Method Animation, Magic to bring back The Magic Roundabout

Le Manège Enchanté (The Magic Roundabout)

ANNECY: Mediawan Kids & Family-owned Method Animation in France is readying a reboot of children’s classic Le Manège Enchanté (The Magic Roundabout).

The series will return with 52×11′ episodes aimed at a preschool audience of 3-8s and will be coproduced with Jérôme Brizé’s prodco Magic, which handles the rights to the IP for owners the Danot family.

The original French series was created by Serge Danot with Ivor and Josiane Wood and was broadcast from 1964 to 1974 on ORTF.

The reboot has been created by preschool specialists Beth Gardiner and Jenny Landreth and will be produced by Camille Oesch, head of originals and international coproduction at Method Animation.

The prodco is behind series such as The Little Prince and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, the latter a copro with Zag.

The new version of The Magic Roundabout will bring back iconic characters Florence, Dougal, Dylan and Brian and their friends as they return to a magic garden for “surprising, touching and fun stories” Mediawan said.

The original is considered one of the first global pieces of preschool IP in television history.

“By reopening the magical roundabout, we aspire to bring back the magic and open an optimistic and playful universe to a whole new generation of children,” said Julien Borde, executive VP, MD and chief content officer at Mediawan Kids & Family.

Brizé added: “For 50 years now, Le Manège Enchanté is still being broadcast around the world and with this new series, which is in line with the DNA of the original show, it will open a new era for this unique and universal friendship story.”