MIP-TV News: Corsham & Mad House To Co-Produce Natural Born Kittens
U.K. production company Corsham Entertainment has agreed in principle to co-produce with Japanese anime production company Madhouse the 26x30 plus comedy/anime series for teens, NATURAL BORN KITTENS.
Corsham was founded by Oscar-winning STAR WARS producer Gary Kurtz and BIONICLE co-creator Alastair Swinnerton, while Madhouse is one of the top studios in Japan, with credits ranging from feature films NINJA SCROLL, METROPOLIS, VAMPIRE HUNTER D, ANIMATRIX, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS to TV series CARDCAPTORS and BEYBLADE.
NATURAL BORN KITTENS is the brainchild of U.K. anime artist Larry Bundy Jr., and centers around the anarchic activities of four ancient Egyptian cat goddesses posing as teenage schoolgirls in low rent suburbia, with the ensuing mayhem making SOUTH PARK look like NODDY, according to Swinnerton. The NBK Website is one of the U.K.s most visited anime sites, with more than half a million hits a year. Scripts will be written in the U.K. and the U.S., while the rest of the production will be handled entirely in Japan by Madhouse.
Corsham had previously announced that San Francisco production company Wildbrain was on board to do the show. Swinnerton said, We are still hopeful that Wildbrain can be a part of NBK they are a hugely talented company, and Corsham, Madhouse and Wildbrain would be a great team.
NATURAL BORN KITTENS is a great combination of Western and Japanese animation we are very excited about the prospects for the series, according to Madhouse ceo Shinichi Kobayashi. In fact, Corsham Ent. believes that this will be the first ever, genuine U.K./Japanese anime co-production.
Corsham recently sold its first show, the 2D/CGI half-hour Christmas special, THE TALE OF JACK FROST, to the BBC.
Corsham Ent., located the Bath Studios complex at Corsham, Wiltshire, was recently set up by Oscar-winning Kurtz, whose long list of producer credits includes STAR WARS and EMPIRE STRIKES Back, British animator Richard Bazley (HERCULES, POCAHONTAS) and writer/producer Swinnerton, who co-created LEGO's multi-platform hit BIONICLE. Other projects on Corsham's slate include ATOMIC MONSTERS with Canada's Context Pictures, and BOLLYWOOD ROAD with Indian studio UTV Toons. Swinnerton may be reached at MIP-TV via is cell phone at +44.773.903.2801.