It doesn’t always take a genius to attract the financial and creative involvement of a pair of strong international partners and to lead the charge into the wide Saturday morning world of u.s. network tv; a bunch of dumb bunnies have made short work of the task.

Toronto’s Nelvana put the universal appeal of the story of a group of goodhearted, gormless rabbits to work in creating the 26 half-hour animated kids’ series Dumb Bunnies, a globe-spanning coproduction which takes a page from past and present successes in leveraging a well-received literary property and brings aboard the funding and production capabilities of two established international partners.

Dumb Bunnies has Nelvana joining forces for the first time with Australia’s accomplished Yoram Gross/Village Roadshow and extending its service relationship with China’s Hong Guang Animation.

The show, based on a series of books by u.s. author Dav Pilkey, will likely form the cornerstone of the six-show Saturday morning deal inked by Nelvana and cbs early this year.

The three-way funding split sees Nelvana with a 55% chunk, Yoram Gross handling 30% and Hong Guang a 15% partner in the show (series of its ilk are typically priced around $300,000 to 400,000 an episode).

The production of the series will also be divvied up among the partners: Yoram Gross and Nelvana are splitting the preproduction, including scripts, storyboards, design, art direction and recording; post-production is being handled entirely through Nelvana; and layout through camera is being done in China but funded by all three partners.

The show began with Nelvana acquiring the rights to the Scholastic-published Dumb Bunnies books about two years ago and then finding an interested coproducer in Yoram Gross.

‘We were looking for a property to work with them on, and Dumb Bunnies was it,’ says supervising producer Vince Commisso.

With the Australian studio committed, Nelvana sold the show to ytv, and subsequently brought on Hong Guang. The Hong Kong-based studio had worked with Nelvana in the past as a service studio and took the Bunnies opportunity to come on board as a financial partner in a series.

The look and feel of Dumb Bunnies will stay true to the books, says Commisso. The show centers on the exploits of a group of intellectually light lagomorphs who are, as Commisso says, ‘uncluttered mentally’ and eccentric but whose motivation is always pure.

The show is notable for its three strong partners, says Nelvana chairman Michael Hirsh. ‘We find coproductions are a good way to maximize the value in your partners; a coproduction is a means to bring more money to the table for their territory than they would if you were just selling to them,’ says Hirsh.

In the case of Yoram Gross, the benefit is twofold; the Australian shop brings intimate access to the Australian markets, and by extension, more money from the Australian rights than could be secured by selling the show, as well as what Hirsh says is cost-efficient, high-quality production work.

That efficiency extends throughout the project, says Commisso, with the only additional costs associated with an international venture being communication-based and start-up-based, particularly with a new partner.

‘What has to come together is that we have to find one common way of working to facilitate a production schedule,’ says Commisso. ‘It’s a question of packaging things and coordinating things so they work for everyone. Any costs are associated with delays in finding that common way. But the benefits far outweigh those minor delays up front.’

Along with the international dollars and exposure brought by the coproduction partners, the cbs deal, though not offering huge licence fees, will likely provide a powerful profile for the show and increased visibility for Nelvana.

‘It’s a strategic partnership,’ says Hirsh of the deal. ‘We benefit by sharing financially in the upside of improving ratings and they are able to participate in some of the upside of ancillary rights. We’re looking to build a business together.’