Paris-based production and distribution company Dandelooo has taken worldwide distribution rights –not including Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Canada– to Finland’s Pikkukala-produced animated series ‘Royale Sisters,’ currently in pre-production.
Belgium’s Lunanime, which boarded Oscar-nominated ‘A Cat in Paris,’ and Ireland’s Ink & Light Films (‘Harry & Bip’) have boarded ‘Sisters’ as co-financing partners.
The Producer of the Year at Toulouse’s Cartoon Forum this year –where ‘Sisters’ was pitched– Dandelooo will represent the series at Mipcom. As a producer, Dandelooo is making “Stinky Dog” in co-production with Didier Brunner’s Folivari (‘The Triplets of Belleville,’ ‘Kirikou’ franchise). As a distributor, Dandelooo handles sales of the TV series ‘Ernest and Célestine: The Collection.’
A 52-part 11-minute episodes series, ‘Sisters’ is a hybrid live-action/animation show following 13-year-old Stella and her royal family as they try to live a normal life in the city where they are forced to move due to extensive refurbishment of their castle.
‘Sisters’ is created by Veronica Lassenius, whose credits include animated series ‘Fungi,’ ‘Saari’, co-founder of Pikkukala alongside producer-director Pablo Jordi. Show is backed by Finnish public broadcaster YLE and has received development support from the Media Program, Finland’s audiovisual promotion platform AVEK and the Finnish Film Foundation.
‘Sisters’ is a comedy about adapting to change without loosing your own identity. By seeing extraordinary people struggling with ordinary things we can laugh and value everyday things a little bit more,” Pikkukala CEO Jordi told Variety.
Tamsin Lyons at Ink & Light added: “‘Sisters’ has a unique look, gorgeous characters and a fresh take on the world of princesses. We loved the universally relatable fish-out-of-water story of Stella and her family.”
‘Sisters’ production is scheduled to begin in Summer 2018. First episodes are planned to be available in fourth-quarter 2019.
Based in Helsinki, Pikkukala was founded in 2012 by Jordi (‘Angry Bird Toons’) and Lassemius. Company creates digital entertainment for family and tykes with a focus on mobile games and animation.
Source: Mayorga, Emilio; Variety. 2017.