Less than two months after part stealing the spotlight in Annecy, Canadian producers, broadcasters, investors and institutional execs crossed the Atlantic once more to showcase the wide range of talents the Quebec-Canada animation industry has to offer.
At the 37th edition of Cartoon Forum, Europe’s main co-production event for animated TV series once again hosted in France’s beautiful southern sunlit city of Toulouse, government funding agencies Telefilm Canada and Quebec’s SODEC, along with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) brought for the first time ever a carefully curated selection of six Quebec-Canada projects to the forefront, offering a unique platform for visibility, exchange, and co-production opportunities within the European animation industry.
With projects returning from Annecy and brand-new pitches presented for the first time to a panel of worldwide investors, this dedicated session of six pitches is designed to connect creators, producers, broadcasters around the diversity of Quebec-Canada animation, opening new pathways for collaboration in an ever-more contracting global market.
Around this dedicated pitching session, Variety spoke with the teams of this rich, diverse panel of animated series in the making.
Algorythm
Producer: Extérieur Jour (Quebec-Canada)
Co-producer(s): Couleur.tv (Quebec-Canada), Zeilt Production (Luxemburg)
Director: Francis Gélinas
Format: 26 x 5 minutes
Technique: 2D, 3D Computer & Cut-out
Algorythm is the name of Yasmina’s “YourTube” channel. As the most sparkling vlogger in the entire metaverse, she uses her virtual reality headset to infiltrate the Internet and talk about digital literacy.
“But our protagonist Yas is not a teacher lecturing kids,” adds Elodie Pollet, producer at Extérieur Jour. “She’s one of them, and while figuring out in real time how to adapt, and build critical thinking about how children aged 9 to 13 use the internet and social media, she dives deep into digital literacy topics that are very relevant today.”
Already presented in Annecy back in 2024, “Algorythm” is now in advanced development, with a teaser and a pilot episode completed in both English and French, shares Pollet. “At Cartoon Forum, we’re specifically looking to connect with an English-Canadian broadcaster, international broadcasters, and a sales agent to handle international distribution.”
At this stage, Canadian broadcasters Radio-Canada and TFO have already boarded the project, and Quebec actress Mélissa Bédard is confirmed as lead voice cast.
Alien Book Club
Producers: Big Bad Boo Studios (Canada), Beakus (UK)
Director: Shabnam Rezaei
Format: 39 x 7 minutes
Technique: 2D Computer
Pitching for the very first time her project, director-producer Shabnam Rezaei brings “Alien Book Club” to Cartoon Forum. In her brand new upper-preschool TV series, five extraordinary aliens jump into classic stories to learn something about themselves in a huge space-age library. Because in the Intergalatic Library Bus, there’s a book and a story for everyone.
“Preschoolers first fall in love with characters on the screen,” explains Rezaei, “then they imitate them. Austen, Shirl, Rumi, and the rest of our giggly aliens love to read and so with ‘Alien Book Club,’ we hope to turn our viewers into proud readers, as they become cool members of a very important club. “
It’s that premise that also appealed to Steve Smith, producer at Beakus. “Our project is a joyful celebration of books that helps children around the world fall in love with reading, with plenty of silliness along the way. With human-made animation, crafted with real care for global audiences of young readers.”
At Cartoon Forum, the team is looking for co-production partners, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and investors, with CMF development backup and early interest from several public U.S. broadcasters.
El Kapoutchi, the King of Villains
Producer: Punch! Animation (Quebec – Canada)
Director: Sylvain Lavoie
Format: 26 x 7 minutes
Technique: Cut-out
In the town of Harmony, people share common qualities such as kindness, honesty or a sense of happiness… and El Kapoutchi hates it! A passionate and eccentric inventor, he uses his bubbling imagination to bring trouble to the quiet, peaceful town. And in his endeavor, he faces kids, who, unfortunately for him, aren’t as naive as their parents. Often craftier than the ultimate villain, they use their creativity and resourcefulness to trick him into falling victim to his own traps.
An adaptation of the CBC/Radio Canada eponymous podcast by Alexandre Courteau and Pascale Richard, “El Kapoutchi” is brought to Cartoon Forum by Benoit Godbout, Sylvain Lavoie and Julie Mongeau, the trio behind Punch! Animation, who each bring their own expertise to the joint project and the company.
