Los Angeles-based Mike Young Prods. (MYP) has teamed with Asian multi-player online game publisher Gamania Digital Entertainment of Taiwan to co-produce the animated comedy-action series Hero:108. Former Animation Magazine publisher Rita Street will exec produce through Radar Cartoons, the representation firm that handled Gamania’s producers.
Aimed at kids 6-11, Hero: 108 (22 x 30) is the story of a group of kid defenders set on ending a conflict between animals and humans in a hidden kingdom. The show is based on the ancient Chinese novel The Water Margin and centers on Lin Chung (a.k.a. Panther Eye), a boy with special powers that he can’t control. The project may be familiar to Nicktoons viewers since it was introduced as a series of short animations that debuted last year during the Nicktoons Film Festival.
The production reunites MYP co-CEO Bill Schultz with Gamania creative director Pongo, a former Cuckoo’s Nest animation director whose credits include such hit properties as Garfield and the longprunning Fox Kids Network series Bobby’s World.
"Hero:108’s visuals alone are enough to attract kids, but it was the comedic elements that really sold us on the property,” Schultz says of Gamania’s first television outing, a series that will be designed to work seamlessly with online gaming.
In an unprecedented move, Gamania will retain design duties and a large percentage of the storyboard work during the show’s pre-production phase. MYP will also rely on Gamania for animation supervision.
Just last week, it was announced that Mike Young Prods. and its distribution arm, Taffy Ent., had become MoonScoop companies after the European toon entity purchased a 51% majority stake. Taffy Ent. distributes a number of MYP’s series, including the Emmy, Hugo, Prix Jeunesse and Parents Choice Award-winning series Jakers!, as well as ToddWorld, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Pet Alien.
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