Cannes, France -- Foothill Entertainment and its U.K.-based affiliate, Foothill Europe, come to Cannes with not only new partners and new development for several of its exciting shows but also ready to help celebrate MIPJunior’s 20^th anniversary. This year’s milestone festivities for the annual kid’s market hold special significance for Company founders Jo Kavanagh-Payne and Gregory Payne because the first MIPJunior kicked off the sequence of events that lead directly to the Company’s eventual establishment. With a full slate of development and an expanding catalogue, this year’s market provides ample reason for the Santa Barbara and London based companies to celebrate.

Marking its 13^th consecutive appearance at the Fall kid’s fest, the Company made its annual entry into MIPJunior with brand new animation for its hilarious CGI buddy comedy Raz & Benny created in the U.K. by Simon Hodgkiss.  Foothill also expects to make a major announcement during the market about the signing of a significant co-production agreement with an award winning partner for this modern day Tom & Jerry. With new designs and Looney Toon style pacing, a new promo will be available at MIPCOM. 

Also being featured at the Screenings will be the classics Eddy & the Bear and Little Monsters as well as the exciting girl’s volleyball series Spike Team which is into a second season with an additional Special which has been sponsored by the International Paralympic Committee following a red carpet premiere during the 2012 London Olympics. The series is proving to be a huge ratings success for RAI 2 and in several European countries with a huge Eastern European sale in the works.

Foothill Europe will be highlighting several additional groundbreaking series while in Cannes. Boy and the Dinosaur debuted several years ago as a short pilot during the MIPJunior screenings and quickly became the 17^th most watched programme that year out of several hundred.  This year, after extensive and detailed development work, MIPJunior will be the formal launch of the international sales of this delightful series being produced by 1461 Ltd. in the UK with a BAFTA-award winning team including Director Paul Couvela (Bob the  Builder,  Chuggington), Producer David Bunting (Shaun the Sheep, The Tigger Movie) and Writer Davey Moore (Octonauts, Rastamouse, Thomas & Friends). Foothill is the worldwide distributor of this beautifully animated series focused on the story of a unique and loving relationship between a small boy and his best friend, Dinosaur!  Limited only by the imagination, Boy and the Dinosaur shows us the magical world of growing up and exploration with a mentor who is also an equal. Stunning new animation and several extraordinary scripts are now available for this unique series aimed at the 2-5 age group with humor that will appeal to parents as well!

The Cannes market will also see the new development for the irreverent comedy action series G.U.N.K. Aliens based on the best-selling HarperCollins UK book series of the same name. Foothill Europe has teamed with Australia’s Moody Street Kids and Nova Scotia’s Huminah Huminah Animation to commission a fabulous pilot script from award-winning Canadian writer Dale Schott.  With the Earth being invaded by some generally disgusting (and really messy!) aliens from the Galactic Union of Nefarious Killer Aliens, it is up to our heroes Jack, Ruby, Oscar and the other members of the super secret, but kind of whacky, agency known as C.L.E.A.N. (Combating Loser Extraterrestrial Aliens Now!) to fight these aliens and save the planet from a real gunking!

“Since we launched in the U.K., we have worked hard to get our international efforts up and running,” says Foothill Europe Managing Director, Jo Kavanagh-Payne. “Based on what we are bringing to the market this time, I think we have done that. It is exciting.”