{"id":519855,"date":"2026-03-07T06:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519855\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T06:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:50:17","slug":"five-standout-feature-pitches-from-cartoon-movie-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519855\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Standout Feature Pitches From Cartoon Movie 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cartoon Movie has long been the leading European co-production event for animated features in Europe. During this week\u2019s edition of the two-day gathering, 50 projects from 20 countries were presented by eager producers and directors in front of their peers, as well as investors, distributors, and international sales agents, with more than 250 buyers in attendance.<\/p>\n

Moving from one room to another and discovering more than 10 potential features in less than a full day\u2019s work can seem overwhelming to newcomers. But Cartoon Movie also acts as a 48-hour catalyst for the European animation industry and beyond, one of the sparks that helps ignite the animated worlds of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Since its creation in 1999, Cartoon has helped 513 feature films secure financing, with an overall budget of \u20ac3.42 billion ($3.7 billion).<\/p>\n

From this year\u2019s 50 projects, Cartoon Brew has already profiled a couple with individual features, but we wanted to go beyond the big names and fan favorite studios such as Cartoon Saloon\u2019s upcoming Kindred Spirits <\/a>and Sacrebleu\u2019s latest space opera Cosmo Princess <\/a>to highlight five lesser-known yet similarly eye-catching features currently in concept, development, or production. From cynical adult comedy to heartfelt family stories, these projects aim to captivate audiences in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

Starseed<\/p>\n

Country: Romania, South Africa, France, Belgium & Canada
Producers: Aparte Film, Known Associates Group, Special Touch Studios, Wrong Men, Quetzalcoatl, Yzanakio
Length: 97 minutes
Technique: 3D computer animation
Status: In production<\/p>\n

\"Starseed \"Starseed<\/p>\n

From acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Anca Damian comes a female-driven family adventure with the director\u2019s distinctive touch. Written by Damian with award-winning Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo, Starseed opens in a township facing the drying up of its river. There, three children witness the arrival of a strange visitor who claims to come from the future.<\/p>\n

Loveness, a brave albino girl, seizes the opportunity to save the goddess of water, trapped in a knot in time.<\/p>\n

Currently in production, Starseed is an ambitious 3D animated feature with a striking visual world. Underwater goddesses and eerie sorcerers populate unusual settings where children navigate using only their innocence and curiosity.<\/p>\n

Produced with a \u20ac4.8 million budget, the team is still seeking gap financing, as highlighted by co-producer S\u00e9bastien Onomo (Special Touch Studios). To finalize the budget, they are looking for additional partners and aim to deliver the film in time for Cannes 2027.<\/p>\n

Riamise<\/p>\n

Country: Italy, France & Japan
Producers: Ibrido Studio, Something Big, Studio 4\u00b0C
Length: 87 minutes
Technique: 2D computer animation
Status: In concept<\/p>\n

\"Riamise \"Riamise<\/p>\n

Indie anime powerhouse Studio 4\u00b0C is collaborating with Ibrido Studio, an Italian company making its feature debut with directors Francesco Forti and Hirokazu Kojima.<\/p>\n

Forti, presenting alongside his French and Italian producers, introduced the audience to the dry streets of Riamise\u2014a city without water, consumed by drought, crime, and giant reptiles, the last non-human creatures on Earth. Its people survive by earning blue crystals, the only source of sustenance.<\/p>\n

While the rich thrive, two clans battle for control of the city. Order collapses when the police commissioner\u2014Jona\u2019s father\u2014is murdered. Returning home, Jona searches for the truth behind his father\u2019s death and the mystery of the crystals. Alongside Kala, a bold girl from the city\u2019s dump, he may uncover a secret that could restore the water supply and change Riamise\u2019s fate forever.<\/p>\n

Nearly ten years after Mutafukaz, their first Japan\u2013France collaboration, Studio 4\u00b0C returns to a European co-production, and the project already looks visually bold. Blending warm European color palettes with dynamic, anime-inspired camera movement, this teenage-driven adventure could appeal to audiences in both Europe and Japan.<\/p>\n

At this early stage, the team is finalizing the first draft of the script and seeking co-producers, investors, and partners.<\/p>\n

Once Upon an Egg<\/p>\n

Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic
Producers: Keplerfilm, A Private View, Hausboot
Length: 85 minutes
Technique: Stop-motion
Status: In development<\/p>\n

\"Once
\n\"Once \"Once<\/p>\n

From Wander to Wonder Academy Award-nominated director Nina Gantz comes an epic, comedic stop-motion musical about\u2026 pigeons.<\/p>\n

