A shot from the highly anticipated The Frog's Prophecy. © Folimage.

The Frog's Prophecy project started four years ago. It has been in production for two years. Jacques-Rémy Girerd (Charlie's Christmas — Cartoon d'Or 1998), Antoine Lanciaux and Iouri Tcherenkov (The Great Migration) are co-writers of the script for The Frog's Prophecy.

Originally, the idea was to make a 52' TV special. But during the development phase (script writing and character development), it became obvious that we had in hand the material and strength to make a feature film. In addition, the environment in France was extremely favourable after the success of Michel Ocelot's Kirikou et La Sorciere, and we decided to step into the adventure. Gathering both the funding, and the creative talent, has been a major challenge. But solid partners have joined us and, so far, about 130 people have been working on this project.

The feature film was developed at Folimage Studio in Valence in the south of France. It is also being produced at Folimage Studio. In fact, the feature film is being produced 100% at Folimage Studio, from pre-production to post-production. This situation is unique in France. It has not happened for twenty years. For Folimage, this is an extension of 15 years of our 'home made' production policy. The Frog's Prophecy is benefiting from a strong artistic environment, inherited from Folimage's experience of producing 100% of its TV series and short animated films in its own studio.

Vivendi-Universal, through StudioCanal France and Canal +, is our main financial partner. It was also the first one to jump in. The CNC (Centre National de la Cinematographie), Rhône-Alpes Cinema and France 2 Cinema quickly stepped in to complete the funding. The production budget is € 5,640,000.

From a marketing standpoint, we trust the know-how and power of Vivendi-Universal. StudioCanal France is handling the international sales, which will start with Cannes Festival 2002. The film will be released in France in November 2003 with Bac Distribution as the distributor. Universal will be in charge of the video sales. We believe that good results at the French box office will reflect on the international box office. The current come back of the French cinema industry and the growing success of animation films make us hope we will recoup our investment relatively quickly.

Adventurer Marco Polo promises he will return to Xanadu. © 2001 The Tooniversal Company. All Rights Reserved.

How are we producing our feature film? One frame at a time. I don't mean to be flippant, but to point out that an animated feature is a long-term commitment, and literally has thousands of details which must be carefully considered. This means starting with a strong script and production design -- before the animation process begins. I've seen too many animated films with great technique and poor story development. Making a film means telling a good story.

The Tooniversal Company is an independent company which makes its films "outside the system." By this, I mean that we are not relying on normal studio financing, pre-sales and other financial commitments in order to get our films underway. Once we're ready, we start the project, and somehow find the necessary resources to get to the finish line.

Many years ago The Tooniversal Company purchased a book and film property made by Sheldon Moldoff, a well-known comic book illustrator during the golden age of comics. He created Hawkman and "ghosted" the drawing of Batman comics for 20 years. We originally were going to put a new sound track on the old film and then re-release it, but it just didn't work, and then we found that the original negative had deteriorated so badly that it was not useable. So, we essentially started from scratch, utilizing some basic story concepts and designs from the old project, but expanded it exponentially. It's a much more "today" kind of film, very much like the epic journey of Luke Skywalker. Young Marco is on a quest not his own, finds friends and allies along the way, makes enemies, and ultimately makes the quest his own.