The main character Bodo has unique qualities which helps kids understand that it’s normal to be imperfect. We’ve had great response from viewers that proved to us that we’re definitely on the right track.” PinCode

Family Movies and More

On the features front, Riki has plans for two big releases in the 2021-2022 time frame. “Our CG-animated comedy Finnick follows the adventures of a 13-year-old girl Christine who befriends a Finn, a magical and mischievous spirit who lives in her new house,” notes Mysskaya. “Finnick has already received offers from distributors in the Baltic States, Latin America, France and Spain. We are also working on Teddy Boom, a breathtaking adventure about a self-assured thief named Max who steals a unique relic and hides it inside a teddy bear. By the end of this year, audiences will find out why it’s too late for games, when toys come to life!”

Of course, Kikoriki shows no signs of slowing down. After 18 years, it’s still the most aired animated TV show in Russia. Russian distribution company Pioner Cinema brings special screenings of Kikoriki and Friends to cinemas throughout the country. This year, the program was also picked by Toonz Media Networks for India, Africa, Latin America, U.S. and Spain; as well as the CommonSense Network’s new app Sensical which will launch this quarter.

Mysskaya says she believes that Riki’s unique brands have a special appeal both for children and adults. “It’s all about the original humor, plots, and underlying ideas,” she notes. “This sets them apart from many other animation projects. We develop our projects from season to season and so they grow and change with the viewers.

The new season of Kikoriki which premiered last year in Russia is 2D animated and it has a huge nostalgic appeal.

Audiences who grew up with the show love to revisit the show, and they want it to look the same as they remembered when they were kids. We also targeted the adult audience when we launched a special TikTok channel and it turned out to be the right decision since it gained a million subscribers in less than five months and the number went up to almost 2 million in a very short time. We continue to get great response from fans worldwide, so I believe we’re on the right track!” ◆

For more info, visit en.riki.team

The Fixies