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UK kids channel CBeebies has tasked Steve Coogan’s prodco Baby Cow Productions to make an animated version of the Nativity tale.
Featuring the voices of UK actors Isy Suttie (Peep Show), Johnny Vegas (Ideal) and Miriam Margolyes (the Harry Potter movies), The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas (1x30′) retells the story of Jesus’s birth from the point of view of a female cow.
It is coproduced with UK comedy outfit Komedia and written by Andy Cutbill, author of children’s book The Cow That Laid An Egg. Tim Searle, head of animation at Baby Cow, produces and directs, while Henry Normal (The Royale Family) is onboard as script editor.
Speaking to C21, Searle said the toon would resonate with both children and adult viewers alike, due to its “daft” story and the comedy skills of the voice actors involved. “Watching kids TV with my family, I find the shared experience can be really powerful,” he said.
This is Baby Cow’s second Christmas-themed commission of 2012, having already had Uncle Wormsley’s Christmas (1x20′), which Coogan will narrate, commissioned by Sky Atlantic.
Meanwhile, Baby Cow will be taking its animation Wussywat the Clumsy Cat (52x5′) to this September’s Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, where it will be seeking coproduction and distribution partners.
The Wussywat project, which has already secured 24% of its budget from CBeebies, is a coproduction with UK animation firm Big Fat Studio and follows of the adventures of an accident-prone cat.
