Oct 26, 2022

The new season of the Ukrainian series "Toto" reflects the realities of wartime.

Ukrainian state-run public broadcaster Suspilne confirmed the 2nd season of the Kids series that Toto will air this fall.It features themes and stories that reflect the modern realities of Ukraine in a child-friendly way.

"Ukrainian content for children today is very important," says Suspilne editor-in-chief and children's content producer Victoria Murovana. "Because of the war, our children are torn from ordinary life. Our new cartoons and songs in Ukrainian explain what is happening around them through familiar visual forms, easy to understand. Parents are given the opportunity to distract their child during times of anxiety or while in a shelter."

Toto writer/producer Iryna Malamuzh is also a trained psychologist, and she shows that other experts in psychology are brought in to consult about the script, ensuring that the final result is as useful as possible for the younger audience.

"This is a difficult project to create, touching on 'adult themes' and illuminating our shared traumatic experiences," she explained. "Working on such projects is a huge responsibility, especially during wartime, so cooperation with professional psychologists gives us confidence to consider safe, therapeutic for the psyche of children and resourceful for adults."

Equally concerned about the professionals who worked at Toto, Malamuzh explained, "I hope that many families will be financially supported thanks to our project

Toto's Season 2 is overseen by Irina's life and work partner, Oleg Malamuzh (The Stolen Princess) was produced with the support of the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, the Swedish SR Media Development Agency and the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

Iryna and Oleg have resumed their 2d animation course at the Projector Creative & Tech Online Institute in Kiev after being suspended earlier this year. Despite the conflict, working hard to maintain the Ukrainian industry, the pair is developing a feature film entitled The City of Mary, about the survival of two children from Mariupol.

Oleg has also co-directed the feature film Mavka, The Song of the Forest, a fantasy story based on Ukrainian folk tales scheduled to premiere in May, and has contributed to a series of short Youtube videos titled "Useful for Everyone" aimed at providing psychological support and practical tips to Ukrainians during wartime .