- Latest generation of animated series presented in Poland sparks broadcaster and investor interest across Europe

- Quality and creativity set apart European animated series as they gain TV slots

- Series for children aged 6-9 and preschoolers still prevail in Europe but interest for projects targeting young adults is growing

European animation for television has a promising future ahead, with strong quality projects sparking the interest of broadcasters and investors as well as audiences. Such was the conclusion from the 22nd Cartoon Forum, the European co-production forum which closed its doors on 16th September in Sopot, Poland.

The positive sector trend was helped by a significant rise in investments and production volume, which grew about 30% year on year according to information from the event's organisers, CARTOON - the European Association of Animation Film. Creativity and a large diversity of concept and design stand out as characteristics of European animation.

The latest edition of Cartoon Forum served as a showcase for 66 new projects for animated series which sought wider distribution and financing at the event. Studios from 19 countries are involved in the production of the projects, which have a total budget of 215 million Euros and represent some 468 hours of content.

Series for children aged 6-9 and preschoolers remain the most popular in Europe, representing 33 and 29% respectively of the total. The event also detected a growing interest in projects for young adults, a trend which could eventually lead to new slots for animation in channel programming.

With a third of the projects selected, France was the main protagonist of the event with eight of the 10 most-attended projects (list below). Meanwhile, Britain and Spain doubled their participation from last year with 14 and 11 projects respectively while Polish animation showed its potential with five projects.

Irish animation took the Cartoon Tributes 2011 - the annual awards to outstanding companies that have had a dynamic influence on the European animation industry - winning Broadcaster and Producer of the Year (RTÉ and Monster Animation, respectively). As for Investor/Distributor of the Year, the award went to awol animation, a Paris-based company headed by Ireland's Julie Fox.

The future promise of animation also had a place at Cartoon Forum Polska with the Cartoon d'Or award for the best European animated short film of the year, which this year went to "The Little Boy and the Beast" directed by Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschötter (Germany) and produced by Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg.

The next edition of Cartoon Forum will take place from 11 to 14 September 2012, in Toulouse, one of France's most dynamic cities and home to some of French animation's best studios.


Top ten projects in terms of attendance at the pitching session

- "Oscar and Hoo" - Frog Box (FR) - eOne (UK)
- "Burny the Little Dragon - LuxAnimation (LU) - Gaumont - Alphanim (FR) - Cromosoma (ES)
- "Dimitri" - Vivement Lundi! (FR) - Beast Animation (BE) - Nadasdy Film (CH)
- "Roger" - Je Suis Bien Content (FR)
- "Hubert & Takako" - Xilam Animation (FR)
- "The Crumpets" - 4.21 Productions (FR) - Redcastle Mediaconsulting (FR)
- "Secret Ranch" - Tele Images Productions (FR)
- "Crazy Cavemen!" - Silver Fox Animation (UK) - Evergreen Entertainment (UK) - Cine Cartoon (AU)
- "The Cookie and Crime Club" - Neomis Animation (FR)
- "Ori & Gami" - Jus de Prod (FR) - 2 Minutes (FR)

Cartoon Forum Organisation: Annick Maes - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Tel: (32) (2) 242 93 43

International Press: Gerardo Michelin - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Tel: (34) 630 57 22 68
Poster of the event and high-resolution stills of the projects: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/FORUM/press.php (password: baltic2011)

Pictures of the event: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/FORUM/gallery.php
All pictures © Valerie de Halleux / CARTOON

About CARTOON FORUM
Created in 1990 to boost the co-production and distribution of European animation for television and new media platforms, Cartoon Forum has helped 470 animation series obtain financing to the tune of over 1.6 billion EUR.

Cartoon Forum Polska was organised by CARTOON with the support of MEDIA - a Programme of the European Union, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, the Polish Film Institute (PISF) and the City of Sopot, in collaboration with Studio Miniatur Filmowych (SMF). Cartoon Forum Polska was one of the events under the patronage of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.

About CARTOON
CARTOON is an international non-profit association based in Brussels that organises Cartoon Forum, together with Cartoon Movie, a co-production forum for feature-length animation, Cartoon Master training seminars and Cartoon Connection, a new programme intended to explore ways of reinforcing cooperation between EU and non EU animation professionals.

Link to press release in PDF: http://www.cartoon-media.be/MASTERS/digital/uploads/pdf_report/84_PRFinal_CF2011.pdf