Eva projects live on after TV-Loonland deal

Following the demise of toon distributor Eva Entertainment, owner Pearson Television has sold off two of the outfit's animation projects to German kids producer TV-Loonland.

Both fully developed, the projects are Something Else and Georgie Goat. Financing is already underway for both projects, which will be produced and distributed worldwide by TV-Loonland.

Something Else (26×11') comes to TV-Loonland with a Vancouver-based co-production partner Studio B Productions, which is in final negotiations with a Canadian broadcaster.

TV-Loonland is currently in negotiation with several European broadcasters for other pre-sales. Production on the series is to begin in September 2001. Something Else is budgeted at approximately US$300k per half-hour.

The toon is based on the award-winning children's illustrated book of the same name by Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell. The book, published by Penguin Books, won the UNESCO Prize and short-listed for the Smarties Prize and the Kate Greenaway Medal.

It follows the adventures of two characters called Something Else and Something. Two great friends, they live in the very extraordinary Land of Elsewhere. Comedy-driven, the series is being positioned as The Odd Couple for kids 5-9.

The German company is also producing a half-hour pilot for the pre-school animation series Georgie Goat (39×7') at its Hungary-based Loonland Studios. The pilot will be ready to view at MIPCOM Junior.

Based on a US book of the same name by Denis Roche and published by Random House, the series centres on the trials and triumphs of growing up when you're five years old.

{The naïve and childlike quality of Georgie Goat's visual style, together with its vivid and friendly colours, and poignant story telling are appealing backdrops for a pre-school audience,{ said a TV-Loonland spokeswoman. {Georgie Goat aims to be as close to a pre-school drama as an animation series can get.{

John Bullivant says, {I am very passionate about Something Else and Georgie Goat,{ said TV-Loonland's director of programmes John Bullivant. {They were the first projects that I developed when I was head of animation at Pearson Television. Sadly, when I started at TV-Loonland I had to leave my babies behind.{

Chris Bartleman, co-founder of Studio B Productions, adds: {It was really unfortunate to see the shut-down of Pearson's Eva Entertainment last month, but I was comforted to know that Something Else has landed back on the desk of John Bullivant.{