Iervolino Entertainment plans 250 five-minute episodes of kid’s show about five puffins dealing with small, fun problems of everyday life.
Johnny Depp will be doing quite a bit of “puffin” soon as Johnny Puff in Iervolino Entertainment’s new animated series, Puffins. Depp will lend his voice and characteristics to the mobile-first series about a group of cute little birds; the main characters are five Puffins: Johnny Puff (Depp), Tic and Tac, Didi and Pie. They live with a tribe of puffins in the vast and technological Tana. Stories will range from the bold missions of Otto, to multiple situations related to the small, fun problems of everyday life, addressing the issues of social impact in a childish way.
250 five-minute episodes are planned. The series is produced by Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi of Iervolino Entertainment S.p.A., the global film & television production company Iervolino founded that the two co-own. Depp and Iervolino recently collaborated on the movie Waiting for the Barbarians, an adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s prize-winning novel of the same name, set for release next month by Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film stars Depp, Mark Rylance and Robert Pattinson and is directed by Ciro Guerra.
According to Iervolino, “We’re so happy to reunite with Johnny for a second project. Experiencing a new and avant-garde project like this short series, alongside Johnny, has given me even more conviction to champion experimental genre and format fusions. Because making this type of content is new for me, I am beyond grateful that Johnny has shown belief in the project and is taking such an active part of it, sharing his thoughtful artistic ideas that are providing real added value to the Puffins universe.”
Puffins will promote universal issues and themes such as gender and race equality and environmental protection. The show will use absurd situations and hilarious gags to entertain kids and introduce important themes resonating in society today.
The series will be produced between the Iervolino Entertainment Studios in Rome and Iervolino Studios in Serbia using artists in both countries. Production is set to begin later this summer.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
