At the MIPCOM Junior Screenings, Oct. 8-9, sellers presented 738 programs (a 6% increase over last year), 339 of them first-time titles.

There were 383 companies from 53 countries registered at the screenings, including 180 sellers and 193 buyers, up 5% over last year. The biggest national delegation attendance increases this year were the U.S., up 41.3% to 65 companies; Canada, up 31% with 38 companies; and Germany, up 25% to 30 companies. Total participants numbered 704.

Canadian producers had a solid share of the top-screened titles at MIPCOM Junior, including the number one-ranked Creep School (26 half-hours for the six-to-10 segment), a minority Cinar coproduction.

My Goldfish is Evil, from Montreal’s Sardine Productions, ranked an impressive third.

Other top-ranked Canadian entries at MIPCOM Junior include Franny’s Feet (Decode Entertainment), Bali (CineGroupe), The Boy (Filmoption International), Kid Paddle (Dupuis/Spectra Animation) and Freaks of Nature (Decode).

My Goldfish Is Evil chronicles the hilarious adventures of a young boy and his pet goldfish ‘Mr. Bubbles,’ who is actually a diabolical super villain. The series has been prelicensed by VRAK.TV and CBC, with development funding from Telefilm Canada. Production is slated to start in early 2004.

As a follow-up to MIPCOM Junior, Sardine president Ghislain Cyr and creative director Steven Majaury were invited to more than 40 meetings with major industry players, including Fox Kids, Disney Channel France, U.K. and Germany, CBBC Kids, SIP Animation (Saban International), France Animation and Alphanim.