French studio Superprod has announced development of a short-form animated series titled Zero Waste Kids, inspired by the bestselling environmental books written by Jérémie Pichon and illustrated by Bénédicte Moret (published by Thierry Souccar Editions).
Zero Waste Kids is an illustrated guide for kids to become key players in environmental protection, full of humor and encouragement. The stories were initially inspired by the authors’ own experiences sharing their “zero waste” lifestyle goals with their 6- and 8-year-old kids, with the family reducing their trash output by 91% in two years.
“I personally love this book for developing the zero waste in our everyday life,” said Carole Brin, CDO at Superprod. “I am convinced that kids can raise awareness around them that zero waste is a necessity, and we’re thrilled that the series will continue to spread the message. Preserving the environment, embracing the future with responsibility and empowering all the kids with those values is of major importance to us.”
Superprod is now adapting the concept with a digital platform focus into short, witty two- to three-minute episodes aimed at kids 7+ and their families. In addition to the 100,000 copies of (Almost) Zero Waste Family sold, the property has a robust online fan community with 20,000 monthly blog visits and 95,000 Facebook fans in France alone. The series will also be available for TV. The studio intends to deliver the first episodes in fall 2018.
“Jérémie and Bénédicte, with their enthusiasm, humor and pragmatism managed to share their desire to show dedication to the environmental protection through the zero waste on a daily basis,” said publisher Thierry Souccar. “The books are a hit in France – but also in Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada, and soon in Italy with the coming adaptation for (Almost) Zero Waste Family.”
“We think the Zero Waste Kids series will certainly appeal to our traditional partners of course, such as TV broadcasters in France and worldwide, but we are also working upfront with financing partners with an eye to create a programme that will be a perfect fit for digital platforms,” commented Clément Calvet and Jérémie Fajner, founders of Superprod. “We have already received interests from many sponsors, mainly coming from the social and solidarity economy: they are very sensitive to the values that the series conveys and appreciate that it relates directly to the kids while involving the whole family.”
