Turner has teamed up with African Animation Network on the brand new FupiToons Film Festival — the first “made in Africa” animated film festival aimed at kids 2-12. Hosted by AAN in partnership with Ster Kinekor, the inaugural fest will run parallel to DISCOP Johannesburg in South Africa (Oct. 26-29) and will feature the premiere of four Cartoon Network Imagination Studios shorts.
Imagination Studios was a drawing contest which ran in April 2017, created to inspire, motivate and celebrate the imagination of kids 6-12. Young participants were invited to come up with their own cartoon character duo, with the first place winner in each of four categories getting the animated treatment and set to appear on Cartoon Network across the continent on December 11. The shorts are produced by local partners — including pan-African animation company MyChild TV (executive producer), Cape Town’s PUnch Money Studios (scripts), South African 2D studio Mindseye Creative (animation), Audio Militia (post-production) and local comedians and voice over artists.
“We have been extremely impressed by the amazing, creative energy present within each of the partners and this energy, together with the imaginative entries received in this year’s Cartoon Network Imagination Studios competition, has reinforced our investment into localising content and our promise to further mentor the African animation industry”, says Ariane Suveg, Head of Programming and Acquisitions of Turner Kids’ Channels in Africa.
The Imagination Studios shorts are listed below. You can see the creative winning concepts here!
Llama Drama – Pete and Mac, the best detectives in town. (Maia Janse, 11, South Africa)
Smarter Phones – Appside Town! (Zoë-Jane Mans, 9, South Africa)
The Great Escape – Adventures of the talking pizza. (Dida Bafor, 8, Nigeria)
Attack of the Slug Monster – The Doodling Duo. (Katlego Khambule, 10, South Africa)