In Once Upon an Egg, we follow two ordinary gray city pigeons, Molly and Mick, who have struck it lucky with their nest on top of a fries stand in the heart of Amsterdam. One day, everything changes when a cleaning crew washes away their nest\u2014along with their only egg.<\/p>\n

Heartbroken, they set off in search of a new home and a renewed sense of purpose. Along the way they befriend a young ring-necked parakeet named Brutti and eventually discover an abandoned egg. While caring for the egg\u2014and for each other\u2014they learn that only by adapting to the changing city can they build a new life and family of their own.<\/p>\n

A Dutch-Belgian-Czech production in the early stages of development, Once Upon an Egg promises to be visually appealing for stop-motion fans. Gantz plans to use recycled materials, discarded cloth, wool, and other textiles to craft the pigeons, demonstrating the concept with a sock-turned-pigeon during one of the event\u2019s most entertaining pitches.<\/p>\n

The project is backed by an experienced creative team including character designer F\u00e9licie Haymoz (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs), storyboard artist Jay Clarke (Isle of Dogs, Wallace & Gromit), key animator Steve Warne (Pinocchio, Frankenweenie), puppet artists Mackinnon & Saunders (Corpse Bride, Pinocchio), composer Terrence Dunn (Wander to Wonder), and Dutch screenwriter Robert Alberdingk Thijm.<\/p>\n

A love letter to pigeons\u2014animals that were once close companions to humans before being dismissed as \u201csky rats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flick!<\/p>\n

Country: France<\/p>\n

Producers: Wizz, FOST<\/p>\n

Length: 80 minutes<\/p>\n

Technique: 2d computer<\/p>\n

Status: In development<\/p>\n

\"Flick! \"Flick!<\/p>\n

For their debut feature Flick!, Paris-based 2D\/3D graphics studio Wizz teamed up with FOST, the studio behind The Summit of the Gods and Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. The pairing proves fitting for the unusual duo at the center of director Nicolas Pegon\u2019s film.<\/p>\n

Joy, born to an American father she never knew and a French mother, has spent her life trapped in a sleepy valley in the Vosges mountains, bored out of her mind. Didier, a fifty-year-old history teacher who shares a house with her, is neither particularly captivating nor captivated by life, often seeming to drift on another plane.<\/p>\n

As Joy moves between the local bar and her apartment in a tedious routine, she stumbles upon the body of a dead cowboy. It soon becomes clear that, even if she had nothing to do with the crime, she could easily be accused. So she and Didier decide to hide the body.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the cowboy\u2019s ghost begins appearing in real life.<\/p>\n

Set in a decaying industrial landscape, Flick! recalls the tone of Joel and Ethan Coen\u2019s Fargo, blending quirky characters with a grounded, darkly cynical sense of humor. Featuring actors Mara Taquin and William Lebghil making their animated voice-acting debut, the project positions itself as a distinctive arthouse animated feature that could aim for major festivals such as Berlin, Cannes, or Venice.<\/p>\n

With a budget of \u20ac6 million, the producers are seeking co-producers, partners, and investors, with a target delivery by the end of 2028.<\/p>\n

The Heart of the Djembe<\/p>\n

Country: France, Belgium & Ivory Coast
Producers: Cottonwood Media, Booya Studio, Umedia
Length: 80 minutes
Technique: 2D computer animation
Status: In development<\/p>\n

\"The \"The<\/p>\n

With many female directors present this year and gender parity nearly achieved (44.6% female, 54.9% male, 0.5% non-binary), Cartoon Movie continues to highlight female-driven stories and coming-of-age narratives.<\/p>\n

Presented by three women, The Heart of the Djembe is one such project.<\/p>\n

Eight-year-old Imani lives with her grandmother in the village of Alkeboulane and dreams of playing the djembe, just like her late father and her brother, who continues his legacy. But in Alkeboulane, women are forbidden from touching the instrument, and doing so is believed to invoke a powerful curse.<\/p>\n

When a relentless drought strikes, Imani embarks on a perilous journey into the wild to seek Denga, the god of abundance, and uncover the truth hidden deep within the forest.<\/p>\n

In this tale of music, magic, and courage\u2014where one girl\u2019s rhythm could change the fate of her world\u2014authors Ani Eliam and Assa Ouattara, along with director Mathieu Vavril, bring together lush forest settings, emotional moments of connection, and a strong sonic dimension that extends beyond the physical world.<\/p>\n

With a budget of \u20ac5 million and a script expected before the summer, the producers are currently seeking investors and partners, with a planned release around 2029.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cartoon Movie has long been the leading European co-production event for animated features in Europe. During this week\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,75,337],"class_list":["post-519855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}