The humor of The Owl helped sell the series. © TV-Loonland AG.

When it comes to making a successful pitch, everyone wants to know "the secret." Is it skill, timing, or luck -- or a combination of all three -- that can lead to turning concept into reality?

For Olivier Dumont, coo of TV-Loonland AG, whose company is co-producing Alexandre So's original CG cartoon, The Owl, content is king.

"TV-Loonland decided to co-produce The Owl first and foremost because it was the funniest show we had seen in a long time," Dumont says. "It was so clever, well-crafted and simple, that it was a must-have for us the minute we saw it."

Aptly named, The Owl is about a little pink owl faced with the daily challenge of trying to survive in a forest filled with sadistic animals (and an evil apple).

"The Owl was pitched to TV-Loonland at the Annecy Animation Festival in June 2006 by the producers, Josselin Charrier and Antoine Rodelet, who run the production company Studio Hari," Dumont says. "Their specialty is animation for commercials, but they decided to develop a series of shorts with creator/director Alexandre So."

Having the content well in hand, Studio Hari used their skill to spotlight the concept. "They produced three one-minute episodes of the series in order to show precisely what they wanted to do with the series," notes Dumont. "That's the beauty of shorts in a way, since you can produce a 'full' pilot to show your creative vision for a limited cost if you compare it with a 22-minute series."

The Owl Takes Flight
The Owl offered universal appeal as well. "The creator and director Alexandre So comes from the videogame industry, and, therefore, CGI was an obvious choice for him to tell the misadventures of his little pink Owl," Dumont says. "The series does not contain dialogue, and relies solely on visual humor, which makes it universal and very international."

Talented star power, such as SNL's Amy Poehler, sells shows sometimes, as is the case with Mighty B. © Nickelodeon.

For The Owl, the timing was also right to capitalize on new platforms like web and mobile delivery. "It is true that broadcasters are increasingly looking for short formats which can work both on and off air for them," Dumont says. "They can post them on their website and offer them to their viewers for download. The Owl is also hugely attractive for mobile platforms, because it's so funny of course, but also because of its ideal length, and the fact that it contains no dialogue which makes it simpler to use it across multiple territories for pan-regional mobile platforms."

For many in the animation industry, the pitch for The Owl seemed to hit one out of the ballpark at an unusually rapid pace. "Studio Hari and TV-Loonland officially announced that the series was going in production at MIPCOM this October, as the show had secured its financing right before the market with the financial involvement of FRANCE 3 in addition to TV-Loonland and Studio Hari," Dumont says.

"Closing the financing and thus entering pre-production are the criteria which target the communication on the fact that a series is becoming a full reality as opposed to a project in development," advises Dumont.

All 52 episodes of The Owl will be delivered throughout the first half of 2007. As for other markets in addition to France 3, Dumont says, "We are looking to announce deals in the first quarter of 2007." TV-Loonland reports that The Owl received strong reception in Cannes and big interest from major pay-TV and terrestrial broadcasters alike.

In addition, Dumont reveals, "TV-Loonland has eight new shows in development, two of which should be ready to pitch at Kidscreen Summit in February."

A Mighty Pitch
In 2008, Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler will join SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron and the rest of Nickelodeon's animated family in her own show, Mighty B - an animated series that Poehler created and will voice. In this case, the successful pitch resulted from presenting a "complete package."

"Co-Creators Erik Wiese and Cynthia True have worked at Nickelodeon for years," explains Eric Coleman, Nickelodeon's vice president/executive producer, animation development and production. "Erik was an artist on SpongeBob from the beginning and Cynthia was a writer on The Fairly OddParents. Cynthia is close friends with Amy, so when the three creative minds developed their show together, they already had a relationship with Nickelodeon."

"As for the pitch itself, it was strong from the start," Coleman says. "These creators had it all covered -- beautiful designs, funny characters and storylines, and a hilarious voice for the show's star. The complete package!"