The 10th edition of Cartoon Springboard unspooled from 29-31 October in Madrid. The main aim of the event is to connect young animators with producers, distributors and other professionals around the continent. This year, a total of 22 projects were presented on stage.
In this report, The European Animation Journal spotlights five standout projects shaping the future of European animation, which captivated experts and audience alike.
Tulip – Julia Tudisco (France/Hungary)
Tulip explores themes of mindfulness and inner growth, based on dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), which Julia Tudisco discovered while facing a very hard period of her life.
The main characters include Tulip, a girl whose best friend is Cat, a stray cat, and her other companion, Moth, who brings her anxiety and intrusive thoughts. While the target audience is young females, its themes are universal and resonate with any adult audience.
Tulip is an Instagram Reels narrative web series, with episodes ranging from 20-second snippets to 1-minute 30-second narratives. Possible future adaptations include a TV show with longer episodes, a podcast or educational tools.
The project budget is estimated at around €120,000, 75% of which has already been secured. Support for the project comes from CNC – Centre National de Cinéma et de l’image Animée and Pictanovo’s Hauts-de-France Talent. The main producer is Avec vous ou sans vous (France). Tulip is looking for investors, co-producers and broadcasters. The estimated release date is September 2025, with production running from March to July.
Bernard and the Little Tiger – Christian Kaufmann (Germany)
Following the success of his short film Town Hall Square, which was selected at around 100 festivals, German animator Christian Kaufmann is looking to produce a series based on the same characters, where he will be combining 2D and 3D animation.
The proposed structure is 13 episodes of 10 minutes each, about an on-the-road journey that blends adventure and comedy.
“It’s a series about empathy. Between 6 and 9 years old is when children learn about social norms and social behaviours, so it’s important to teach them empathy with good stories,” Kaufmann said. Bernard and the Little Tiger’s main producer is Wait a Second (Germany), but the project is also seeking co-producers.
Maxivilian’s Great Show – Yagiz Tunceli, Serena Moka (Italy)
Penny is a little girl with big dreams: to become famous, following in her dad’s footsteps. She sets out in search of her true calling, aiming to find a spot at Maxivilian’s Great Show, run by the mischievous Ringmistress, the main antagonist in the story. On her journey towards fame, she is accompanied by her new best friends Trumpet and Gismo, two unlucky clowns who join her in some unbelievable adventures.
The suggested structure for this project is 52 episodes, each 15 minutes long. “Every episode has pieces of a puzzle sprinkled in,” said Moka, referring to the fact that the overall story, seen as a coming-of-age narrative, contains a series of connections and mysteries that link all the episodes.
Tunceli and Moka are looking for a producer and have estimated a budget of €13,000 per minute (or €195,000 per episode), totalling around €10 million. The target audience is children aged 6 to 9.
a é i o u – Bertille Rondard (France)
This series features 26 short, digitally animated episodes, each about 2 minutes long, dedicated to each letter of the French alphabet. It’s designed to be aired among other TV shows for children, with a target audience of pre-schoolers.
The vowels walk and talk, saying their names, and throughout the episodes, they combine with other vowels and consonants, teaching children about different letter combinations. While aimed at French-speaking audiences and countries where French is taught, Rondard is open to adapting it for international audiences in other languages, as the structure is versatile.
After receiving enthusiastic reactions at Cartoon Springboard, a é i o u is looking for collaborators and producers interested in the project.
The Ballad of Cattle Town – Isa Adler, Kaiden Pigem Malo (Spain)
This 90-minute feature is set in the adventurous Wild West, where Dani, a courageous kid, magically ends up in his dream location, reminiscent of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, his favourite film. Staying won’t be an easy choice, as the town is overrun by cows and chaos reigns. By facing these challenges, Dani will confront his fears and become the hero he once only imagined.
The animators are looking for producers in Spain and Europe, as The Ballad of Cattle Town is still in the early stages of production. The film targets families, especially children over 8 years old, and is intended to be realised in 2D, combining traditional and rigged animation techniques.
A few other buzzy projects were also pitched at the Spanish gathering. The Hard-Boiled Deteggtive, a hilarious noir-themed series of 26×11-minute episodes set in a peculiar town inside a fridge, where crime is just around the corner, created by Belgian screenwriter Vicky Van Hemelrijck and seeking for producers.
Quest Chefs (Denmark/Germany), another 26×11-minute series targeting 11–14-year-olds, is helmed by Nabil Afnan Samandari. Set in the world of Culina, where every food is a monster, 12-year-old Crouton aims to defeat them all, guided by the grumpy Rosbif. The project is looking for studios, producers and collaborators ready to get on board.
Finally, Words for my Endos, a moving 10×7-minute web series about endometriosis which combines interviews and visuals, and focuses on creating sensations through the use of textures and photos of objects related to the subject.
The next edition of Cartoon Springboard is set to be held in Madrid from 28-30 October 2025. Coming up next in the Cartoon agenda is Cartoon Business, which will run in Brussels from 18–20 November 2024.
