Maddie + Triggs at Cartoon Forum

Maddie + Triggs, the new series from Turnip + Duck has been selected for this year’s Cartoon Forum, due to take place from the 19th – 22nd September in Toulouse, France.

Maddie + Triggs is a 2D animated series for upper preschool / bridge, with a focus on sound, listening, and immersive audio design. It’s about a 7 year old girl, who just happens to have a vision impairment, and her doggy best friend. They live together with their mum and dad in the colourful town of Higgledy-Piggledy, and together they find music and adventure in the sounds of the everyday.

15 podcast episodes of Maddie + Triggs have already been produced with BAI support, and this audio-first strategy has allowed the creators to explore the sonic possibilities of the Maddie + Triggs world, in a medium that is meaningful and uniquely suited to the aspirations of the project.

Series co-creator Aidan O’Donovan says, “The goal with Maddie + Triggs is to create a show whereby if two kids (one sighted and one vision impaired) sit down side by side to ‘watch’ the show, neither will have a lesser experience. We chose to develop the show on audio-first platforms, focusing on sound and music, and this has really helped us hone what’s unique and special about Maddie + Triggs. We’ve established those foundations in a very organic way, and we’re so excited to finally share the TV iteration with the wider world.”

Maddie + Triggs has recently been nominated for two Irish Podcast Awards – Best Family Podcast and The Creativity Award; and the Maddie + Triggs TV series is in funded development with RTÉjr and Screen Ireland. Turnip + Duck will be pitching a 39 x 7’ TV series at Cartoon Forum, and are looking for potential broadcaster and distribution investment, as well as co-production partners outside of Ireland. 

Series co-creator and Managing Director of Turnip + Duck Colm Tobin says, “We’ve been working closely with members of the vision impaired community, and have received amazing support from the NCBI, Angel Eyes, Empatheyes, and others – there’s a genuine support from those working with vision impairment and they see the value of what we’re doing here. We always love pitching at Cartoon Forum, and this year in particular we believe we have a really special, charming, inclusive show that the audience in Toulouse is going to love.”

More information about Maddie + Triggs can be found here. https://www.turnipandduck.com/work/maddie-triggs