German Animation Showcase at EFM Offers Both Kids Fare, Adult Pics

Berlin’s EFM Animation Days industry showcase presented a selection of eight German animation projects on Friday in a lively pitching session that offered a wide range of family-friendly and darker, adult-themed fare.

Projects included modern twists on such classics as Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and “Der Struwwelpeter,” by German psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffmann, as well as more contemporary children books, like “Troll and the Oliver” and the “Onno & Ontje” series, not to mention the Wild Hunt of local folklore.

Feature film projects included “Onno and Ontje – Friends are the Best Gift,” from Leipzig-based Blaue Pampelmuse and based on the works of Thomas Springer. The story follows solitary former fisherman Onno, who lives alone on an island until he befriends a little otter named Ontje, and an unexpected friendship blooms.  

Blaue Pampelmuse is looking for two co-producers for what would be a 60% German production with an estimated budget of some €5.2 million ($6.2 million). The project is so far backed by federal and regional funders German Federal Film Board (FFA) and Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM).

Cologne and Hamburg-based Little Dream Entertainment unveiled its feature film project, a fresh, anthropomorphic take on “Treasure Island,” featuring the young feline heroine Jane Hawkins in a musical adventure.

Little Dream Entertainment, producing with partner firm Red Parrot Studios, is seeking co-producers, broadcasters and a sales agent. “Treasure Island” has so far secured support from regional funders Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (MOIN) and Film und Medien Stiftung NRW.

Hamburg-based Fabian&Fred, run by Fabian Driehorst and Frédéric Schuld, likewise presented a novel take on a classic tome with “Struwwel,” in which Paulinchen, a 9-year-old girl at boarding school, brings to life a wild girl from her picture book who sparks cheerful chaos in her new home. But when the school principal takes away her book, Struwwel disappears, so Paulinchen sets off on a magical adventure to find her friend.  

Driehorst and Schuld see the project not just as a feature film, but as a “multiplatform story universe,” noting that the original book is still hugely popular in Germany and worldwide and whose influence and impact can be seen in works like Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands,” even referenced in Conan O’Brien’s TBS show, and more recently the basis of an upcoming HBO Max show from “Dark” creators Jantje Friese and Baran Bo Odar.

“Troll and the Oliver,” based on the works of British author Adam Stower, is being adapted by Ludwigsburg-based Zooper Film along with Seru Animation and Big Idea Farm. It centers on a frightening creature with a sweet tooth who, after trying but failing to eat the boy Oliver, realizes he much more prefers the delicious pastries that Oliver bakes.

Zooper Film is looking for international co-producers, world sales agents, distribution and broadcasters.

Austrian-German studio Arx Anima, meanwhile, has adapted a folkloric tale in the form of “Alma and the Wild Hunt,” a family-friendly animated adventure that follows the courageous 10-year-old Alma and her squirrel companion on a mission to save her village from eternal winter and recover a magical crystal stolen by the dastardly mine owner Baron Rupert.  

Still at an early stage, Arx Anima is on the lookout for co-producers, world sales, distributors and broadcasters. The project has so far secured initial support from MDM.  

Aiming for more adult audiences, Stuttgart-based Studio Film Bilder presented “Your Spotted Skin,” a romantic comedy about Antonia the Cow and Kurt the Lion, who fall in love but whose relationship faces great skepticism by the world around them. Based on an award-winning script by Daniel Nocke and directed by Stefan Krohmer and Studio Film Bilder’s Thomas Meyer-Hermann, “Your Spotted Skin” employs motion capture performed by actors Luise Heyer (“The Life of Wishes”) and Henning Baum (“The Last Cop”).

The feature-length project, co-produced by Raumkapsel Animation, Balance Film and Something Big, has already raised some €5 million ($5.9 million) towards its estimated €10 million budget. The producers are looking for additional support, including global distribution. “Your Spotted Skin” has already secured funding from MDM, Filmstiftung NRW, Creative Europe Media, FFA, MOIN, Hessen Film & Medien and MFG Baden Württemberg, with backing from broadcasters MDR, Arte and SWR.

Also focusing on the adult demo, Hamburg and Cologne-based Brave New Work explores the dark era of 1930s Germany in “Angst,” in which a young working-class woman in Berlin is drawn into the sinister dealings of a decadent illusionist, while society sinks into chaos.

Handled by Little Dream Pictures’ Animation Addicts distribution label, “Angst” is supported by MOIN and Creative Europe Media.

Likewise examining darker themes of militarism, the proliferation of weapons and war is Weimar-based Paper Plane Animation with “In Their Own Flesh,” which follows the life of a German produced AK-47 assault rifle.

Using cut-out animation and documentary footage, the hybrid film tells the fateful story, based on true events, of an East German-made MPi KM-72 Kalashnikov that makes it’s way from Europe to West Asia, and then across the Atlantic to South America from the rifle’s own point of view.

Ana Vallejo and Franka Sachse of Paper Plane are working with German and Colombian artists on the visual language of the film.

Paper Plane, which has secured support from MDM, is looking for co-production partners, broadcasters and world sales companies.