French animation house Saban International Paris has finally renamed itself, and is lining up a new girl-skewed action toon based on an Italian comic book franchise.

Now called SIP Animation, the company has picked up rights to adapt the Italian comic book hit W.I.T.C.H into a 52×26' series. The show, pictured above, follows five normal girls who discover they have magical powers and have to fight baddies in a parallel universe.

SIP Animation picked up the adaptation rights from the publisher of the monthly comic, Disney Publishing Italy. The comics are also published in France and Germany and soon, with a Scholastic deal underway, in the US.

The company's name-change, effective from today, comes after last year's departure of founder Haim Saban, who exited the company after Disney's acquisition of Fox Family. Previously distributed by LA-based Saban Entertainment, SIP Animation's product is now sold through Buena Vista TV International, with Disney owning a sizeable stake in SIP Animation.

The Paris outfit is currently in production on two series: Jason & the Heroes of Mount Olympus (26×26') for TF1 (France) and Fox Kids Europe; and Gadget & the Gadgetinis (52×26') for FKE, M6 (France), Mediaset (Italy) and Channel 5 (UK).