The MIPJunior International Pitch finalists are: Ooommm-Mmmooo, Yoga for Children; Toggle; Gorollas; Las Cuevas; Animals (Dizfriends); & Casimilo and the Legends of the New World. You can watch them all in the above playlist.
Assessing the above 6 pitches are (jury president) Andy Heyward, of A Squared Entertainment; Morgann Favennec, of M6; Emmanuel Franck, of Ankama; Helen McAleer, of The Walker Books Group; Penguin‘s Anna Rafferty; and MoshiTV/Mind Candy‘s Brad Schultz.
What will they be looking for? For Heyward, it’s very simple: “Characters. Story. Execution.”
For MacAleer, the stakes will also be high, as she launched Teletubbies, no less, back in the day. “I will be looking for great storytelling, humour and excellent characters at the pitch submissions,” she says; very much qualities of Guess How Much I Love You , her favourite kids IP right now.
MoshiTV’s Schultz, for his part, will be looking for pioneering IPs right off the bat, “because everyday we’re breaking rules and blazing our own trail. It’s amazing to watch creative ideas born from anywhere in the company make their way into games, shorts, apps, or even new business ventures!” Moshi Monsters definitely make for a tough multiplatform act to follow, then.
As such, Schultz will be looking for “originality and practicality” in MIPJunior International Pitch submissions. “I hate hearing ideas being pitched that are exactly like what’s currently out in the market! What’s the point? And practicality, well, a lot of people still think of their IP starting off as a massive multi-million dollar investment as a virtual world or animated TV series, when really they could spend a fraction of the time and money and start to build an audience on alternative platforms like mobile and short form video. Especially considering how fast trends change, I’d love to see the project we select to be out in the market very soon!”
The MIPJunior International Pitch takes place this Saturday at 14.30. Full details on mipjunior.com.
