Red Kite Announces Start Of Production For Ask Lara

Press Release from Red Kite Animations

Cannes, October 04, 2010 – Producers Red Kite Animations (Scotland), Tomavistas (Spain), Submarine (The Netherlands) and broadcaster Televisio de Catalunya (Spain) announced today that the highly anticipated animation series Ask Lara is heading into production. Animasia Studio, an MSC Malaysia status company, is acting as the service studio for the animation production.

The series created by animation expert and visual developer Mercedes Marro, Director of Tomavistas has been commissioned by Televisio de Catalunya, BBC Learning and Dutch public broadcaster VPRO.

Targeted at 9 to 13 year olds Ask Lara is a 2D comedy-drama series which follows Lara and her four friends as they embark on the rocky road of puberty.  The series is set to launch in May 2011 with Dutch distributor Telescreen (a subsidiary of German licensing group M4E) responsible for worldwide distribution.

Commenting on the series, Nick Simons, Head of Learning and New Media, BBC Scotland said, "We are delighted to be working with Red Kite bringing the wonderful Ask Lara to children, parents and teachers across the UK.  I believe that this is the first web-based animation of its kind commissioned by BBC Learning, delivering a unique, gentle and funny approach to those thorny issues which many kids and adults find hard to engage and discuss. We look forward to going live in Spring 2011 with this great series".

Ken Anderson, Chief Creative Officer of Red Kite said, Ask Lara is a beautiful and entertaining show. Mercedes has created a very unique series which covers all the issues around impending adulthood.  With its distinctive colloquial style and blend of humour Ask Lara deals with growing up in a natural, open and honest way. At present there is very little content out there covering these themes to which pre-teens can relate. Ask Lara does both and has the potential to be a hit. This will be our first co-production with Tomavistas, Televisio de Catalunya and Submarine and we are delighted to be working with them and having the BBC and VPRO on board".

Mercedes Marro, Director of Tomavistas added, "The main objective for Ask Lara was to create a series which enabled viewers to identify with the key characters and deal with puberty in a low key manner. This was achieved by giving the series a contemporary style, light hearted feel and using animated characters which addressed awkward issues naturally.  It's a great opportunity to create a property that will make a positive impact on our young audience".

Bruno Felix, co-founder of production company Submarine said, "After producing ‘Naked’ (6 x 6’) a documentary / animation series about pre-adolescents who are struggling with their changing bodies, we are very happy to finally work on a follow up. It is a great opportunity to make the issues which all kids are confronting during puberty, less prohibited in a contemporary, funny and playful manner. It is an honour to work on this project with experienced partners like Tomavistas, Red Kite Animations, Televisio de Catalunya, BBC and VPRO.

About Red Kite AnimationsFounded in 1997, Red Kite is now a part of the Singapore based August Media Holdings group. Over the years the company has grown and developed to become an established international producer of children's content.

Collective credits include 64 Zoo Lane (BAFTA nominee), Pablo the Little Red Fox (BAFTA winner 2000) and the Wark Clements co-production, Abercromby. The company, its founders and partners have been honoured with many awards including BAFTAs, Emmys, CableAces, Pulcinellas, Grammys and also an Academy Award.

The company has been active in the global media scene developing and producing a number of highly successful children's animated programmes for television. Some of Red Kite's successes include Wilf the Witch's Dog, The Secret World of Benjamin Bear and the 65 episode series The Imp. Red Kite has recently completed production of Dennis & Gnasher (CBBC) and Marvo the Wonder Chicken (Disney XD).

Together with numerous short films and animated series, some of the company's properties have been on air on world renowned children's networks. BBC, France TV, ZDF, Canal+, TV Catalunya, Disney XD, Teletoon, Cartoon Network, the Hub, Channel 9 (Australia), Australian Broadcast Corporation are just some of the broadcasters that have played Red Kite's programmes to top ratings. Red Kite also enjoys a development portfolio that targets children of all age groups and a wide variety of animated programming genres.

About TomavistasCreated in 2001 by Mercedes Marro and headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, Tomavistas is a creative animation company well known for its original production concepts and production value. Tomavistas co-produces some of its animation series with Spain, Canada, the UK, Holland, and other countries around the world. The experience gained through the years while working with high-level national and international broadcasters and producers has earned Tomavistas its rightful reputation as a top animation company.  Tomavistas main focus is to create and produce fresh and highly original, quality animation for a wide-ranging target group form pre-school to pre teens and teens. Tomavistas latest productions:  Break a Leg, Sincopats and ASK LARA clearly target the upper range group. Tomavistas is currently in development on a co-production level with 3 new very exciting projects.

About SubmarineSubmarine (www.submarine.nl) is an Amsterdam based cross-media production company. Submarine is specialized in feature films, documentaries, games and animation in which they like to explore new forms of visual storytelling.

Since its formation in January 2000, Submarine has produced several award winning productions such as the first documentary shot inside a virtual world, My Second Life, and an extensive game for renowned director Peter Greenaway, The Tulse Luper Journey. Also Submarine produced a variety of animation series such as the cross-media series Kika & Bob, which exists of 26-episodes with interactive elements and 26 web games. Kika & Bob has been sold worldwide to over 15 territories and networks such as Discovery Kids (UK), Canal+ (France), Sun TV (India), Noga (Israel), DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), Ketnet/VRT (Belgium), NPS (The Netherlands) and many more.

About Televisió de Catalunya

Televisió de Catalunya, S.A. is the company that manages Catalonia's public television channels. It was founded in 1983 to promote Catalan language and culture. Today it is Catalonia’s main communication medium and the TV network that is most watched by the country’s citizens. TVC is a universal television network that stresses quality, innovation and a style that sets it apart from the rest. Its programs have won international acclaim for their quality over the years, revealing TVC's role as a world-class player in the TV industry.

With a staff of nearly 2,000, in-house production of all is the backbone of its programming. But TVC also co-produces with the industry’s leading production companies and has contributed to creating a major audiovisual industry in the country. TVC has led Catalonia in the migration to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and pioneered TV applications for the Internet and new digital technologies.

Animasia StudioAnimasia Studio is a MSC Malaysia Status company (Malaysia Government certified multimedia company) capable of producing 2D Digital Animation TV series, 2D Animation Trailers, 2D Animation TV Commercials, Interactive/Multimedia CD-ROM, Video Game Interface, Mobile Game Interface, Online Game Interface, and High-Definition 2D Animation TV Series production. With more than 10 years experience in the content development industry, Animasia Studio serves clients in the Asia regions including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, China, Taiwan as well as the United Kingdom and USA.

Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks