Heading into NATPE 2003, Canada's Studio B has announced new shows and deals, and is aiming to attract some international co-production deals during the upcoming trade show. Currently the studio is in development on SIMON STIMPLE (26 x 22-minutes) for TELETOON.

Adult animation is certainly making in-roads on the major cable channels. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block is now 5 nights a week, The New TNN announced that it is launching an adult animation block as it transitions the network toward a male audience, and now AMC is replacing its mainstay of classic films with some original programming, including a new prime-time adult animation series called THE WRONG COAST. Debuting Wednesday, April 2, 2003 at 8:00 pm, THE WRONG COAST is a stop-motion comedy that lampoons well known Hollywood films, television shows and celebrities.

At this year's NATPE, Canada's Portfolio Entertainment will offer a sneak peek at its new animated series CARL SQUARED, currently in development for Canada’s Family Channel. The half-hour series is a comedic look at cloning and other cutting-edge scientific techniques that are now a part of everyday life. Portfolio will also bring back its hit series ROBOROACH (52 x 30-minutes), which is currently distributed worldwide outside the U.S. by Fox Kids Europe. The series has recently been renewed for a third season of 26 episodes by Canada’s Teletoon.

The third season of the animated adventure STATIC SHOCK, set to debut on Kids' WB! January 25, 2003, features super-charged hero Static in a hip new costume as he confronts the villains of Dakota and patrols the city with his friend, and now superhero partner, Richie. Richie's newly acquired superhero identity will be revealed in the episode "Gear," debuting on February 1, 2003.

Seoul, Korea-based computer animation studio DigiArt Production is bringing the first of 26 x half-hour episodes of SEEDIAN, a CG-animated action-adventure series targeting 6 to 11 year-olds. The story of SEEDIAN takes place on a faraway planet called Green Star, whose environment has been left in ruins by an insurgence of mutated toxic mushrooms. Joined by a mystical warrior named Seedian, four young botanical heroes team to find the twelve life-seeds which are needed to save the planet.

The heroes in a half-shell return to television this February, as the all-new series TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES premieres on the FOX networks new kids' block FOX BOX, beginning Saturday, February 8, 2003. The new series brings back all the original characters -- the mutant turtles Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello, their mentor Master Splinter, and arch nemesis Shredder -- and adds a few new villains and foes.

To more accurately reflect its core business, licensing company ShoPro USA has changed its name to ShoPro Entertainment. The company will officially unveil its new logo and introduce two new anime shows at NATPE 2003: MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK and MIRMO ZIBANG! Both properties began as manga and have evolved into popular TV series in Japan. MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK, based on the popular video game series from CAPCOM, is set in a time when everyday amenities are linked to a central computer system.

Monster Distributes will bring the original half-hour model animated special APE to NATPE 2003.

Granada International will arrive at NATPE with two popular preschool series. Cosgrove Hall Films' ENGIE BENJY (26 x 10-minutes), already a hit in the U.K., features the vibrant and colorful world of Engie the engine doctor and his team as they make things better for sick planes and tired buses.

Vancouver-based Atomic Cartoons will be showcasing their animation wares at NATPE 2003 including two new series with cartoonist Adrian Raeside titled DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION and DOC SHOCK. Humor and bizarre experiments run rampant in DOC SHOCK, a series about a college professor who may be a whacked-out extraterrestrial. DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION follows a group of ill-fated dot-commers in a family that is movin’ on down instead of up.