After three intense days of enthusiastic pitch sessions in Toulouse, Comic Book Forum retained their same strengths after returning to an in-person event: high-quality projects with a wide variety of topics, and emerging talent showcased to open up a fantastic new perspective on the future of animation .
This year’s pitch selection presented 84 animated television series projects of 21 European countries, for a total budget of 326.1 million euros, representing 460 hours animation. The most represented producing countries were: France (33), Ireland (11), Germany (8), Spain (6) Belgium (5), the Czech Republic, Denmark and Portugal (4).
The 10 most popular pitch sessions were:
- Mr. Crocodile – Magical Society of Joann Sfar (FR)
- Me and my compost – Roll on Monday! & Superprod (FR)
- Under the school – Ellipsanime Productions & Timpel Pictures (FR)
- Living with daddy – Dupuis Edition & Audiovisual & Belvision (FR / BE)
- Scared – Around Midnight & FKLG (FR)
- Sacha and the Christmas creatures – Xbo Movies (FR)
- Corgi, a royal family – Studio Redfrog & nWave (FR / BE)
- Guardians of the Chimera – Monello Productions (FR)
- Abyss: Very special case unit – The Shipowners (FR)
- Voro – Les Films du Poisson Rouge & Why Not AI (FR)
Clockwise from top left: Corgi, a royal family; Voro; Abyss: Very special case unit; The guardians of the chimera; Ash and the Christmas creatures (center)
Top 5 EU co-production pitches:
- Living with daddy – Dupuis Edition & Audiovisual & Belvision (FR / BE)
- Corgi, a royal family – Studio Redfrog & nWave (FR / BE)
- Tommy pepper – Luname & Melusine Productions (BE / LUX)
- Tales of Terror – Dream Logic & Lupus Films (IE / LUX)
- Space ham – MiniCosmos & Dandelooo (DK / FR)
Top 5 locations by percentage of buyers in the room:
- Little Charlie – Alexandra Schatz Filmproduktion & Submarine (DE / NL)> 67%
- Rhina Rhinoceros – The Big B Animation (DE)> 66%
- Little Toot – Toolbox film (DK)> 62%
- Freddy Buttons Wacky Mysteries – Treehouse Rep. & Tumbledown Media (IE)> 60%
- Hadido and the red flower – HECAT Studio (FR)> 58%
Cartoon Forum 2021 hosted 202 bought on the site in Toulouse, including 7% of new buyers, like Benshi (FR), TV Nova (CZ), Tribes Media (Glitch – NL), El Reino Infantil (SP), FairSquare Comics (USA) and Asmodee Entertainment (FR). Retaining elements of the 2020 digital edition, the event attracted 65 additional buyers in attendance virtually – 24.2% of the 267 buyers in total.
In total, this year’s event brought together 1,015 participants of 41 countries – 885 on site in Toulouse and 130 others virtually present. The gender balance of all participants fell roughly equal between women (50.3%) and men (49.4%), and 0.3% of non-binary participants.
Clockwise from top left: Tales of Terror, Cannabiz, Griott & Mungo, What It Takes
Notable trends in this year’s selection include:
- Adaptations of great success. The world of novels and comics is a fantastic source of new animated TV series: Mr. Crocodile from the comic strip by Joann Sfar, Living with daddy comic Father by NOB, Hi Oscar! From the book Oskar ja asjad by Andrus Kivirahk and Tales of Terror children’s novel Uncle Montague’s Tale of Terror by Chris Priestley.
- The girls take the lead. Girls now take on much stronger and more active roles as main or supporting characters. Their personalities and the way they are described have evolved, as Griott de Griott & Mungo, which has a “character carved in stone”. The same goes for Audrey in Audrey’s refuge, Blanchet in Valley of the Monsters, Fio Lina in Fio Lina and the maestro and Nadia, among others.
- Titles intended for adults. As strong as ever, the demographic target of young adults and adults is increasing in animated television programs, in particular Cannabiz, Voro, Seniors, Scared, Start with hope and Dick has a problem.
- A new generation. The success of their presentations spoke volumes about the growing newcomers in the industry: Les Valseurs with Samuel (FR), Dreamin ‘Dolphin Film with Hygge (DE / DK), MiniCosmos with Space ham (DK / FR), The Astronauts with What’s needed (FR) and Pigeon with Welcome to Mamoko (POL).
The cartoon mobile app (and the web version) will remain available so that participants can refer to project information at any time. Checked in remedial sessions will also be visible on the digital platform until midnight on October 15. Attendees are encouraged to continue to discover this year’s exciting projects and fill out feedback forms to help showcase producers improve their projects.
Save the Date: Cartoon Forum 2022 will take place September 19-22 in Toulouse, France.
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