Organizers of this year’s Cartoon Forum in Kolding, Denmark have selected 69 from 24 countries to be showcased at this year’s event, Sep. 21-24. Judging from some of the titles selected, it should be a wild and crazy affair.
Representing a total of 422 hours of programming for an overall budget of 239 million euros, the small-screen show is supported by the Media Program of the European Union, the Danish Film Institute, Kolding Municipality, Vejle Country, Nordisk Film Fonden/Egmont, Nordisk Film& TV Fund, Filmkopi, Danmarks Radio, TV2, FAF, the Assoc. of Danish Film Directors and the Assoc. of Animators (Anis).
Among the titles that grabbed our attention were K Creativ’s A Sperm’s Life (Sweden), Monster Animation and Design’s Fluffy Gardens (Ireland), Mackinnon & Saunders’ Frankenstein’s Cat, Anima Vitae’s Leningrad Cowboys (Finland), Radar Film ApS’ Little Crabs (Denmark), Artisk Cirkus AB’s Lukas’ Dad Is not a Rabbit! (Sweden) and Les Films de La Perrine’s The Wonderful World of Miss Fart (France).
According to the event’s spokesperson, this is the first year Cartoon Forum has received so many pre-school projects (28 titles, that’s 40 % of the total). The vast majority of the TV programs are still targeting children, unlike feature films which are more and more frequently addressing teenage and family audiences. It’s also noted that the U.K. is presenting the largest number of series this year with 19 shows, followed by Spain with nine projects, France with seven, Ireland with six, Denmark and Sweden with three each, Iceland and Belgium with two, and Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Austria, Latvia and Bulgaria with one project each.
We love the fact that the press office took time to break down all the characters featured in the TV shows. After pointing out that 3D was on the rise and that humans account for almost half of the lead characters in the projects, they note "next came the animals with 19 projects … dogs, a giraffe, a sheep that’s completely off its trolley, a strange rabbit, an extra-terrestrial frog, a cat, a bear, some crabs and dragons. Two projects are vegetable-oriented, featuring mushrooms and some food from the fridge…and finally, there are three projects that don’t fit into any category and star, respectively, Jesus, some bubble gum friends and a band of sperms with problems." Add to that the little-known fact that the mayor of Kolding, Mr. Per Bodker Andersen, really, really enjoys singing, and you have an animated event to keep an eye on at all costs! For more info, visit www.cartoonmedia.be/forum.
