What kind of animation has Europe’s next gen talent got in the hopper?
Cartoon Springboard, an E.U. platform organized by Cartoon for burgeoning toon talents which kicks off today in Madrid, can supply some answers.
Of the 24 projects to be pitched Wednesday and Thursday at Madrid’s Atheneum, a large part will be made, if financed, in 2D. At least half are from women.
Quite a few potential standouts come from France: ”Bitches,” which won an Annecy Ciclic Prize at its MIFA Pitches; “Maestitia,” co-helmed by Merel Hamers, at Gobelins, and “Inspector, Your Pants!” from the same prestige school; “When Monsters Within,” whose key creative Pablo Alcázar studies at Valence’s La Poudrière, another venerable French animation school.
Some directors are known values, as streaming platforms and France’s Annecy Festival turn creators into niche stars. “All Good,” for instance, is co-directed by Diego Porral, who served as animation lead on the “Kill Team Kill” episode of “Love Death + Robots.”
Most crucially, around half the titles target YA viewers. Born in the U.S. with “The Simpsons,” YA animation is now exploding in Europe. One of its major challenges is to find an international audience, as a recent Cartoon Brew article suggested. Having been at it for 35 years, the level of U.S. YA shows is formidable.
One way to square that circle, however, may be to pitch public broadcasters over Europe looking to power up their younger-skewing digital services as they move ever more front and center to networks’ identity.
There it may help that so many series at Cartoon Springboard this year carry a PBS-friendly social issue undertow: Whether an eco-conscience “(Azul’s Journey,” “Freshstyle,” “No Pets)” or gender focus “(Labinocle,” “My Grandmother is a Skydiver).” Social commitment, which Europe’s young creators have in buckets, may be one way forward.
Running Oct. 24-26, Cartoon Springboard is supported by Creative Europe-Media and the Community of Madrid, the City Council of Madrid, Madrid Film Office, and ICEX, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade. A quick breakdown of this year’s titles:
“All Good,” (Diego Porral, Joaquín Garralda, Spain)
A young adults-oriented TV comedy series, the story of a workplace burnout, directed by Porral, one of Spain’s best 2D animators, whose credits include “Love Death & Robots” and “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles.” Another Porral-Garralda project, “Leopoldo From the Bar,” played at May’s Cannes Spanish animation showcase “Revelations!”
Read more here:
https://variety.com/2023/film/global/cartoon-springboard-diego-porral-1235766311/
— Variety