Comme chaque année, je jette un oeil aux nouveaux projets de séries d'animation européens (et autres spéciaux TV) présentés lors du festival pro Cartoon Forum, dont l'édition 2018 s'est tenue la semaine dernière à Toulouse.

Plus de 80 projets étaient montrés, et vous pouvez désormais les découvrir en vidéo à travers 6 compilations de teasers plus ou moins avancés (voir à la fin de cette news).

Ce qui me marque chaque année, c'est le peu de projets pour adultes et jeunes adultes présents, ils se comptent en général sur le doigts d'une main.

Dans tous les cas, voici les projets (jeunesse ou adultes) qui ont titillé ma curiosité au regard des quelques images et staffs présentés :

- Mum is Pouring Rain, spécial TV 26' porté par Hugo De Faucompret (du collectif Souviens Ten Zan), et produit par Laïdak Films (France).





Jeanne (8) often gazes at her navel, but that’s because she thinks it looks nice. Her mother is struggling with depression; she sends Jeanne to spend Christmas at her grandma’s in the countryside. There, Jeanne meets new friends, and a strange bum called Cloclo. He smells bad but he’s a real chef like Jeanne’s mum, although he only cooks dishes using people’s garbage. As Jeanne learns to open herself to others, she realizes that she might be the one to help her mother out of her condition. With the support from her new friends, Jeanne will get her mum out of the hospital for depressed people, and will show that her talent as a chef should not be wasted.

- Selfish (30 x 2'30), projet jeune adulte de Nicolas Trotignon et Mathieu Vernerie, développé chez Kazak Productions (France)





Gisèle, Raymond, Lucy, and Maurice are inhabitants of the hyper-connected megalopolis, Clamville, which is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. These four fish have nothing at all in common: age, gender, social status, political orientation, pastimes... Nothing, apart from their Shellphones, that they clinch onto like clams on a rock. In real life, they don’t know each other, but their paths cross and they spy on each other on social media: Crabpot, Flipper and SashiMe. Has their social life any chance of survival faced with the invasion of Shellphones? Who’s really hiding behind those fisheyes?

- In Your Face (30 x 1'), projet jeune adulte créé par Eve Ceccarelli chez Doncvoilà productions et Bridges (France)





Have you heard of street harassment? Those repetitive catcalls and unsavory remarks - you’re too fat, too black, too gay, in a too short skirt - have become harder and harder to miss. But why not give them an answer? Only out of politeness, of course!

- Big Lizard (52 x 7'), par Amaël Isnard et Tristan Dauly chez Beakus (United Kingdom)





Cosima and her Dad are astronauts. When they become marooned on a new but prehistoric planet, they meet an array of fun and intriguing animals, including the unique and talented Big Lizard. In this 3D CGI series with a Plasticene look, Cosima has a blast hanging out with her new-found friends. They are like one big family, with Big Lizard surprising her and Dad all the time. Inspired by the prehistoric Devonian period where the Coelacanth fish first walked on land, this funny and visually rich situation comedy for pre-schoolers shows us a completely new view on life, full of silliness and adventure!

- Urikito 3024 (26 x 22'30), développé par Mélanie Duval chez La Chouette Compagnie (France)





1963 - True story! Few humans build an experimental submarine city and try to live under the sea for few weeks... and then go home. But... what if they secretly stayed in? Centuries after, how would their offsprings look like? How would they survive, if the old submarine city would be destroyed by the big sea-cleaning started by the humans of the surface? To know it... you'll have to do like Erika, 10-years-old: clandestinely invite yourself on their how-so-little-yellow submarine! Get on board! Boring times are over, let your adventure begin!

- Komaneko (26 x 7'), oeuvre japonaise (que j'adore) du studio Dwarf, qui semble donc avoir été approché par le studio français Komadoli pour faire une série (le teaser présenté ne contient aucune nouveauté, il s'agit d'extraits des anciens spéciaux animés produits au Japon).



In the charming art-hall of Grand-Pa, the holidays flow peacefully. Komaneko, a little cat budding filmmaker, has many ideas or friends to occupy her days ...

- Tufo (spécial 55') développé par Victoria Musci chez Les Contes Modernes (France) et ShowLab (Italy)





"Tufo" is the true story of a Sicilian builder who became a target of the Mafia. For years, his company was damaged and his family was threatened, yet he never gave in to their will. Thanks to his fight, the criminals have been incarcerated and judged. He and his family still live in Sicily today.

- Looking for Santa, un nouveau spécial TV 26' de Folimage et Lunanime, réalisé par Marc Robinet, avec un scénario d'Alain Gagnol et des graphismes de Samuel Ribeyron.





William, 8-years-old, leads a rather lonely existence in his millionaire parents' enormous home. Used to getting anything he wants, he demands Santa himself as his Christmas present. So William's father hires a famous hunter to get his son what he wants. This unscrupulous mercenary sets a trap for his highly unusual prey. Will William's rash demand bring an end to the magic of Christmas?

- Silly Sundays (52 x 11'), nouvelle série par le studio irlandais Cartoon Saloon (Song of The Sea)





Looking back on our family outings, we rarely remember the days where everything went according to plan. It’s the days when things went a little awry that will stay with us forever – from Granny getting stuck on the waterslide to Dad’s swimming trunks being pinched by a crab – everybody knows the best memories lie in the mayhem. So join Tito, Sonia and Mel on their “Silly Sundays”, when school and work are out for the week, and a day of unforgettable family fun lies ahead!

- Pompom Little Bear (39 x 7'), série du studio Supamonks (France) d'après la BD de Benjamin Chaud.





Pompon is a six-year-old cub, in bear years. He is mischievous, cheerful, and playful. But above all things, he has an incredible and precious talent that his best friend Rita and his parents enjoy tremendously: he can make EXTRA out of ORDINARY. Thanks to his imagination and creativity making him take thousands of detours, growing day by day becomes child’s play!

- Droners (26 x 22'), série de Cyber Group Studios, La Chouette Compagnie et Supamonks (France), développée par Sylvain Dos Santos et Pierre de Cabissole, avec Bill Otomo au design.



The most incredible Drone Race ever, is about to start in Tarraqua. The best Drone teams have converged on the Paroa Archipelago to compete in epic races. Participants will need to dig deep, using every bit of skill, intelligence, and ingenuity to avoid the genius inventor’s traps and pitfalls and win the prestigious Whale Cup! Here come the Tikis. The team, composed of Corto, Enki, Mouse, and Oro, their G.EN.I.E, arrives on Paroa dead set on winning. Even though they’re novices in the world of Drone Races, the Tikis are tremendously determined – and for a good reason: threatened by rising sea levels, the future of their archipelago depends on their winning the Cup!

- The Borrowers (52 x 11'), une nouvelle adaptation d'Arrietty (sans aucun doute pour surfer sur la version Ghibli), cette fois en 3D, par le studio Blue Spirit Productions (France).





Arrietty is a Borrower, and proud of it! Ten years old, no bigger than an apple, she lives with her tiny family at the Hotel Atlantique – unbeknownst to the humans who stay there! Then, one day, one of the terrible “Giants,” a boy named Tom, saves her life. Once they’ve got over their mutual surprise – and wariness – they’ll soon find this new friendship shakes up their lives – and life at the hotel – forever! Over the course of the series, Arrietty gradually lets Tom enter the amazing world of the Borrowers.

Découvrez les teasers des 80 projets du Cartoon Forum 2018 ci-dessous :