Miss Tzatziki’s Classroom Mysteries
Producer: Happy Camper Média (Quebec Canada)
Director: TBC
Format: 26 x 11 minutes
Technique: 2D Computer
In Miss Tzatziki’s Class Mysteries, everyday school life turns into thrilling cases, as four quick witted-friends try to solve the baffling mysteries of stolen sandwiches, a missing hamster, a suspicious fire alarm, and more.
Blending humor, suspense and school-life situations, each episode of “Miss Tzatziki” (adapted from Patrick Doyon and André Marois’ graphic novel “The Sandwich Thief”) invites young viewers to step into the investigation, solving the case alongside the characters.
“The show playfully brings the conventions of classic crime fiction into stories inspired by children’s everyday lives,” explain producers Solen Labie Trépanier and Renaud Sylvain. “Drawing on more than 15 years of the creator’s encounters with students in schools, the series turns everyday school mysteries into full-fledged investigations. The result is a funny, familiar, and distinctive world, built around universal storytelling codes that can engage both children and adults.”
Radio-Canada commissioned the series, which makes its pitching debut here at Cartoon Forum. The teams are looking for broadcasters, co-production partners as well as international distribution for the series.
Semanka
Producer: Chrystelle Maechler Productions (Canada)
Creator/Director : Chrystelle Maechler
Format: 13x 11 minutes
Technique: 3D Computer
Returning after a successful broadcaster (TFO) / producer pitch in Annecy, “Semanka” is now building up around its IP, with CMF grants to develop a video game concept, while Maechler also received funding to develop the first draft of a book centered around these characters. “Both of these fundings send a strong signal of the franchise potential of a world that extends well beyond the screen,” adds the producer/creator of “Semanka.”
“This story was born from my own mixed-race and globe-spanning family, spread across Canada, Madagascar, France, Germany, and Australia,” she continues. “Moreover, it was born out of love for my nephews, so entertainment comes first, but woven into the adventure are things I care deeply about: family ties, that sense of belonging that exists beyond distance, whether geographical or emotional.”
Diversity is also a major theme in “Semanka,” a show crafted to encourage kids to build their own confidence and learn to love what might seem like quirks in themselves and others.
And through its narrative, Maechler also underlines the need for protecting our nature. “Saving plants and seeds has never felt more urgent, with rising temperatures and conflicts reshaping our world. But those messages don’t need to be heavy. We trust kids’ intelligence and let them draw their own meaning from this adventure, with laughter and lightness.”
Attending Cartoon Forum from end to end, Maechler seeks the right European partners (co-producers, studios, broadcasters, streamers, distributors, sales agents) to help bring “Semanka” to life worldwide, on screen and beyond.
The Labradoodles
Producer: Imagine Create Media (Canada)
Director: Tara Hungerford, Eric Hogan
Format: 10 x 22 minutes
Technique: Stop-motion
“The Labradoodles,” one of the few stop-motion series presented at Cartoon Forum, tells the tale of a loving family caught in the whirlwind of everyday modern life. Roger and Kate, a slowly drifting apart couple juggle work while their children Emma and Jack race between school, sports and screens. Then Roger inherits a tiny cottage on a remote island. When a storm strands the family with no wi-fi and no way home, everything changes. Forced to trade screen time for campfires, skyscrapers for forests, and schedules for sunsets, they slowly rediscover the joy of slowing down and being together.
“‘The Labradoodles’ is about a modern dog family living a fast-paced city life,” explains Hogan. “Like many families today, they’re so busy keeping up that they don’t realize how disconnected they’ve become.”
“We wanted to make a warm, funny, cozy family series that uses the tactile charm of stop-motion animation,” adds Hungerford, who co-directs, co-produces with Hogan and Imagine Create Media third producer Tracey Mack. “Our show explores what happens when a busy family is suddenly forced to slow down.”
Imagine Create Media boasts a strong track record partnering with Canadian broadcasters and comes ready to use Cartoon Forum numerous opportunities to begin building international financing and distribution partnerships for the series. “We’re looking to meet broadcasters, distributors, co-production partners and other international partners who connect with this preschool-bridge age series with family co-viewing appeal,” concludes the team. “And we’re particularly interested in relationships that can help us build The Labradoodles into an internationally resonant, long-running pre-school property.”
Thanks to the support of Canadian agencies, these teams might very well achieve this goal, reinforcing the transatlantic collaborations between European and Canadian animation industries.