Gaumont boards Submarine’s Pirate Mouse

Pol the Pirate Mouse is based on the children’s book by Tingue Dongelman

LA- and Paris-based producer Gaumont has partnered with Submarine to coproduce an animated series the latter recently pitched at Cartoon Forum.

Pol the Pirate Mouse (52×11′), based on the children’s book of the same name by Tingue Dongelman and illustrated by Denise van Leeuven, was presented by Bruno Felix of Amsterdam- and LA-based Submarine at the recent Cartoon Forum in Toulouse.

Aimed at kids aged two to five, it tells the story of a mouse who doesn’t let her limitations get in the way of her dream to be the first pirate mouse of the forest.

“When Courtney Arumugam, our VP of creative development in our UK office, first brought the book to us, we instantly fell in love with it,” said Nicolas Atlan, president of animation and family at Gaumont.

“Pol’s story, about moving to the forest and making friends, will appeal to children everywhere as they fall in love with these adventure-seeking characters.”

Felix, co-founder and MD of Submarine, added: “The Submarine team of 2D and 3D artists has created an animation style that helps to tell cinematic stories while staying true to the hand-drawn style of Denise’s work.”

Submarine’s recent projects include original scripted animation series Undone for Amazon Prime Video, drama series The Kollective, true crime series The Singh Case and animated feature Coppelia, alongside children’s series Fox & Hare and Huggleboo.

Formed in France in 1895, Gaumont is the oldest film company in the world, with offices in Paris, LA, London, Berlin and Buenos Aires.

Its TV programming includes Netflix shows Narcos, F is for Family and The Barbarians for Netflix, plus UK show Tin Star for Sky and Amazon Prime Video, and animated show Do Re & Mi for Amazon.