Germany’s Studio 100 International, known for Maya the Bee, and Paris-based Gaumont Animation, recognized for Stillwater, are collaborating on Jungle Book: Cub Club Adventures (working title), aimed at preschoolers.
This 52 x 11-minute CG-animated series was created by Josh Fisher under his development company, I Josh Around.
Like previous adaptations, this project draws inspiration from The Jungle Book, a Nobel Prize-winning collection of stories authored by English writer Rudyard Kipling in the early 20th century.
However, Cub Club Adventures will cater specifically to four- to seven-year-olds and will feature a much younger version of Mowgli.
Fisher is set to executive produce alongside Studio 100’s Richard Rowe and Gaumont’s Terry Kalagian, who is the president of global animation, kids & family.
Before establishing I Josh Around in 2019, Fisher held the position of senior manager for kids & family at Netflix and worked at Spin Master as a senior creative director and executive producer.
This project is the second to arise from a first-look agreement signed last year between Studio 100 and Gaumont to co-produce family-friendly animated films and series.
The two companies previously collaborated on a series called Ash, which also included Germany’s Bigchild Entertainment.
Although the Jungle Book intellectual property has been in the public domain for several decades, Rowe states that the aged-down approach of this concept quickly captured Studio 100’s interest.
“This was the clearest one-line pitch for a show we have ever heard. We already know how beloved the franchise is among kids and families, and it felt like the perfect time to go into Mowgli’s early years, appealing to a slightly younger audience.”
The Jungle Book has seen numerous adaptations for television and film over the years, including Walt Disney’s classic animated musical feature from 1967, WB/Netflix’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018), and a series of live-action Disney remakes released in 1994, 1998, and 2016.
