Serious Kids will co-produce the special A Mouse Called Julian from the UK, with Mercury Filmworks leading from Canada.
Following on from Mercury Filmwork’s recent announcement that they wish to widen the scope of creative opportunities for their talent, including projects in CGI, they have announced a co-production deal with Serious Kids for A Mouse Called Julian.
Serious Kids will co-produce the special from the UK with Mercury Filmworks leading from Canada. Both parties will jointly raise finance internationally, which will include investment from Serious Kids against the international distribution rights.
A Mouse Called Julian is based on the eponymous British picture book by Joe Todd-Stanton, published by Flying Eye Books which follows the tale of Julian, a mouse who is perfectly happy being by himself. That is until one day, he has an unexpected dinner guest…a fox who tries to sneak into Julian’s burrow but finds itself stuck head first in Julian’s front door! At first alarmed and wary, they soon find themselves having a lovely dinner together, and it is not long before each realizes that they have found a lifelong friend. A story that conveys messages about the importance of friendship and taking the time to look at people a little deeper. It is a powerful celebration of finding friendship in unexpected places.
We are excited to work with the very talented creative and business team at Mercury Filmworks. The book A Mouse Called Julian has been translated into 19 languages and we feel confident it will have the widest international appeal.
Genevieve Dexter, CEO of Serious Kids
The team at Serious Kids brings not only a deep and respected level of experience as an international co-producer and distributor. They are led by the wonderful Genevieve Dexter, who we have been longing to find the right opportunity to collaborate with.
Mercury Filmworks is built on a love of the craft of animation and going beyond the expected. So as our creative teams stepped into the CGI space they brought a tactile and 2D influence to their approach and it clearly shows in the final look and render. We have seen an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the creative direction and we are excited to find the right home for this wonderful project.
Chantal Ling, VP of Co-Productions and Originals at Mercury Filmworks
Mercury Filmworks and Serious Kids will be taking the project to Kidscreen initially as a half hour special with a spin off series planned for the future.
