banjomick
- 16 Oct 2005 09:00
- 117 of 1609
The Sunday Times October 16, 2005
Kilkenny studio scents success as funds from cartoon skunk kick in
Kathy Foley
A KUNG fu-kicking skunk could prove to be Irelands most successful cartoon export ever. Cartoon Salon, a Kilkenny-based animation studio, has succeeded in raising 5.5m to produce 52 13-minute episodes of its action comedy Skunk Fu! and has already pre-sold the show in five countries.
The latest investor is UK-quoted firm Galleon Holdings, which took a 15% equity stake in the project as licensing and rights partners last week.
The plan for Skunk Fu! is to go for it as a whole property. That is why we partnered up with Galleon, so we could keep it alive with DVDs, toys, computer games and maybe eventually a film, said Paul Young, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon and the series co-producer.
Cartoon Saloon was also approved last week for funding of up to 500,000 towards the series from the EU media scheme, which aims to boost the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry.
Hoek, Line & Thinker, a Dutch development company, is the Irish studios main co-production partner. Its managing director Tomm van Waveren is the executive producer on the series and led negotiations with Super RTL, the German television channel.
Super RTL is the biggest investor in Skunk Fu!, having put more than 1m into the series in a pre-sale deal including licensing rights for German-speaking markets. Skunk Fu! has also been pre-sold to the BBC, TG4, Swedish television channel SVT and Welsh station S4C.
A deal with a French station is pending and Cartoon Network in America has also taken an option on the series. The Irish Film Board is also an investor and Spiddal-based firm Telegael is co-producing on the post-production.
In partnership with James Flynn of Octagon, one of Irelands most experienced film producers, Cartoon Saloon has also succeeded in raising 5.35m for its other flagship project, a feature-length animation called Brendan and the Secret of Kells.
The investors include RTE, the Film Board, Canal Plus, French firm Gebeka Films and EU scheme Eurimages. The film is being co-produced with Les Armateurs of France and Vivi Films of Belgium, the companies behind the much-praised Belleville Rendezvous which was nominated for two Oscars. Distribution deals have been inked with Buena Vista in Ireland and Celluloid Dreams internationally.
Both projects are expected to take two years to complete.
Cartoon Saloon was set up in Kilkenny in 2000 by Young and his fellow Ballyfermot College animation graduates, Tom Moore and Nora Twomey. Its past projects have included eight short films, commercials, book illustrations and comics.
banjomick
- 18 Oct 2005 22:14
- 118 of 1609
GON,Doing well after recent rises!
banjomick
- 21 Oct 2005 00:12
- 119 of 1609
A bit of a recovery after recent rises and the bound to happen drop,and so soon!
banjomick
- 21 Oct 2005 00:18
- 120 of 1609
Be brave and invest...you know it makes sense... :-))
banjomick
- 27 Oct 2005 00:22
- 121 of 1609
After a 15% rise the Galleon dropped off a bit,a lot less than i expected,and picked up slightly today!
Does this mean the world has faith in the Galleon now?...I know I do......
bhunt1910
- 27 Oct 2005 08:29
- 122 of 1609
.....and up she goes again
banjomick
- 27 Oct 2005 19:24
- 123 of 1609
There's no stopping the Galleon now. :-))
banjomick
- 28 Oct 2005 15:47
- 124 of 1609
Full steam,well wind ahead.
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 22:08
- 125 of 1609

Meet Andre the Apron...
He thinks he'd be happier if he was brightly coloured, not white, but finds it's not how you look but how you feel that really counts.
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 22:09
- 126 of 1609

Meet Dorothy the Doughnut...
She's a bit dizzy and loves to dance, but when she does everyone else goes flying! Maybe she just needs a good dance partner! But who will take on the challenge?
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 22:17
- 127 of 1609

Meet Ida the Ironing board...
She is not very good at walking, but with the help of a friend she manages to find her feet and performs an amazing rescue act!
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 22:29
- 128 of 1609

Meet Percy the Pot Plant...
He is board sitting about the lounge so sets off to explore the rest of the house. But then Percy gets more than he bargined for in his search for excitement.
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 22:44
- 129 of 1609

Meet Queenie the Quilt...
She's rather thin and is always shivering - Not plump like a quilt should be! So she begins eating all types of things to plump herself up, but they just don't seem right!
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 23:31
- 130 of 1609

Meet Wally the Wellington...
It's such a pain being a wellington whose ticklish! and oh how the others tease, but lessons are learned when he is magically cured.
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 23:41
- 131 of 1609

Hoo Ha House Special
(Out of Stock)
PRICE:194.8
194.80!!! don't know what that is all about!
banjomick
- 30 Oct 2005 23:43
- 132 of 1609
http://www.hoohahouse.com/main.html
banjomick
- 31 Oct 2005 00:02
- 134 of 1609
The Bookworm says "I'ts all good fun in the Hoo Ha House,come on in and join the fun"