Gaumont’s Highlights at MIFA

EAJ talked to Fanny Gilabert, VP, International TV Sales, and Terry Kalagian, President, Global Animation & Family at Gaumont, to learn more about their next big plans.

Let’s begin with your highlights at MIFA, which are Tiny Head and Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. Can you tell us more about them?

Fanny Gilabert: At this year’s MIFA, Gaumont puts the spotlight on Tiny Head (52×11’), our new 2D comedy series aimed at children from 6 to 10. Thanks to our partners France Télévisions, RAI Kids and TV5 Monde, on the broadcasters’ side, and Enanimation (Italy), Toonz (India), and Studio 100 (Germany), on the producers’ and distributors’ side, production started earlier this year. We are currently looking for pre-sales and we look forward to showing more material to buyers!

Tiny Head is a chubby cat with a little head. She is the leader of a trio of pet friends lost in the woods after being accidentally ejected from their family’s trailer. Together with Ird the Bird and Chopper the Dog, they embark on the greatest, funniest, and sometimes most hazardous adventure of their pet lives, back to the wild! And while their mission is to return to their pet owners, they are constantly, and comically, sidetracked by their new, fun-loving animal friends. This episodic show will be ready for full delivery on Q2 2026.

As for our completed series, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (20×22’) is now available after a successful launch on Netflix worldwide. This comedy-action-sci-fi-fantasy series with vibrant, high-quality CGI, will be soon on MTVA in Hungary! This coming of edge show aimed at kids from 8 to 12 is based on Usagi Yojimbo, the ongoing series of comic books by award winning creator Stan Sakai, who was involved in the production. With strong values like determination and solidarity, within a group of misfit heroes who show that unity is key to overcoming all challenges, this series is internationally appealing to boys and girls.

Which is the other programmes’ lineup you will focus on at MIFA?

F.G.: Gaumont also has a special treat for younger siblings with the CGI series Do, Re & Mi (52×11’). This musical adventure has won over international buyers and is now available on Amazon Prime worldwide, ABC (Australia), Knowledge (Canada), YLE (Finland), RTS (Switzerland), MTVA (Hungary) and will soon be on ViuTV (Hong Kong) and Thai PBS (Thailand)! The show is an introduction to music for children aged 2 to 5, thanks to three adorable birdie friends called Do, Re and Mi, who live in a colorful world filled with songs. It offers a great family time as children and parents can sing and dance together! The series is already dubbed in many languages, so the international journey of Do, Re & Mi has only just begun!

The evergreen slapstick buddy comedy series Bionic Max (52×11’) is also among our line-up for MIFA. This wacky show follows a guinea pig named Max, and his best friend JC, who live all sorts of madcap adventures thanks to Max’s bionic (and sometimes uncontrollable) body! It is great escapism for after school entertainment, and a rollercoaster of funny jokes and unexpected events, where friendship always wins! Targeting kids aged 6 to 11, the 2D series has been commissioned by Gulli (France), and picked up by Warner Bros Discovery (Italy), MBC (MENA), Globosat (Brazil), ABC Australia (Australia), Pluto TV (USA), EITB (Spain), Happy Kids (USA), TDM (Macao) and the French-speaking channel Tivi5Monde.

And since cinema is in our DNA, our line-up also combines feature film projects.

Can you tell us more about the project High in the Clouds?

Terry Kalagian: High in the Clouds in our animated feature film with Paul McCartney. It’s inspired by Paul’s children novel published in 2005. The feature was written by the amazing Jon Croker (Paddington 2, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse) and is being directed by the wonderful Toby Genkel (The Amazing Maurice). The ever-talented Patrick Hanenberger (Rise of the Guardians, Lego Movie 2) is our production designer. There are six original McCartney songs in the film that we can’t wait for audiences to hear. The theme of this movie is about freedom of expression, the freedom to have your voice… kind of what you would expect from a Paul McCartney film. We are incredibly excited and proud to work with Paul on this wonderful movie. We are in production and will be delivering it in 2026.

Read the full interview in the new issue of The European Animation Journal.