TV Kids In-Demand: Comedy

Buyers remain on the quest for the perfect kids’ comedy series, and these offerings are looking to fit that bill: Zodiak Kids & Family’s The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti, Mondo TV and Toon2Tango’s Monster Loving Maniacs, PBS International’s Nature Cat and Australian Children’s Television Foundation’s Hardball.

The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti

Commissioners: Disney Channel EMEA, Yle
Producers: Zodiak Kids & Family France, Gigglebug
Distributor: Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution
Description: (6+, 50×11 min & 11×2 min.) Small-town life above the Arctic Circle snowballs out of control when an enormous, outrageous and unstoppable Yellow Yeti arrives in town and befriends two 12-year-old kids.
Pitch Perfect: “A visually strong, laugh-out-loud comedy for kids 6-plus, tackling universal themes of friendship and kindness. Broadcasting on Disney Channel and Disney+ across EMEA now, audiences will fall in love with the wacky yeti Gustav, as he embarks on a series of absurd adventures with two local 12-year-olds, Rita and Osmo.” —Delphine Dumont, Chief Commercial Officer, Banijay Kids & Family
Sales Contacts: Delphine Dumont; Cecile Cau, SVP, Sales, Co-Productions & Acquisitions, Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution; Julia Rowlands, SVP, Sales, Co-Productions & Acquisitions, Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution.

Monster Loving Maniacs

Commissioners: Super RTL and DR, with the participation of NRK and SVT.
Producers: Ja Film, Belvision, Ginger Pictures, Mondo TV
Distributor: Mondo TV and Toon2Tango with all rights worldwide, excluding Scandinavia.
Description: (6-10, 52×11 min.) Three monster-loving kids live with their monster-hunting grandpa. What could go wrong?
Pitch Perfect: The show is fun, with lots of excitement and humor as well as bigger themes, like families, relationships and coping with our fears, all delivered with wit, energy and stylish, skilled animation. And, of course, lots and lots of monsters and lots of comedy!
Sales Contacts: Luana Perrero, Mondo TV; Ulli Stoef, Toon2Tango.

Nature Cat

Producers: Spiffy Entertainment, Yowza! Animation
Distributor: PBS International
Description: (3-7, 20×30 min. & 2×55 min. specials) Fred is a house cat who dreams of exploring the outdoors. When his family leaves for the day, he transforms into Nature Cat, “backyard explorer extraordinaire!” There’s just one problem: he’s still a house cat with no instincts for nature!
Pitch Perfect: Nature Cat blends humor-filled adventures with timely themes such as climate and recycling. With a focus on natural sciences, the series is designed to encourage kids to explore and develop connections with the natural world.
Sales Contact: Jamie Shata, PBS International.

Hardball

Commissioner: ABC (Australia)
Producer: Northern Pictures
Distributor: Australian Children’s Television Foundation with all rights.
Description: (7-12, S1: 13×24 min., S2: 10×24 min.) When Mikey moves from New Zealand to Western Sydney, he finds himself in the thick of the ultra-competitive schoolyard game of handball.
Pitch Perfect: Mikey lands in Western Sydney from New Zealand, and on day one at his new school, he discovers the awesome game of handball. Mikey and the gang go on a huge adventure to win against the best players in the state in the prestigious handball tournament–Staties!
Slot Winner: Winner of Prix Jeunesse, International Emmy Kids Award, NHK Japan Prize and Banff World Media Festival Rockie Awards.
Sales Contacts: Roberta Di Vito, Tim Hegarty.