The 28th edition of Cartoon Movie, one of Europe’s key co-production and pitching events for animated feature films, will present 50 projects selected from a record 150 submissions, marking a 22% increase on last year. The forum will take place in Bordeaux from 3 to 5 March, bringing together producers, sales agents, distributors, streaming platforms, publishers and investors from across the international animation industry.

The selected slate spans 21 European countries and reflects the current vitality of European animation, combining emerging voices and established filmmakers, auteur-driven works and audience-oriented projects, as well as productions from independent studios and internationally recognised companies. The projects explore a wide array of genres - from adventure, comedy and drama to sci-fi and documentary - and unfold across both realistic settings and fantastical universes.

France leads the selection with 15 projects, followed by Germany (6) and Spain (5). Central and Eastern Europe accounts for 11 titles, while the Nordic countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden - are represented by four projects. Belgium, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands each contribute two projects, with Austria, Greece, Luxembourg and Ukraine completing the line-up.

Gender balance and representation is continuing to gain ground: 37% of the projects involve at least one woman director, 52% are headed up by a female producer, and nearly half feature a woman in the lead role. Moreover, 38% of the slate foregrounds diversity and inclusion, signalling a growing awareness around representation in European animation storytelling.

With a combined budget of €275.2 million, the average cost per project stands at €5.5 million. Co-production remains central to financing strategies, with 29 projects (58%) involving partners from both Creative Europe MEDIA countries and territories outside of the programme, including Canada, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK. From a technical perspective, 2D animation dominates the selection (54%), followed by 3D projects (30%).

In terms of stage of production, 30 projects are in development, 12 are in the concept phase, and seven are in production, with a sneak preview of Jim Queen by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané (staged by Bobbypills and Umedia) jostling on the agenda. Established directors presenting new works include Tomm Moore, Anca Damian and Patrick Imbert, while projects targeting young adults and adult audiences are continuing to rise in number, now accounting for 38% of the slate.

Beyond the pitching sessions, Cartoon Movie will host a new edition of Cartoon Talks, focusing on cross-industry synergies with gaming and publishing. Sustainability will be a key theme, with keynote presentations including the Green Distribution Guide by Europa Distribution head Christine Eloy and the Green Animation Guide presented by Ecoprod. A panel dedicated to XR/VR will also feature in the programme.

The event will further spotlight international co-production through the launch of Québec–Canada Land in Europe, an initiative developed with SODEC and Telefilm Canada, presenting six Canadian projects seeking European partners.

Since its creation in 1999, Cartoon Movie has supported 504 films with a total budget of €3.37 billion. The event is organised by CARTOON, under the direction of Annick Maes, with the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA and numerous national and regional partners.

This year’s full line-up is as follows:

Projects in Concept

 

Carmen and the Wooden Spoon - Carlos Gomez-Mira Sagrado

Production: Thinkwild Studios

Cornebidouille - Mathias Varin

Production: Les Armateurs (France), Folimage (France)

 

Firebird - Matej Podskalsky

Production: 13Ka (Czech Republic), Novanima Productions (France)

 

Happy Hunting vs the Apocalypse – Boris Belghiti, Maxime Paccalet, Pierre Razetto

Production: Kawanimation (France)

 

Lollipop Tattoo – Lisa Marie Russo

Production: Panoramine (France), Puffin Pictures (France), Fly Film (UK)

 

Onno & Ontje – Friends Are the Best Gift – Eliza Plocieniak-Alvarez

Production: Blaue Pampelmuse (Germany)

 

Riamise – Francesco Forti, Hirokazu Kojima

Production: IBRIDO Studio (Italy), Something Big (France), Studio 4°C (Japan)

 

Sam and Julia – Alexandre Révérend, Alice Révérend

Production: Submarine Animation (Netherlands), The M.A.R.K.13™ – Group (Germany), Superswiss Red (Switzerland), Cielo Films (France)

 

Sander’s Midsummer – Hanne Berkaak

Production: Mikrofilm (Norway), Den siste skilling (Norway), Knudsen Pictures (Germany)

 

Smecheria or the Confidences of a Cheat – Antoine Fontaine

Production: Walking the Dog (Belgium), Hutong Productions (France), Aparte Film (Romania)

 

Tukuy – Aline Romero

Production: Huraa AIE (Spain), Doce Entertainment / Mr. Miyagi Films (Spain)

 

Until Death Unites Us – Nawojka Wierzbowska

Production: GS Animation / Grupa Smacznego (Poland)

 

Projects in Development

 

13th Floor - Soraya Antelo Morales

Production: TREBOAMEDIA (Spain)

 

Acorn’s Adventure - Filip Mašek

Producers: Pure Shore (Czech Republic), Fabian&Fred (Ger­many)

 

Akira’s Flying Wheelchair – Marco Balsamo

Production: TeamTO (France)

 

Aya in the Desert - Julia Horrillo

Production: Alhena Production (Spain)

 

Before They Were Gods - Måns Mårlind

Production: Mylla Films (Sweden), Brokendoll (Sweden) Qvisten Animation (Norway), Parce Que Films (Canada), Elastic Film (UK)

 

Billie Beat - Nina Wels, Timo Berg

Production: Little Dream Entertainment (Germany)

