Hedgehog toon launches on YouTube

Pins & Nettie has launched on YouTube today

A project pitched at last year’s Cartoon Forum will be released as a miniseries on YouTube in weekly instalments aimed at preschoolers stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis.

Dublin-based animation studio Daily Madness Productions has launched Pins & Nettie on YouTube today with a special episode titled Together and Safe.

It has been specifically created to acknowledge and identify feelings of anxiety in young viewers because of the pandemic and was written by co-creator Shannon George with the support of educational consultant Karen Leavitt.

The episode features voiceover work from Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls), who takes on the role of the narrator in the episode.

Aimed at under-fives, the show follows two hedgehogs as they learn about a fun new game they can play either indoors or in their garden. The art director is Adam Kavanagh.

The project was pitched by Daily Madness Productions under the title Pins & Nettles at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse last September.

“Animation is an amazing tool for connecting to people and, right now, with children across the world experiencing social distancing and lockdown scenarios, being able to connect with our youngest of audiences has never been so important,” said Lindsey Adams, co-creator and director of Pins & Nettie.

Adams, a supervising producer on Space Chickens in Space (Disney EMEA), producer on Kiva Can Do (Nick Jr/RTEjr) and a consulting producer on Buddi (Netflix), founded Daily Madness in 2015.