Kerala firm to co-produce animated TV series

Thiruvananthapuram, April 1 (IANS) Toonz Animation, an animation software company located at the Technopark IT park here, and Spectra Animation of Canada, have entered into an agreement to co-produce 52 episodes of an animated TV series for pre-school children.

In a press release issued here Wednesday, Toonz said the estimated $7-million production cost of the "Paddy's Pages" series will be jointly financed by the two partners.

Paddy's Pages, an official selection to the 2007 Chicago International Children's Film Festival, chronicles the adventures of a six-year old who is fond of reading books.

"Paddy is a typical child of today, always inquisitive and has an unbridled hunger for knowledge. It is impossible to visualize the imagination of a child when he reads a book. Paddy's Pages is an honest effort to portray that," said K.P. Muraleedharan, designer and concept artist at Toonz Animation.

Added Toonz Animation chief executive P. Jayakumar: "Paddy's Pages is a local product perfected for the world. We aim to take the series to the masses by early 2011," said .

Founded in 1999, Toonz Animation has a client list which includes top-notch media and entertainment banners like Hallmark, Paramount, Disney, BBC and Cartoon Network.