Indian animation firm Cosmos-Maya is working with Italy based Rai Ragazzi and Gruppo Alcuni to create a spin-off series of animated Italian movie "Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa".
"Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa", a film produced by Gruppo Alcuni, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival also. It premiered in Italy in January, and released last month in Russia and South Korea. The film will open in China next month.
Taking this success forward, Rai Ragazzi, Gruppo Alcuni and Cosmos-Maya have come together to co-produce the spin-off "Leo da Vinci" -- a children's cartoon series in Italian which will air on Rai TV, read a statement to IANS.
The series will have 52 episodes of 13 minutes each. It tells the story of 15-year-old Leo, who is curious and willing to invent new and unique machines. These he uses to have fun with his friends, Lisa and Lorenzo. He also uses these inventions to keep evil at bay. Blue Pirate, assisted by henchmen Francis and Cicala, are the bad guys in the show.
Anish Mehta, CEO at Cosmos-Maya, said: "We brought in the 3D animation revolution in India with 'Motu Patlu' and with each subsequent show, pushed all the envelopes of quality. 'Inspector Chingum', our latest show, which is currently on air has the finest 3-D animation quality for an Indian series. Now with 'Leo da Vinci's global appeal and universal storytelling, we are taking a step forward internationally."
Anish says the "pedigree of a major European production house like Gruppo Alcuni and people's familiarity with Leonardo da Vinci and his work will enable the series to have a reach of more than 100 countries. This is what attracted us to this project in the first place".
Talking about the spin-off, Sergio Manfio, President and Creative Director of Gruppo Alcuni and director of the series, said: "Leonardo's achievements interest adults more than children. He has done such great things that seem incredible to us. However, to the little ones, who carry with them the gift of imagination, they seem almost normal.
"So, we wanted to create something for Leonardo to be accessible to them and then in our film we added pirates, the flight. We wanted to combine fantasy with genius. With Cosmos-Maya's proven track record, we are confident that the series will be a success worldwide."
Founded by Indian filmmakers Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi, Cosmos-Maya, whose headquarter is in Singapore and India, is known for producing high quality 3D as well as 2D animation content.