Audrey's Shelter tackles the subject of biodiversity from an entertaining, touching, and naturalistic angle, and has won the support of UNESCO for its depiction of endangered species. Marie Lassal, the distributor of the series at Kids First Distribution, and Philippe Alessandri, a producer at Watch Next Media, tell us how they collaborated, from the earliest stages of the project, to its international career.
Unifrance: How did the Audrey's Shelter animated series come about?
Philippe Alessandri : Audrey's Shelter is a series about endangered animal species, told from the point of view of two children.
An original creation by Sylvain Huchet, it was presented to France Télévisions, who were immediately attracted to the theme. Following development, broadcasters in Canada (TVO, TFO, Radio-Canada, and Knowledge), Spain (RTVE-CLAN), and Germany (ZDF) shared France Télévisions' enthusiasm and joined the project.
The series went into production in 2022, with the first half of episodes already delivered.
The project was supported by seven channels from four countries: how was this large-scale international set-up implemented?
Marie Lassal : Kids First is Watch Next Media's international distribution subsidiary, and we work hand in hand from the earliest stages of each project.
We presented the series to buyers in the main co-production countries at virtually the same time as we presented it to the French channel.
Initial exchanges with foreign broadcasters enabled us to position the series editorially to ensure greater international success. We took into account the wishes, reservations, and cultural bias of each country. It was a question of how entertaining and educational it had to be, finding the right balance between comedy, emotion, and adventure. We had to define the target audience: preschoolers, older children? The desire to strike a balance between the two was reinforced by discussions with our broadcasting partners.
We launched the series at MIP, but had pre-launched it a year earlier at Cartoon Forum: a decisive moment for pre-sales to ZDF and RTVE-CLAN. They were already interested in the project, but the enthusiasm generated by the trailer convinced them!
Since then, Kids First has signed other deals: RTS in Switzerland, TV5 Monde, YLE in Finland, E-Junior in the United Arab Emirate, and has several other negotiations underway.
How did you strike this balance between realism and entertainment? Did you work with experts to depict the animal species?
Philippe Alessandri: Audrey's Shelter is first and foremost an entertainment series, recounting fun animal facts.
We worked with an animal specialist who proofread the scripts, pointing out any errors and suggesting ways of optimizing the stories.
Our stories are based on proven facts, and we started with a selection of animal species that are actually on the brink of extinction. Where we depart from reality is that we've chosen the animals without regard to their geographical origins, and we haven't limited ourselves to one area, as is the case in real animal sanctuaries.
Generally speaking, we mainly chose mammals, which are more expressive and endearing, but not only. We wanted to cover the entire animal spectrum.
In each episode there's an animal and an animal issue, but this story is mirrored with a human story: there's an interweaving of these two dramatic lines. We didn't just use fun animal facts, but used them to feed the stories.
The story is told from the point of view of Audrey and Tommy: a mixed duo that reaches a wide audience. Audrey is the most aspirational character, as her parents run an animal shelter. But you can't help but identify with Tommy and his clumsiness. They're the perfect duo, complementing each other.
Audrey's Shelter has won UNESCO's support for its message of ecological awareness, and a preview will be held at its Paris headquarters next spring...
Philippe Alessandri: UNESCO also has a somewhat lesser-known mission in terms of biodiversity preservation, with a focus on the great apes, who are recurring characters in the series, hence this sponsorship.
A preview at UNESCO headquarters is planned for the spring, for primary school pupils: two episodes will be screened, followed by a debate with experts in animal conservation and biodiversity.
This approach is due to be repeated in co-producing countries, including Madrid, Hamburg, and Ottawa.
What makes the series unique for the international market? And what are your sales ambitions?
Marie Lassal: The series takes a fairly classic, time-honored subject – animated children's series with animals – but gives it a very modern treatment: animals are presented in a relatively naturalistic way, without hiding the wild dimension of certain species.
It's both a timeless, "evergreen" theme and a modern one: a series on biodiversity could not have been produced in the same way 10 years ago.
Several European countries are already interested, with discussions underway in Portugal, in particular. We also hope to find a pan-Latin America partner, as well as partners in Central Europe, Asia, and Africa.notamment.
