Cartoon 360 is a pitching event for animation producers who are interested in turning their animation projects into a transmedia brand. Cartoon* held the online version of Cartoon 360 from 17th to 19th November, as with Cartoon Forum 2020 and Cartoon Springboard 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
*: Cartoon is an international non-profit association based in Brussels, which organizes several important annual events dedicated to professionals in the European animation industry, such as Cartoon Movie and Cartoon Forum.
Our Picks
Here are the three projects which caught our attention from the event.
“Dordogne”
Dordogne is a fascinating transmedia project consisting of three parts: a video game, an animated short film, and a VR experience. Through the three different media, the transmedia project will tell the lifelong story of Mimi, a 32-year-old woman, at a beautiful place in the Dordogne department in France, in a delicate watercolor style. You will experience the story of Mimi in the present and her childhood experience in the past as 10-year-old Mimi. The animated short film is a prequel of the video game and tells the story of Mimi’s grandmother when she moved to Dordogne. The story of the VR experience is the sequel of the video game.
Producers: UMANIMATION (France) / UN JE NE SAIS QUOI (France)
Synopsis: Dordogne is a narrative adventure game in which you play as Mimi, a 32-year-old woman visiting the house of her recently deceased grandmother. As a souvenir of the childhood summers Mimi spent with her in Dordogne, her grandmother left her letters and puzzles to solve, to remind her to make the most out of life. In this colorful region, Mimi will immerse herself back into her childhood memories, and see once again through the eyes of the little girl who marveled at everything. Dordogne is also a transmedia project: Les Ricochets is a short film that tells the story of Mimi’s grandma arriving in Dordogne as a child and a VR experience that takes the player on a stroll on the Dordogne river.
“Post Monsters”
Post Monsters is a cute animation series project (52 x 5’30) for a pre-school audience by Zeptolab (Spain) and Rocket Fox (Russia). The story centers on a girl named Eva and a cute monster called Om Nom, a popular character from some mobile games developed by Zeptolab. Om Nom also has a short animation series, “Om Nom Stories”, on YouTube, which already has more than 150 episodes with more than 3 billion total views.
Producers: Zeptolab (Spain) / Rocket Fox (Russia)
Synopsis: The story about Eva, a cheerful five-year old girl, teams up with Nommie, a restless baby monster, and the talking truck Postie to deliver parcels to their neighbors in Nomville. Every delivery turns into an adventure as they navigate the unique challenges of serving the logistical needs of Nomville. They must ensure the magic expanding dough, talking kite (that cannot fly), and all the other oddities their neighbors order safely arrive on time!
“The Very Hairy Alphabet”
The Very Hairy Alphabet is an animation series project which was pitched at Cartoon Forum 2020. At Cartoon 360, they presented their mobile app project based on the animation series that, combined with the original characters and settings from the series, can be attractive for kids.
Producers: Eagle Eye Filmproduktion (Germany) / Grupa Smacznego (Poland)
Synopsis: The Very Hairy Alphabet is a transmedia concept that will enable young children everywhere to discover and learn the wonderful world of letters and languages in a truly playful and entertaining way. The 26 x 7 mins TV Series will be complemented and amplified not only by an original The Very Hairy Alphabet learning app but also expanded through analog and digital games and books, and of course a playlist of The Very Hairy Alphabet learn-a-long songs. A stands for ALPHABET and F stands for FUN, when NITSO, the curious little Yeti Monster, together with our young audience, discovers the fascinating world of LETTERS AND LANGUAGES!