We hope you’re enjoying our Cartoon Forum 2024 project preview this week! In case you missed our first three picks, we like the look of Ellipse Animation’s Lost in the Future, TeamTO’s H.O.M.E. and La Cabane/Thuristar’s A Lamb’s Stew.  

Making its Forum debut, French prodco Something Big will be presenting comedy/rescue show Bobby and the Bottle Brigade, the annual pitchfest’s only upper-preschool selection this year.

Targeting four- to six-year-olds, this 2D-animated original series dives into an underwater world with Bobby, a tropical island-dwelling eight-year-old who leads a group of comical aquatic friends (a.k.a. The Bottle Brigade) on rescue missions to help sea creatures with common kid problems like stage fright and a fear of the dark. 

In each episode, Bobby receives an S.O.S. message in a bottle that spurs him and his team into action. But before they can render assistance, the Brigade has to navigate silly obstacles and contend with a slippery shrimp-and-shark duo with sabotage on the brain.       

Co-created by Vasili Hahalushka and Michael Mennies, this 52 x 11-minute project stands out with its positive representation of disability, as Bobby uses a wheelchair-adapted bathyscaphe (a self-propelled deep-sea submersible) on his adventures.

Something Big partner/producer Frédéric Puech—a former Planet Nemo and Ankama exec—adds: “There are fewer preschool projects [at Forum] these days, which probably means we’ll be a little bit more visible. The comedic tone of the show is quite unique, too. When you think of underwater rescue, you think of Octonauts, which is actually more of a didactic show. You don’t get as many fun elements, so we’re offering a fresh take.”

As for partnerships, Bobby is being co-produced with Ireland’s Kavaleer, a company that’s well-versed in positive representation of disabilities, having worked on Pablo and Adam <3 Adventure!.

“We reached out to them and they were totally aligned with the values, tone, comedy and scripting of the show,” says Puech. “Not that we don’t have great comedy writers in France, but they bring a different perspective, so it’s a good match.”

With a US$6.6-million price tag, Puech expects 70% of the budget for Bobby to be raised between France and Ireland, and the rest could come from a third co-producer or a distributor.

So far, Puech has had a few discussions with some Canadian broadcasters who might be interested in the project, but talks are still ongoing.

Puech also notes that songs, short clips and seasonal content will be important for the expansion of the brand. “There is great potential for digital content with this IP,” he says. “We would also love to develop a strong licensing program with a master toy partner, but it might take a few seasons before that materializes. We need to grow our footprint first and get a number of countries to come on board.”

Puech will be presenting a pitch deck, a trailer, a pilot animatic, a song and several storylines for Bobby with Hahalushka, Gary Timpson (Kavaleer) and former Canal+ commissioner Chrystel Poncet (Something Big) on Tuesday, September 17 at 10:30am in the Pink Room.    

The show’s core creative team also includes series director Virgile Trouillot (Go Astro Boy Go), editorial consultant and scriptwriter Alan Keane (The Amazing World of Gumball), and Oscar-nominated producer and disability consultant Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp).