Cartoon Network Asia Pacific has named four Australian-made animation projects that will feature in its regional programming line-up in 2016.
Flying Gherkin's non-verbal claymation comedy adventure Bill & Tony and Ludo Studio's Sketchy Show, a comedy that turns real kids' drawings into animated shorts with a cast of coloured-in characters surrounded by insanity, are short-form series commissioned by Cartoon Network.
Rubber House Studios' action/adventure/comedy Lasso & Comet, the tale of a 13-year-old boy with a magic rope and his best friend, a talking comet, has been accepted by Cartoon Network Studios’ international shorts program and a short will soon go into production.
Cartoon Network Australia has greenlit a pilot for Monster Beach: The Series, a story about surfing, scary locals and two kids battling to save their new home, from Bogan Entertainment Solutions.
The telemovie by the same name won a 2015 ASTRA award and Keith Moore won an APRA award as composer of the soundtrack. It's also been nominated for a gong at the Asian Television Awards.
Mark Eyers, chief content officer for Turner’s kids’ channels in Asia Pacific including Cartoon Network and Boomerang, said: “We’re looking to build on our success with Exchange Student Zero and Monster Beach, and develop even more Australia-made content using our “virtual studio model” approach.
"The level of professionalism of the creators, the creative culture and understanding of comedy animation that can be exported around the world, are all reasons for tapping into this impressive talent pool.”
The content will also air on Cartoon Network Anything and Cartoon Network Watch and Play digital platforms. Cartoon Network Anything is the recently-launched app which hosted the debut of animated digital series Mighty Magiswords, which offers viewers a choice of different endings.
The Sketchy Show and Bill & Tony are slated for a digital debut on the app next year.
Exchange Student Zero, Cartoon Network’s first full-length Australian-made series, is product of a virtual studio model and wraps production in Melbourne this week.
For the first time the production team including voiceover artist Rove McManus has come together to discuss the universal mix for children’s entertainment: music, animation and comedy at Screen Forever.
Cartoon Network’s Melbourne-based creators Patrick Crawley, Bruce Kane and Maurice Argiro worked on the 13-part comedy-adventure that fuses anime with Western animation and ideas and features the many voices of McManus and the music of Devo’s Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh.