Children’s television production and licensing company Chapman Ent. and Pukeko Pictures entered into a joint venture to produce a CG-animated kids’ show being developed under the working title Trooper Tom. The partnership was forged at MIPCOM in Cannes last week, and has generated interest from 15 broadcasters, according to Chapman Ent. Pukeko Pictures is a new children’s television venture of writer Martin Baynton (Jane and the Dragon) and Richard Taylor, a five-time Academy Award-winning creative director and co-owner of New Zealand’s Weta Workshop.
Trooper Tom is an adventure series aimed at boys 6-12. Half human, half robot, all hero, Trooper Tom is a futuristic Pinocchio, an experimental android infused with human DNA. The show promises to deliver epic tales with Shakespearean villainy, a wry sense of humor and breathtaking action.
‘We are incredibly excited by our relationship with Chapman Ent. and the first property that we have developed with them,’ Richard Taylor comments. ‘The experience of presenting our show together in Cannes was nothing short of fantastic and the reaction to Trooper Tom was very rewarding.’
Taylor, Martin Baynton and Chapman Ent. creative director Keith Chapman will oversee production, which will be handled by Weta Workshop. The first season will consist of 26 half-hour episodes.
