Upside Down River flows to Canal+
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 01 July 2019

Boutique French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has won a commission to develop and produce a new serialised children’s animation series The Upside Down River for Canal+ in France.

Written by Jean Regnaud (Ernest & Celestine) and Marie de Banville (Tobie Lolness) and directed by Paul Leluc (The Wolf, The Long Long Holiday), The Upside Down River is adapted from the children’s novel La rivičre ŕ l’envers by French children’s author Jean Claude Mourlevat and published by Editis Group. The Upside Down River is a described as a “love story and an adventurous quest in a poetic fantasy world” following Hannah’s search for water drops from the Qjar river in order to heal her sacred bird. She’s followed in her hunt by Tomek, a shy boy whose world is turned upside down when she enters his shop.

Dandelooo’s animation studio Ooolala in la Cartoucherie, Valence will produce the new 2D animation, in co-operation with Canal+ Family. The ten half-hour episodes, targeted at 8 to 12-year olds, is set for delivery in early 2022. The series will be distributed internationally by Dandelooo.

“We are really excited to develop our first serialised program for an audience of 8 to 12 years old which reflects the new way today’s kids want to watch ambitious stories,” commented Dandelooo joint founders Jean Baptiste Wéry and Emmanučle Petry.