By: Kelly Townsend 

Canada’s Family Channel and TVNZ in New Zealand have joined forces to co-commission the 2D-animated series Badjelly, which is based on a kids book from Irish writer and comedian Spike Milligan.

Scheduled for delivery in 2025, this 13 x 22-minute series is a co-production between Montreal’s Sphere Animation, Mukpuddy Animation in Auckland and Dublin-based Cantilever Media. According to the producers, Badjelly is the first-ever kids animation treaty co-production between studios in New Zealand, Canada and the UK.

Australian public broadcaster ABC has also acquired the show, and Family Channel’s owner WildBrain will handle global distribution outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Aimed at kids ages seven to 11, Badjelly tells modern fairy tales revolving around two kids who encounter the wicked Badjelly the Witch. It’s based on Badjelly the Witch: A Fairy Story, which Penguin first published in 1973.

Financial support in New Zealand comes from the Ara ki Te Puna Kairangi—Premium Development Fund, the Te Puna Kairangi Premium Fund, NZ On Air and the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate. The project has also received support from the British Film Institute’s UK Global Screen Fund and the UK Animation Tax Credit, in addition to Canadian federal and provincial tax credits.

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen Daily‘s sister publication Playback Daily.