Xilam Animation Secures Deals with Disney

Xilam Animation Secures Deals with Disney to Produce ‘The Doomies’ and Season Two of ‘Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life’

Xilam Animation (ISIN Code: FR0004034072, Ticker: XIL) (Paris:XIL), an independent producer and distributor of animated content,  announced the signing of deals with Disney to produce two new animated series for its Disney+ platform.

At  Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Disney announcedthe production of the upcoming series, The Doomies, an original creation by Xilam Animation, which will produce it in 22×22’ format. The Doomies was created by two established Xilam talents: Andrès Fernandez (Zig and Sharko, Moka), who will also direct the series, and Remi Zarrour, AKA Pozla (Moka, Monkey Business). The series is a horror comedy and marks Xilam’s first project aimed at a teen audience.

Disney also revealed it has ordered a second season of Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life from Xilam, in an extended 54×7’ format. The order builds on the success of the first season (39×7’), which launched on Disney+ in summer 2021.

The upcoming second season will be directed by three experienced Xilam directors: Jean Cayrol (Floopaloo, Paprika), Fred Martin (A Kind of Magic, Oggy Oggy) and Kahlil Ben Nahmane (Zig and Sharko, Oggy Next Gen).

Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life stars Disney’s much-loved chipmunk underdogs in a non-verbal, classic-style comedy, following the ups and downs of two little creatures living life in the big city. Combining the traditions of slapstick cartoons with contemporary, comedic character-driven narratives, season two introduces huge new adventures for the two tiny troublemakers. Nervous worrier Chip and laid-back dreamer Dale are joined in their perpetual pursuit of acorns by Donald, Pluto, Butch, and other iconic Disney characters as they face down bullies, great and small.

Marc du Pontavice, CEO of Xilam Animation, said: “We are thrilled that Disney is supporting an original creation by Xilam in a highly innovative content segment – horror comedy for teens – which demonstrates the studio’s capacity to revitalize its offering. We’re also proud to continue the Chip ‘n’ Dale adventure, which is a testament to Disney’s continued trust in our ability to bring back such iconic characters from their repertoire. The success of the first season on Disney+ marks a new milestone in our expansion in the US market. I would like to extend special thanks to the Disney EMEA teams, who provided us with vital support for this achievement.”

Orion Ross, VP Animation at Disney EMEA, added: “At its heart, The Doomies is about ordinary kids dropped into utterly unreal and unspeakable peril. I think we can all relate to that. It’s always played for laughs, and we’ll cheer as Bobby and Romy somehow manage to save themselves and their town from seemingly certain doom. I also love the evocative and moody setting Andrès and the team at Xilam have created for this show, in an eerie town on the northern coast of France.”

About Xilam

As a major player in the animation industry, Xilam is an integrated studio founded in 1999 that creates, produces and distributes original programmes in more than 190 countries for children and adults, broadcast on television and on SVoD (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, NBC Universal, etc.) and AVoD (YouTube, Facebook, etc.) platforms. With a global reputation for creativity and its capacity for innovation, an editorial and commercial expertise at the forefront of its industry, Xilam is positioned as a key player in a fast-growing market. Each year, Xilam, builds on its real successes and capitalises on powerful historical brands (Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, Chicky, etc.) and new brands (Oggy Oggy in the pre-school sector, Mr. Magoo, Trico, etc.) which are consolidating and expanding a significant catalogue of more the 2,700 episodes and 3 feature films including the Oscar-nominated I Lost My Body. Xilam has unique GCI skills. Xilam employs more than 500 people, including 400 artists, across its studios in Paris, Lyon, Angoulême and Hô-Chi-Minh in Vietnam. Xilam is listed on Euronext Paris Compartment B – PEA – SRD long Eligibility