 

Caruso – A Love Opera – Christian De Vita

Production: Studio Campedelli (Italy)

 

Cosmo Princess - Quentin Rigaux

Production: Sacrebleu Productions (France)

 

DREAMERS - The Hunt for Shadowclaw – Christopher Jenkins

Production: Parapictures Film Production (Germany), Falcon Features (Canada), Kickstart Entertainment

(Canada), Epsilon Film (Germany)

 

Dreamwalker – Rudi Mertens

Production: Vivi Film (Belgium), Parmi les lucioles films (France), Lighthouse Studios (Ireland)

 

Ejo - Jacek Rokosz

Production: Animoon (Poland), Special Touch Studios (France), Basement Animation Company (Nigeria)

 

Family Squad - Kostiantyn Fedorov

Production: Animagrad (Ukraine), Telescope Animation Studios (Germany), PFX (Czech Republic), Fiilin Good Films (Finland)

 

Flick! – Nicolas Pegon

Production: WIZZ (France), FOST (France)

 

Gingerbread Town - Will Ashurst, Kjersti G. Steinsbø

Production: Den siste skilling (Norway), Knudsen Pictures (Germany), Artichoke (Slovakia), Ink & Light (Ireland)

 

Hakim’s Odyssey – Patrick Imbert

Production: Folivari (France), Solab Films (France)

 

Halloween vs. Day of the Dead – Celso García

Production: Studio 100 International (Germany), 3Doubles Producciones (Spain)

 

Kigali Night – Samuel Lajus

Production: Parmi les lucioles films (France), Eklektik Productions (Belgium), Melusine Studio (Luxembourg)

 

Kindred Spirits – Tomm Moore

Production: Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Folivari (France)

 

Kokum – Hassan Yola

Production: Paul Thiltges Distributions (Luxembourg), Special Touch Studios (France)

 

Night Tram – Michaela Pavlátová

Production: Negativ (Czech Republic), Sacrebleu Productions (France), BFilm (Slovakia), ArtShot (Lithuania)

 

Nina and the Goddess of Thunder – Kamil Polak

Production: New Europe Film Sales (Poland), Fabrique d'Images (Luxembourg), Fantabulous (France), Human/PFX (Poland)

 

Nine Lives Left – Zacharias Mavroeidis

Production: Wild At Heart (Greece)

 

Once Upon an Egg – Nina Gantz

Production: Keplerfilm (Netherlands)

 

Pangea – Simon Rouby

Production: Miyu Productions (France)

 

Pedigree – Greig Cameron, Samantha Cutler

Production: Triggerfish (Ireland)

 

Saima: Scenes from a Midlife Crisis – Chintis Lundgren, Draško Ivezić

Production: Alexandra Film (Estonia), Adriatic Animation (Croatia), Avec ou sans Vous (France)

 

Silence Sometimes – Álvaro Robles

Production: Filmakers Monkeys (Spain), Ánima Estudios (Mexico)

 

The Heart of the Djembe – Mathieu Vavril
Production: Cottonwood Media (France), Booya Studio (Ivory Coast), Umedia (Belgium)

 

The Wild and the Tame – Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó

Production: Domestic Infelicity (Hungary)

 

Tomi & Erika – Péter Palátsik, Matthias Bruhn

Production: Trickstudio Lutterbeck (Germany), Banana Tree Film (Germany)

 

Projects in Production

 

Betty Baloon – Puk Grasten

Regner Grasten Filmproduktion (Denmark), A. Film Production (Denmark)

 

Blaise - Dimitri Planchon, Jean-Paul Guigue

Production: KG Gravas (France)

Detective Kibbles - Benoît Delépine, Antoine Robert, Frédéric Felder

Production: La Station Animation (France)

 

IGI – Natia Nikolashvili
Production: 20 Steps Animation (Georgia), Heretic (Greece)

 

Monster Mia – Verena Fels

Production: arx anima animation studio (Austria), Peng-Boom-Tschak Films (Germany), arx anima MD (Germany), Arxlight Pictures (Spain)

 

Pirate Mo and the Legend of the Red Ruby – Florian Westermann

Production: Ulysses Filmproduktion (Germany), Letterbox Filmproduktion (Germany), arx anima Animation Studio (Austria), Arxlight Pictures (Spain)

 

Starseed – Anca Damian

Production: Aparte Film (Romania), Special Touch Studios (France), Yzanakio (Canada), Wrongmen (Belgium), Known Associates Group (South Africa)

 

In Sneak Preview

 

Jim Queen – Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athané

Production: Bobbypills (France), Umedia (Belgium)

 

Québec-Canada Land in Europe Projects

 

Jane, the Fox and Me – Director TBC

Production: Embuscade Films (Canada)

 

Marguerite and the Duke – Director TBC

Production: 10ᵗʰ Ave Productions (Canada)

 

Puddle Jumpers – Director TBC

Production: Flying Kraken Creative Studios (Canada)

 

Shanghai Ballade – Director TBC

Production: Lofty Sky Pictures (Canada)

 

The Mountain of Dreams – Director TBC

Production: Carpediem Film & TV (Canada)

 

The President’s Daughter – Director TBC

Production: Quarterlife Crisis Productions (Canada)