European Animated TV Series Reflect Zeitgeist, Says Annick Maes, Head of Cartoon

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s Toei Animation and Korea’s CJ ENM unveiled a volley of new projects on Saturday flowing from their previously-established cooperation pact. The new shows include: a series that will be produced in both live action and animated formats; a live action series; and a third animation series. “The genesis of this co-operation was the notion that we should play to the strengths of Korean content and Japanese animation,” said Yi Jongmin, the CJ executive who heads the joint venture’s shared control unit. “That was before we factor in language barriers and cultural differences and suffered the disruptions of the COVID pandemic.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Mention “The Mole” to virtually anyone who works in reality TV, and their eyes light up. For a show that hasn’t been seen on U.S. television since 2008 — and only aired five editions in total — “The Mole” has nonetheless achieved a near-mythical status in the annals of unscripted TV history. ““I grew up watching them all on television, and it was one of my all-time favorite reality shows,” says Eureka Prods. CEO Chris Culvenor. “It’s probably one of the most beloved formats that is out there, not just in this country, but worldwide. It combines a sense of adventure, with a sort of ‘Ocean’s 11’/’Mission Impossible’-style caper. People love a mystery. I think that is what was the appeal of the original.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and H. Michael Croner (“Craig of the Creek”) have been cast as voice-over co-stars in Disney Branded Television’s upcoming animated series “Kiff,” which will premiere in 2023 on the Disney Channel. Scroll down for a first look at the series. Glenn will play Kiff, described as “an optimistic squirrel whose thirst for life takes her on countless adventures through her town.” Croner will voice Barry, a bunny that Disney calls Kiff’s “naive and lovable bestie.” South Africa-based creators Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal are behind “Kiff,” which was set to be unveilved, with casting news and teaser trailer, on Thursday at New York Comic-Con.

Laughing at herself. Yolanda Hadid joked about her parenting skills after a TikTok user accused her of “starving” daughters Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid when they started modeling.

Gran Torino producer Double Nickel Entertainment is forging a limited TV series about the life of Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law Jo van Gogh-Bonger.

Christopher Vourlias Production is underway in Romania and Hungary on the new HBO Max Original “Spy/Master,” a spy drama series set during the height of the Cold War that will star British Independent Film Award-nominated actor Alec Secăreanu (“God’s Own Country,” “RUXX”). The 6 x 50’ series, which was the winner of HBO’s national screenwriting competition in Romania, marks one of the streaming service’s final productions from Central and Eastern Europe. As Variety first reported in July, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer produce originals for HBO Max in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey, and will also remove some content from its platform in order to free up licensing deals elsewhere.

Cartoon Forum saw the European animation scene in boom. With 292 buyers on site, the Toulouse-set event held three days of well-attended TV pitches that ran from Sept. 19 -22. Here are five key takeaways from the event. Buzz and Attendance Cheeky French short-form “The Hall of Fail” came up time and again as Cartoon Forum attendees buzzed about the 2D project that gives a loving raspberry to history’s also-rans. Dystopian Y.A. adventure “The Tern” was another major attention grabber, cited as much for its narrative ambition as for its elaborate sci-fi design. Still, if older skewing projects got the people talking, preschool fare got them buying – or at least, drew the largest shares of buyers to the pitch. Projects “Tiger and Bear,” “Wild Danish,” “Trotro & Zaza,” and “BeddyByes” led the pack, with all four titles playing to rooms where buyers accounted for more than 55% of all attendees. Produced by Dutch studio Submarine, the 2D series “Max” (pictured) drew the best of both worlds, playing to a room full of buyers who would then talk up the project for the rest of the event.

Robbie Williams has announced details of the European leg of his ‘XXV’ tour, which marks 25 years of his solo career.The star has already confirmed dates for the UK and Ireland stint of the tour, which will kick off in October.Now, Williams will head to the continent in January, starting the run in Bologna, Italy, on January 20. He will then call at 20 further cities.

Lise Pedersen Adapted from the popular Instagram comics by Belgian cartoonist Laura Janssens, “Hamsters” was one of several TV show projects aimed at young adults pitched at this year’s edition of Cartoon Forum in Toulouse.  The 2D series tells the story of Philippe and Gio­van­ni, a couple of gay ham­sters who look at and comment on the world from their cage. Born during lockdown, the characters were inspired by the Dutch word “hamsteren” which means hoarding, as people started panic buying household essentials when the pandemic broke out. The pair have very different personalities which make them complementary: While Giovanni wants to live an Insta-perfect life and is very concerned about what people think, Philippe is easy-going, enjoys eating, and is very supportive of his partner.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films du Losange has closed a raft of major deals on Kasja Naess’s animated feature “Titina” which is produced by the teams behind the Oscar-nominated film “The Triplets of Belleville” and Oscar-winning short “The Danish Poet.” “Titina” will world premiere at Animation Is Film Festival, which takes place Oct. 21-23, and is produced by GKids, in collaboration with Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Variety. Budgeted at $8.5 million, the Norwegian animated movie was produced by Mikrofilm (“The Danish Poet”) and Vivi Film (“The Triplets of Belleville”). The film tells the real-life story of a fox terrier that accompanied her master on an expedition to the North Pole in an air balloon in the 1920’s. It will be released in Norway by Norsk Film Distribusjon, and in France by Les Films du Losange.

EXCLUSIVE: Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) and Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) have been cast as the leads in comedic thriller Svalta, which will reteam the two actors after they starred together in Fighting With My Family.

Lise Pedersen Leading Dutch animation studio Submarine (“They Shot the Piano Player,” “Fox and Hare,” “Where is Anne Frank”) has presented its latest TV series project based on the bestselling Max children’s books at Europe’s industry event for TV series-in-the-making in the south-eastern French city of Toulouse. A pre-school series of 52 seven-minute episodes, “Max” is a character-driven show about a small kitten with a large appetite for adventure, who sees himself as a fearless predator but is just a little ball of fluff. The series will embrace the simple, clear and colourful 2D aesthetic of award-winning British author and illustrator Ed Vere to allow the viewer to focus on the characters. 

EXCLUSIVE: The wild story of crypto couple Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan is headed to the screen. Hulu is in early development of limited series Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street, from Searchlight Television. Lily Collins (Emily In Paris) is set to star as Morgan in the project, which she is producing with Charlie McDowell, who is slated to direct, and Alex Orlovsky.

Andy Samberg has found his voice cast for animated comedy series Digman!

Three Premier League football matches including Chelsea vs. Liverpool plus Arsenal’s European fixture against PSV Eindhoven have been cancelled this weekend due to preparations for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Naman Ramachandran Sri Lanka’s Vimukthi Jayasundara and Guatemala’s César Díaz, winners of the Cannes Golden Camera for “The Forsaken Land” (2005) and “Nuestras madres” (2019) respectively, are among the recipients of the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) of the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s (IFFR) HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support scheme for 2022. Out of 25 applications, six projects by filmmakers from Argentina, Egypt, Guatemala, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Yemen have been awarded a contribution of €60,000 ($60,854) each through their European co-producers in Austria, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Jayasundara is supported for “Turtle’s Gaze on Spying Stars” (France/Sri Lanka, House on Fire), set on a mysterious resort where the protagonist must quarantine and reckon with his past on his return to Sri Lanka, while Díaz gets it for “Fidelidad” (Guatemala/Belgium, Lemming Film Belgium), a love triangle set on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.