The creators of 6Teen have reteamed on a new cartoon series and hope to see Total Drama Island on Teletoon sometime in 2007. The 26 x 30 Flash-animated series recently got the green light from the cable channel and is looking to start storyboarding by later this month, animating by late summer.
The series, from 6Teen creators Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, takes a tongue-in-cheek swipe at reality TV – trapping 22 teenaged characters on a remote island in the Canadian north. It’s aimed at eight- to 12-year-olds.
The pair researched tween attitudes to reality TV. ‘We got a good sense they love the physical challenges, jumping off cliffs, eating bugs, but they really hated anything that showed people at their worst, the backstab-y stuff,’ says McGillis.
‘They are watching a lot of reality, and they’re co-viewing with parents and they have a lot of opinions about it.’
A large online component is also in the works.
The series will join adult-aimed Drawn Together, which airs here on Comedy Network, in the micro-genre of cartoon faux reality.
‘We’re big fans of Drawn Together,’ says McGillis, ‘but we have to, obviously, pull out all the unsavory stuff.’
McGillis and Pertsch, both of Toronto’s Fresh Animation, exec produce with George Elliott and Brian Irving of Zoom Animation, also of Toronto. Todd Kaufman and Mark Thornton (both of Clone High and 6Teen) will direct. No word on the budget, though the series is backed by CTF, tax credits and Teletoon. Zoom will distribute in North America, while Cake Distribution handles worldwide sales.