French animation prodco La Chouette Compagnie (Droners) has launched a new anime-focused offshoot called Chouette Studio to manage two series in active production, as well as future projects with US and Japanese partners that will be announced in 2025. 

Chouette Studio is currently working on delivering Dragon Striker (pictured, 22 x 22 minutes) to Disney+ later this year. This co-pro with Cyber Group Studios for kids ages eight and up revolves around a farm boy who leaves country life behind to attend an elite soccer training school, where he discovers magical powers to win games and stop an ancient evil from resurfacing. 

Also in production is Dreamland (10 x 22 minutes), a YA series co-pro with Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel based on a same-name French manga about a grieving teen boy who is able to explore the world of dreams.  

Dragon Striker director Charles Lefebvre (also a character designer on Cyber Group’s upcoming Final Fantasy IX animated series) co-founded Chouette Studio with La Chouette Compagnie CEO Mariam Hachmi and chief creative officer Sylvain Dos Santos. All three will be at Annecy next week on the hunt for new projects to develop. 

It could be a good time for the French company to double down on anime. Just this week, Ampere Analysis released a new research study showing that heightened demand in the European market is driving a significant boom for the animation genre.