Oct 13, 2013

France to Produce 500 New "Peanuts" Short Films

[Peanuts Worldwide, a joint venture between Charles M. Schulz Associates and Iconics Brand Group, has partnered with Normale Animation and France Televisions to produce a 90-second film adaptation of Schulz's classic "Peanuts" comic to produce 500 animated short films.

This development is part of a business strategy to build new global content for the "Peanuts" franchise, which also includes the CG feature film "Blue Sky."

Neil Cole, Chairman and CEO of Iconix Brand Group, said, "Partnering with a dynamic production company like Normaal Animation and a premier broadcaster like France Televisions is a great way for us to build new content based on Charles Schulz's characters and "This new collection and format is an important step in our strategy to build new content based on the characters and stories of Charles Schulz. This new collection and format will also give us the opportunity to continue introducing the characters to a new generation of Peanuts fans."

[3 [It has not been officially confirmed whether the new animated shorts will be traditional or CGI-based, and the portfolio of Paris-based studio Normaal Animation, which has produced films in a variety of media, including "Tangerine," "Cow," "Gaston" and "Hello World

The animated shorts will be distributed internationally in the fall of 2014 and will also air on the French TV station France 3.