Pedro Lino

Pedro Lino
Director
Ukbar Filmes
Portugal
Pitching: The Adventures of Princess P

What is the biggest issue facing the animation industry?
One of the biggest issues is how to sustain the growth of animation into the future. How can we create diverse content instead of following the same tried-and-tested formulas that are sure to tire the audiences? How can we balance technological developments with great storytelling? And what will happen when live-action shoots return to normal? These are all questions we’re sure to face soon.

What is your company doing in response to this?
Ukbar Filmes has just entered the animation realm, following success in cinema and television. The company has brought its knowledge of narrative scriptwriting and character development into the world of animation with the ambition of creating enduring and original IP that will allow for European and international coproductions.

Are physical animation studios essential or is working from home the future of the industry?
As has been proven over the last two years, physical animation studios are not essential. But we are physical beings, so being together with other like-minded people, exchanging ideas and working together is essential. What does this mean for the future? Who knows. But hopefully we can find better ways of working together than the nine-to-five work routine. It might be that things will be more flexible and adapted to each person’s needs, mixing working from home and being in a studio and/or other social settings.

How do you feel about Disney’s decision to close many of its TV channels around the world?
Maybe there are too many channels nowadays and, with younger audiences migrating to streaming more and more, it only seems natural that this is happening.

Tell us about the project you are pitching at Cartoon Forum.
The Adventures of Princess P (52×11′) revolves around its titular character, a 12-year-old princess, and her family, in a medieval fantasy universe. But this princess is different – she’s not the cute, slim and well-behaved royal you’d expect, but a chubby, resolute and active tween who is starting to question the world around her.

The main inspiration in creating this show was to have a character that embodies many of today’s questions and doesn’t adhere to what is often represented in the animation industry. Princess P isn’t beautiful, athletic or particularly clever, for that matter. She doesn’t have any super powers or special gimmicks outside her wooden sword. She’s just a strong-willed 12-year-old, learning to navigate the world around her, as she learns to deal with the “isms” in society and realising that nobody’s perfect.
Being in its final development stages, we’d love to connect with partners who share our vision and want to take this show further, be it coproducers, investors or broadcasters that are willing to add their own thoughts to this show and help to make it happen.