Canada's television and cinema production and distribution group, Coscient Group, announced that their subsidiary Cactus Animation has started production on two new animated series: "Pirate Family" and "Fantomette." The animated comedies are a co-production with French company Elma Animation and have a total budget of $22 million. The series, each composed of 26 half-hour episodes, have already been pre-sold by Motion International, Coscient Group's distribution subsidiary, to a number of markets. "Pirate Family" will air in fall 1999 on YTV and Radio Canada in Canada and on the French networks France 3 and Canal J, while "Fantomette" will air on Tele-Quebec and the aforementioned French networks.