Cartoon Network preps dance musical

Battu is set amid the Chicago music scene

Cartoon Network Studios is developing a coming-of-age musical comedy series with filmmaker Matthew A Cherry and director Chaz Bottoms.

Titled Battu, the French ballet term for ‘beat,’ the animated series follows two gifted teenage dancers in Chicago whose free spirit and individuality often leave them as outsiders in the rigid world of mainstream dance.

Together they find a home at a struggling hiplet (a style of dance combining hip-hop and ballet) studio and a family among the studio’s troupe of dancers and instructors.

Embracing the vibrant Chicago music scene, the soundtrack of the series will feature original music and punctuate the stories of the characters, exploring themes such as courage, self-empowerment, inclusiveness, perseverance and the power of friendship.

The project is based on Bottoms’ animated short film Battu: An Animated Musical which is currently in production.

Warner Bros Animation and Cartoon Network Studios president Sam Register exec produces with Cherry, Bottoms and Monica A Young.