From stop-motion doggies to globe-trotting eco-conscious teens, Canadian producers captivated animation industry professionals gathered at the major European co-production event.

Less than two months after part stealing the spotlight in Annecy, Canadian producers, broadcasters, investors and institutional execs crossed the Atlantic once more to showcase the wide range of talents the Quebec-Canada animation industry has to offer.

At the 37th edition of Cartoon Forum, Europe’s main co-production event for animated TV series once again hosted in France’s beautiful southern sunlit city of Toulouse, government funding agencies Telefilm Canada and Quebec’s SODEC, along with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) brought for the first time ever a carefully curated selection of six Quebec-Canada projects to the forefront, offering a unique platform for visibility, exchange, and co-production opportunities within the European animation industry.

With projects returning from Annecy and brand-new pitches presented for the first time to a panel of worldwide investors, this dedicated session of six pitches is designed to connect creators, producers, broadcasters around the diversity of Quebec-Canada animation, opening new pathways for collaboration in an ever-more contracting global market.

Around this dedicated pitching session, Variety spoke with the teams of this rich, diverse panel of animated series in the making.

Alien Book Club

Producers: Big Bad Boo Studios (Canada), Beakus (UK)
Director: Shabnam Rezaei
Format: 39 x 7 minutes
Technique: 2D Computer

Pitching for the very first time her project, director-producer Shabnam Rezaei brings “Alien Book Club” to Cartoon Forum. In her brand new upper-preschool TV series, five extraordinary aliens jump into classic stories to learn something about themselves in a huge space-age library. Because in the Intergalatic Library Bus, there’s a book and a story for everyone.

“Preschoolers first fall in love with characters on the screen,” explains Rezaei, “then they imitate them. Austen, Shirl, Rumi, and the rest of our giggly aliens love to read and so with ‘Alien Book Club,’ we hope to turn our viewers into proud readers, as they become cool members of a very important club. “

It’s that premise that also appealed to Steve Smith, producer at Beakus. “Our project is a joyful celebration of books that helps children around the world fall in love with reading, with plenty of silliness along the way. With human-made animation, crafted with real care for global audiences of young readers.”

At Cartoon Forum, the team is looking for co-production partners, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and investors, with CMF development backup and early interest from several public U.S. broadcasters.