Sep 20, 2019

Cartoon Forum 2019: 5 takeaways from this year's event

Although there are dozens of countries in Europe, the animation industry is more streamlined than in the U.S., and creators looking to launch an animated series have no choice but to pitch it to one network after another and hope someone bites. European creators have an easier option.

The event, which just celebrated its 30th edition in Toulouse, France, has a simple format. Creators and producers are given 30 minutes to pitch their series project ideas to a room full of broadcasters, investors, streaming platforms, distributors, and other producers. one pitch, instant feedback, and networking There are plenty of opportunities. In a region where co-productions are the norm, the Cartoon Forum has become a cornerstone of the animation industry.

This year, 85 projects (series and specials) from 24 countries participated, with a total budget of €327 million. Approximately 1,000 professionals participated. One can learn a lot about how to navigate this industry by observing producers pitching programs in various stages of development and production to people who have seen countless presentations. (I met a few who more or less said they came just to watch and learn.)

A great project can be ruined by a shaky presentation, and vice versa. And vice versa. Some pitches are so entertaining that they ultimately distract from the show itself. Ultimately, however, decision makers can see through a show that is worthy of their support.

According to organizers, about 40% of the projects pitched at the forum will be produced. Still, more than half will never see the light of day. In any case, the flurry of pitches over the three days tells us a lot about the changes taking place in the industry and how creators are responding to them.

I've summarized some of the interesting projects I saw here and here. I will address the sociopolitical themes at this year's forum in a separate report. Here are five general takeaways from the event.

This is evident from the program alone. Alongside the usual linear broadcast format, there were many projects listed that had unconventional episode lengths, such as 3 or 7 minutes. There were also several topical children's series with stories spanning seasons, such as “Lucy Lost” and “Calamity.” These seem to be better suited for streaming, where viewers can watch the entire season at once. They may also be attractive to parents who watch them with their children. After all, adults are more likely to be interested in following dozens of episodes.

Forum directors Annick Maes and Mark VandeVeyer noted the growing number of projects aimed at older viewers, adding that linear broadcasters have traditionally been “timid” in this area. This year there were 11 teen and adult-oriented projects, a slight increase over previous years.

However, these numbers may be misleading. Three of the 20 best projects were for teenagers and adults, but when it comes to participation by funders only, the number is one (We Are Family.) Overall, the series for young children attracted a proportionally larger number of funders.

Make no mistake, the market is about to explode: Disney, which will launch its streaming service Disney+ in November, and WarnerMedia, which will follow in the spring with HBO Max, both exhibited in Toulouse. However, Apple, which is also launching Apple TV Plus in November, was not present. The same was true of Amazon, which is currently reorienting its original animation strategy toward an older audience.

Netflix, on the other hand, is heading in the opposite direction. This market leader, which established itself in animation with adult-oriented series like Bojack Horseman, is now rushing into children's programming. Interestingly, Maes and her colleagues know in great detail who has attended every pitch, thanks to a relatively new policy of scanning badges at the door.

Although it is too early to speak of clear trends, the most eye-catching projects this year were (quasi-)documentary series. The most ambitious was Ishmael's Journey, in which a French Muslim father and daughter travel through history to learn how a great religion came to be their faith. Most ambitious was We Are Family, which presents the history of pop music through the lens of collaborations between famous artists.

“Some of Us” is a promising hybrid project that highlights various forms of discrimination in sports and could make waves if its creators can release even one or two episodes before next year's Olympics. And “Struggles” is a fictionalized postwar history of the labor movement in France and Belgium through three key events, and like “Some of Us,” it incorporates archival footage.

Overall, these projects are mature, ambitious, and lightly experimental in form and format. Most of them have universal themes. In my opinion, streaming platforms will be the home for these works. In the film world, animated documentaries are a thriving genre. The Cartoon Forum presents both series and transmedia works. Many presentations embraced the idea, and a number of books, apps, games, and web content were presented; Maes noted that a growing number of publishers are participating for tie-in possibilities.

In some cases, the transmedia approach made sense. The producers of the Spanish series “Captain Zheimer” proposed a spin-off comic that could be distributed to schools and related charitable organizations with the goal of educating children about old age and dementia. The Canadian series “Dounia,” about a young girl who emigrates from war-torn Syria, continues from an existing podcast that focuses on the characters' younger years.

However, transmedia stories often sounded like lip service, were pitched as a kind of buzzword, and were rarely justified as an element of the project.

France, Europe's foremost animation producer and the Forum's permanent host, dominated the event, as it does every year. France exhibited the most projects (26) and participated in all 10 of the most attended pitches. The country's sector is supported by top-ranked schools and a generous public subsidy system.

But this is not all. The Nordic countries had a very solid 11 projects competing, including five from Finland, which was the 2017 honoree. Belgium (9 projects) also did well, with the Walloon region in the limelight this year. Togo and Burkina Faso participated as co-producers of Palimpsest's Tree. Next year, the Annecy Film Festival's focus on African animation is likely to bring more attention to the field.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom, a major animation country, only had four projects. With Brexit looming, its survival as a co-producer in Europe is in the dark.