TV Kids In-Demand

Ahead of next week’s inaugural TV Kids Festival, we’re spotlighting a range of stand-out new and returning children’s programs in our latest series of In-Demand Reports. Today we take a look at ZDF Enterprises’ Zoom—The White Dolphin, Superights’ Anna & Friends, Mondo TV’s Annie & Carola (which is set for a TV Kids Festival premiere) and Lacey Entertainment’s Kiva Can Do!

Zoom—The White Dolphin

Commissioned By: ZDF Enterprises
Produced By: Media Valley, Marzipan Films
Rights Available: Contact ZDF Enterprises.
Description: After being the hero of the 1970s cult series created by Vladimir Tartakovsky and Marc Bonnet, the most famous cetacean in cartoon history makes his comeback in the animated series Zoom—The White Dolphin.
Duration: 104×12 minutes
Target Demo: 6-10
Pitch Perfect: Yann, an intrepid 15-year-old, and his little 7-year-old sister, Marina, live with their Uncle Patrick, an oceanographer, on the paradise island of Maotou, in the Pacific Ocean. Yann’s best friend is Zoom, a remarkably intelligent white dolphin. Zoom takes Yann and his friends on exciting adventures, set in the fascinating, fragile and danger-filled underwater world, as well as on dry land. Comedy and humor are central to the series, expressed through a host of colorful characters, including Raoul, Marina’s pet koala; John-Sebastian, the chatterbox mynah bird; Loaf, the sloth; and other inhabitants of Maotou Island.
Sales Contact: Arne Lohmann.

Anna & Friends

Commissioned By: France Télévisions
Produced By: Superprod, Digital Graphics, Atmosphere
Rights Available: The series is distributed by Superights. Many discussions are pending to close presales. All rights are available for now except in France, where free-to-air rights are secured by France Télévisions.
Description: What do you get when you cross an imaginative little girl, an impatient frog, an over-confident dog, a thoughtful cat and a naïve earthworm? A hilarious and heartwarming preschool series featuring five inseparable friends celebrating the power of friendship, imaginative play and backyard “grown-up” adventures! Enter the simple whimsical world of Anna & Friends and the joyfulness and enthusiasm that childhood brings.
Duration: 78×7 minutes
Target Demo: Upper preschool
Pitch Perfect: Why Anna & Friends? It’s based on the popular and beloved comic book series published in seven languages. Its innovative CG animation technique simulates a charming hand-modeled clay look. The vibrant engaging stories burst with heart, humor and happiness. It’s an exploration of sincerity, self-expression and the joy of togetherness. It promotes an appreciation for the natural world and inspires young viewers’ wonder, imagination and creativity.
Slot Winner: The very first episode will be ready at the end of February. Stay tuned!
Sales Contacts: Nathalie Pinguet, Canada, Western Europe, Nordics, Russia, Australia, New Zealand; Jeromine Ader, CEE, Middle East, Africa, inflight; Pedro Citaristi, Asia, LatAm, Southern Europe; Louise de Staël, U.S.A.

Annie & Carola

Commissioned By: RTVE
Produced By: Mondo TV Iberoamérica, MB Producciones, RTVE
Rights Available: All rights, media and L&M, worldwide (except for Spain).
Description: Nerdy Carola builds Annie—a robot clone—as a friend. But the crazy, uninhibited Annie drags her into all the situations she fears the most.
Duration: 52×11 minutes
Target Demo: 6-10
Pitch Perfect: Annie & Carola is fantastically entertaining—full of great gags, sparkling dialogue and hilarious slapstick: all you’d expect from a high-quality animated comedy. But it’s also about kids with feelings and needs that we all share: shyness, solitude, frustration, embarrassment, sympathy, pride, tenderness and friendship. Our geeky heroine and her crazy robot are completely different, but they are devoted pals, and viewers will love their originality and uniqueness while identifying with their emotions and interactions. This is a wide-ranging project with universal appeal and a wonderfully original approach, strengths which make it appropriate for multiple, varied media.
Sales Contact: Maria Bonaria Fois, CEO, Mondo TV Iberoamérica.

Kiva Can Do!

Commissioned By: Screen Ireland, Broadcast Authority of Ireland, RTÉjr; developed with support from Creative Europe & Screen Ireland
Produced By: Kavaleer Productions
Rights Available: Free TV, all forms of VOD, pay TV in select markets and L&M, via Lacey Entertainment.
Description: Along with her best friend, Saul, and her cardboard dog, Angus, Kiva conceives some amazing adventures that bring them around the world and well beyond.
Duration: 52×11 minutes
Target Demo: 3-5
Pitch Perfect: Each day after school, grandmother Nanni brings Kiva to her home where Kiva, Saul and Angus have the run of the living room. This special place is where every awesome adventure begins. Nanni’s home is an incubator for ideas and dreams that are filled with promise and excitement. Using whatever odds and ends are found around Nanni’s home, Kiva and Saul quickly transform these items into fantastic props for their adventures. Kiva Can Do! is an original series with positive prosocial stories that are characterized by warmth and cheerful fun that reflects the highly imaginative play patterns of children around the world. Kiva is an especially aspirational character helping to encourage constructive development. The Kiva Can Do!storytelling deftly avoids academic moralizing that children viewers instinctively consider dull and trite. The ensemble cast of characters, most notably the very affectionate relationship with grandmother Nanni, helps to infuse a genuinely authentic transgenerational appeal to the series. Featuring a colorful and multi-textured animation production design combined with magical storytelling, the Kiva series will deliver a strong and loyal viewing audience. The kid-identifiable characters living in their own worlds gently remind and encourage young viewers that like Kiva, anything you can dream, you can do. The stories and dialogue are playful and fresh with just the right comedic touch that makes for compelling children’s entertainment. Available in 25 languages.
Slot Winner: Airing on Nick Jr. (worldwide excluding U.S.), Gulli, Discovery Italy, RTÉ.
Sales Contact: Brian Lacey.