Telemagination Casts Brit Comedy Duo For Pongwiffy TV Series
U.K.-based kids animation producer Telemagination has cast the British comedy duo French and Saunders for the voices of the two main characters in their newest in-house animation series PONGWIFFY. The series was commissioned by U.K. broadcaster CITV. Targeted at 6 to 9 year olds, the series follows a group of dysfunctional witches. Dawn French (FRENCH AND SAUNDERS, THE VICAR OF DIBLEY) will voice Pongwiffy, a witch of dirty habits, while Jennifer Saunders (FRENCH AND SAUNDERS, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS) will voice Sharkadder, Pongwiffy's obsessively vain best friend. The show, directed by Alan Simpson (THE LAST POLAR BEARS, NOAH'S ISLAND), is based on the popular series of books by British author Kaye Umansky. Marion Edwards, managing director of Telemagination and producer of PONGWIFFY, said, "French and Saunders were our ultimate choice for the voices of Pongwiffy and Sharkadder so I am thrilled to have them on board. The PONGWIFFY books are extremely funny and immediately appealed to us because of the sharp dialogue and witty observations. With French and Saunders voicing the lead characters, I am confident that their sense of humour, timing and extensive experience with comedy will enhance the already strong script writing." TV-Loonland AG, Telemagination's parent company, holds the worldwide rights to Pongwiffy, and will be responsible for the international distribution of the series. Salsa Distribution, another TV-Loonland subsidiary, will handle distribution of the series throughout Latin America.