Fox Garden. Courtesy of TeamTO.
Maverick content creator TeamTO has acquired the TV, film and licensing rights to three popular children’s books: Snowman (Snowy and the Snowman), by Jacques Duquennoy, published by Editions de la Gouttière; Fox’s Garden (The Winter I Met the Fox), by Camille Garoche, published by Editions Soleil; and Jean Gouronas’ Something’s Fishy published by Phaidon Books (Penguin’s Ice Time).
The three winter-themed stories will be produced as individual specials for the 2022/2023 holiday season, suitable for both at-home TV or platform viewing, as well as cinema screening.
Corinne Kouper, Executive Producer and Co-founder, TeamTO commented: “We wanted to create an enchanting winter-themed program for preschoolers, designed for both TV and matinee theatre screenings. The three stories, which are all quite different from each other, aim to bring wonder and excitement to a young audience, making it a unique experience for children, especially those who may never have been to the movies before. Since we produce animation of cinematic quality, this is a natural extension of how we share our shows with a wider audience in different formats.”
Mary Bredin, Creative Development, TeamTO added: “It has been exciting to develop short-form content because, as with short stories, you can really get to know a character in a very unique and often powerful way. Also, working on short films provides a rare opportunity, in our busy production world, to focus on the heart of a story, and work closely with new directorial talent to bring their vision to life. It has been a great collaborative process.”
In The Winter I Met The Fox (1 x 20’), directed by Emma Carré, a fox finds refuge from a cold and snowy evening in a greenhouse. Shy little Sacha overcomes his fears and comes to the rescue with Chickpea, a pet chicken. He is amazed to find that the Fox had babies and learns that friendship is about reaching out.
Directed by Lois Espuche, Penguin’s Ice Time (3 x 5’) Penguin is ice fishing, and the fish aren’t biting. But why? A comedic cast of polar characters gather, chatter, wager guess and generally, aggravate Penguin until…they hear something below the ice!
Snowy and the Snowman (1 x 20’), directed by Sif Perlt Savery, stars Snowy, a young snowgirl living in Snowland with her elf parents. Today is her first hockey practice, but also the day her dream of flying like superhero Snowman comes true as she rescues a little rabbit from a mighty Yeti.
