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French animation producer Jeremy Zag is teaming with Belgium’s Nexus Factory to bring 3D toon franchise “Sammy’s Adventure” to the smallscreen.
The toon series will be co-produced by Ben Stassen’s nWave and Euro mini-major StudioCanal, which co-produced, distributed and repped Stassen’s animated feature “Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage” and its second instalment, “A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure.” StudioCanal has an equity stake in nWave. The Euros 8 million ($11.5 million) series, comprising 52 13-minute episodes, expands on the eco adventure toon pics’ storyline and follows the sea turtle Sammy’s grand children through their underwater journey. Since launching two years ago, Zag’s Paris-based animation production outfit, Zagtoon, has grown into a high-capacity studio, handling the development, production and post-production of a fast-expanding slate of series and pics. Attending Annecy Intl. Animated Film Festival, Zag also announced the pre-development of “Kobushi,” a CGI 3D burlesque comedy series, which Zag describes as a Japanese “Tom and Jerry,” turning on a sushi-obsessed cat. The $5.7 million toon, comprising 104 seven-minute episodes, is co-produced by Malaysian outfit Inspidea. French DTT youth-themed net Gulli pre-bought the series, which is repped in international markets by AB Intl. In other related news, Zag is partnering with Japanese outfit Studio Hibari (“Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Gundalian Invaders”) to develop “Sweet Power” (working title), a $7.2 million manga series. “Sweet Power” follows a group of tweeners who draw their superpowers from eating magical fruits. Zag said his shingle and Hibari are prepping a cross-media strategy and is developing multiple manga novels. Meanwhile, Zag’s film production outfit, Univergroup Pictures, continues to develop “Miraculous Lady Bug,” a Europe-set 3D superhero toon trilogy, with Aton Soumache’s Onyx Films (“Prodigies”).
