‘Dogtanian’ Animated Feature In The Works from Cosmos-Maya, Apolo (EXCLUSIVE)
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India and Singapore-based animation outfit Cosmos-Maya is driving into the animated feature arena with “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds,” an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel “The Three Musketeers.”
A co-production with Spain’s Apolo Films, “Dogtanian” is an iconic television property that was first aired on MBS in Japan in 1981, Television Espanola in 1982 and the BBC in 1985. There have been several iterations of the show since, and some 40 years on, it is still airing in more than 100 territories.
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Emmy and Annie nominee Doug Langdale (“Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness”) is writing the film script, based on the original written by Claudio Biern Boyd, who is President of Apolo Films. Toni Garcia (“Invizimals”) is set to direct.
Universal has boarded the project, taking SVOD for several territories including the U.K., France and Germany. Spanish partners on the project include TVE, Lusomundo and A Contracorriente, with financial support from ICO, Banco Santander, Sodena and Sonagar.
Cosmos-Maya will part finance, co-produce and distribute exclusively in Asia. The company has set up a state-of-the-art independent studio to produce feature films.
Garcia said: “It is fascinating to see the levels of workmanship at the studio. There is a culture of sharing and learning, which positively impacts the quality of the output and delivery time.”
Cosmos-Maya chief executive Anish Mehta added: “With 25 years of rich experience in animation production, and the backing of American private equity firm KKR, which has a controlling stake in Cosmos-Maya, we are well poised for all-round growth.”
“’Dogtanian’ will entertain children as it used to do their parents 40 years ago, following our philosophy: make kids happy,” said Biern Boyd, who wrote the original.
The Cosmos-Maya catalogue includes animated shows “Motu Patlu,” “Inspector Chingum” and “Vir: The Robot Boy.” The company has several upcoming co-productions, including 2D animated series “Galactic Agency” with France’s 100 Animation, for French broadcaster Gulli.
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