Belfast, Northern Ireland-based prodco Paper Owl Films’s new series Pablo , which stars a child with autism, has been picked up by UK pubcaster CBeebies.

The fledgling prodco is co-producing the 52 x 11-minute animated/live-action series with Dublin’s Kavaleer Productions. Paper Owl will handle all live-action filming as well as pre- and post production, while Kavaleer takes care of the animation.

Main character Pablo is a loveable five-year-old boy, who uses magic crayons to turn everyday challenges into fun adventures that help him confidently approach the world. According to Grainne McGuinness, MD of Paper Owl Films, autism is common in Ireland, affecting one of every 100 kids, and the purpose of the series is to give kids a better understanding of the neurodevelopmental disorder.

In addition to Pablo, Paper Owl (founded in 2012 as Indee Productions and recently rebranded) is working on a number of other projects and will pitch them to investors and broadcasters at both Cartoon Forum and MIPCOM.