Seven-minute short Colin vs. the World, centering around the challenges facing a colorblind chameleon living in the city, is in development at Cartoon Network Europe for CN’s What a Cartoon series. The short was pitched to Finn Arnesen, VP of programming and development at Cartoon Network Europe, by two new U.K. animators-Stu Gamble and Jake Shore-following a call for shorts concept submissions that Arnesen published in the Animation U.K. directory. ‘As Cartoon Network expands into European territories, it’s an ideal time to find shorts from territories such as the U.K. and the Netherlands,’ says Arnesen. Slated for completion in 2000, the short is budgeted at roughly US$240,000.

‘Working with totally unknown animators presents its own problems,’ says Arnesen, noting that a completed bible and storyboards were recently sent from London to the U.S. for network approval and Broadcast Standards and Practices review. A London animation studio with offices elsewhere in Europe is expected to sign on this summer, and Arnesen is bullish that the series will follow in the footsteps of other international independent shorts such as Mike, Lu & Og and Ed, Edd `n Eddy, which went from debuts on What a Cartoon to become Cartoon Network series.