Canada brings six cartoons to Toulouse pitching forum
Six Quebec-Canada cartoons just took centre stage in France. They were pitched to buyers and backers at the 37th Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, Europe's main co-production event for animated TV series, where producers team up across countries to finance shows, as reported by Variety.
The 2026 edition runs 14-17 September in Toulouse, according to organiser CARTOON, an international non-profit association based in Brussels. The forum is built for animated series projects seeking partners and funding, with registration open to producers, broadcasters and investors, CARTOON says on its site CARTOON.
The Canadian showcase was assembled for the first time by Telefilm Canada, Quebec funding body SODEC and the Canada Media Fund. Canadian producers, broadcasters, investors and institutional executives attended to present Quebec-Canada animation talent under a programme billed as "Québec-Canada Land in Europe: A Space for Creation".
The six-project session mixed titles returning from Annecy, the French animation festival, with brand-new pitches shown to worldwide investors for the first time. A pitch here means a short live presentation made before a series is fully funded, to win over broadcasters and co-producers.
One returning title is Algorythm. It is produced by Extérieur Jour with co-producers Couleur.tv and Zeilt Production of Luxembourg, directed by Francis Gélinas, and planned as 26 episodes of five minutes using 2D, 3D computer and cut-out animation.
Algorythm was first presented at Annecy in 2024 and is now in advanced development. A teaser and a pilot episode have been completed in English and French, with Canadian broadcasters Radio-Canada and TFO on board and Quebec actress Mélissa Bédard confirmed as lead voice cast.
The new pitch is Alien Book Club. It comes from Big Bad Boo Studios and Beakus in the United Kingdom, directed by Shabnam Rezaei, and is planned as 39 episodes of seven minutes in 2D computer animation.
It was pitched for the first time at Cartoon Forum as an upper-preschool series, meaning a show aimed at children about to start school, about five aliens learning about themselves in a space-age library.
For families watching at home, this means early days. These are projects looking for deals, not finished shows with air dates. What happens next depends on who signs up.
