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Among 25 projects, 33% are already co-productions, with 17% involving two or more countries. Three projects are produced in Occitanie, one of the most dynamic region in this sector. Every year, there are regional productions at major festivals, competing for prestigious awards.

The selection is led by France (36 projects), followed by Ireland (7), Italy (6), CEE Countries* (5 projects from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia & Slovakia), and Germany (5). Denmark and Spain each contribute with 3 projects, while Portugal has 2. Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova each present a project for the first time at Cartoon Forum, joining Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which also have one project each.

Compared to the 2023 edition, the 2024 selection counts less short-format-projects, in favour of more projects lasting longer. This higher number of longer-projects could be explained by a more important number of TV specials in 2024, thus the TV series format still dominates the selection.

Series targeting children – from pre-school to 11-years-old – and families remain the main focus of European animation production. This year, projects targeting children seek to teach them fundamental values such as inclusion, diversity, empathy, solidarity or the importance of friendship and family ties. But there are also stories which, with humor and endearing characters, deal with more complex and sensitive subjects such as gender and environmental issues. We also observe topics that often come up, especially space and sci-fi stories.

Since 2019, the percentage of projects targeting (young) adults (both submitted and selected) has been multiplied by 3. This record can be additioned to the global rising success of (young) adults animated programs. This year, the projects selected targeting young adults and adults represent the richness of European animation and are very diverse in terms of animation technique, format or even subjects addressed even if some trends are highlighted. They tend to tackle more political issues such as gender inequalities, protection of the environment, as well as promoting inclusion and diversity.

There is a solid trend of book adaptations in cinema that also reached the animation sector. This year, 31% of the selected projects are adaptations of comics, books or other media (YouTube or short films for example). Moreover, the production teams tend to growingly consider developing other platforms from the start of the project – adopting a transmedia approach through videogames, music, podcasts, social media campaigns or record-comics collection, offers the opportunity to live a memorable experience and to reach a broader audience.