Cyber Group Studios’ Raphaelle Mathieu

Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media at Cyber Group Studios, talks to TV Kids about what’s next for the company.

Cyber Group Studios’ success story has its roots in a preschool show about little penguins and their adventures. Ozie Boo!, with its messages of conservation and preservation, went on to conquer the globe, and helped to put Cyber Group on the map as a key player in the world of kids’ animation. The company has continued this legacy with a string of hits, spanning all age groups and animation styles. With Gigantosaurus, Cyber Group looks to add another preschool success to its stable, and there’s much more coming down the pipeline.

***Image***TV KIDS: How did Gigantosaurus come about?
MATHIEU: Gigantosaurus is in line with Cyber Group’s original know-how and passion. After Ozie Boo!, which launched the company, and Zou, for which the three seasons have been sold in more than 170 territories and watched by almost a billion viewers all over the world, we wanted a new, exciting project for preschoolers. We thought that Giganto was a unique story. We have invested a lot in this program, both financially and artistically. Olivier Lelardoux, the director and a partner at Cyber Group, has done a terrific job. We are thrilled to present it during MIPJunior as the world premiere screening on Saturday, October 13. The series has been acquired by Disney Junior worldwide, including the U.S., and as well by major free-TV partners such as France Télévisions, Super RTL in Germany, SRC in Canada and many more to be announced soon. We also have a deal with Netflix, almost worldwide, and a partnership with JAKKS Pacific for the merchandising.

TV KIDS: The series is based on a book by Jonny Duddle, who is also behind The Pirates Next Door. Tell us about the partnership with Jonny.
MATHIEU: We fell in love with the work of Jonny when we saw The Pirates Next Door. Along with Gigantosaurus, we have optioned another of his books, The King of Space, a great inspiration for a series that we have developed in-house. We are actively speaking with a number of very enthusiastic broadcasters about these new adventures! Our partnership with Jonny is really wonderful, and we hope to strengthen this relationship—perhaps with an original series he could be thinking about. We are thrilled to have Jonny joining us for the world premiere screening of Gigantosaurus during MIPJunior.

TV KIDS: What was the genesis of Taffy?
MATHIEU: Taffy is a unique story. Turner wanted to develop [a project with] the spirit and the legend of [classic] toons. We were eager to try the challenge of producing a cartoon, but it was a real audacious one! We worked really hard to submit a number of concepts to Turner and they fell in love with Taffy. The series is an original concept from Pierre Sissmann [founder, chairman and CEO of Cyber Group] and Mike de Seve [of Baboon Animation]. Turner has been very much involved in following and supporting the writing process, and we are thrilled to be working on this show, which will be their first Boomerang original, together with Turner and France Télévisions, which has been a great supporter of the series in France. This is a big challenge for us as it is our first cartoon, and it is a very unique genre for which the work of the story-boarders and the director are absolutely critical. Ahmed Guerrouache, our director, has done incredible work, and we are really grateful. This will be a great show for the whole family.

TV KIDS: What makes Sadie Sparks stand out in the marketplace?
MATHIEU: Sadie Sparks is an original animated sitcom about a college girl who is a magician in training. She is helped by the greatest magician of all time, Gilbert, the same one who trained Merlin. This is a fun and lively story, which Disney EMEA has been very involved in. The theme song, which you will discover in Cannes along with the very first episodes, is performed by a very talented young Disney star. We are co-producing the series together with Brown Bag Films in Ireland. The unique touch and storytelling is supported by the use of 3D [to show] the human world, of 2D for the magical world and of many special effects. This was quite a challenge, and we hope kids will love it as much as we do.

TV KIDS: How many series does Cyber Group currently have in production or development?
MATHIEU: As you can see, we are very active right now! In addition to Gigantosaurus, Taffy and Sadie Sparks, we are proud to bring audiences around the world the second season of Mini Ninjas; a new incredible adaptation of Tom Sawyer; Nefertine, which we are doing with Rai in Italy and Graphilm; and last but not least, Droners, with La Chouette Compagnie and Supamonks Studios and TF1 in France as a key partner. We are also developing approximately 12 new projects in-house to make sure we bring our partners the best programs.

TV KIDS: How do you balance growing the current slate of IP with nurturing the existing brands in the portfolio?
MATHIEU: Our aim is to optimize our existing brands, but in the meantime, it is paramount for us to always look for new IP, either existing or to be created.

TV KIDS: Following two recent hires in the digital space, how is Cyber Group expanding in that area?
MATHIEU: Our aim is to be more present in the different digital environments. Within the next six months, we are looking forward to optimizing the amount of views and revenues on YouTube with our brands and channels, and we want to explore more digital exposure. On the interactive front, our aim is to adapt our existing IP as video games. The first responses we have [received] from that are really promising.