French broadcaster Canal+ and the U.K.’s CBBC have their paws on Twisted Whiskers, a new CG-animated TV series from American Greetings Properties, Taffy Ent. and DQ Ent. Now in production, the show consists of 52 10-minute episodes and 30-second shorts for kids 4-12, and is scheduled to debut in early 2009.
Produced in association with Mike Young Prods., Twisted Whiskers is based on American Greetings’ popular greeting-card line featuring comically bizarre-looking cats and dogs. Launched in 2001, it became the fastest-selling summer social expressions line ever developed by American Greetings.
‘We see Twisted Whiskers as a 21st century extension of Looney Tunes in the sense that each segment is treated like a self-contained theatrical short where we mix and match a core group of strong and uniquely off-beat pet characters in a wide variety of scenarios,’ explains Sean Gorman, VP of development and production for American Greetings Properties. ‘We are confident that its squash and stretch fur animation, rendered in full HD, will only make the humor and characters of Twisted Whiskers all the more endearing.’
The stretched, squashed and pop-eyed pets will be brought to the screen by animator Bill Kopp, whose credits include the original Simpsons shorts that aired on The Tracey Ullman Show, and Savage Steve Holland, the writer/director of the cult film favorite Better Off Dead. Taffy Ent. represents the property for international distribution.
