Montreal: Motion International, the new coproate name for Coscient Group, has announced a deal to coproduce 26 half-hours of the 3D animation series Xcalibur with Ellipse Animation of France. The largest animation project to date undertaken by Motion’s animation unit (formerly known as Cactus Animation), the series is presold to Canal Plus, France 2 and ytv. It’s the first 3D series to be produced in Quebec.

Guy Crevier, Motion president and ceo, says current production sales, or orders, for the animation unit stand at $22 million. Motion animation projects in production include Fantomette, Papyrus, Pirates and La Mouche/The Fly.

Xcalibur is based on the legend of King Arthur and appropriates the work of French cartoonist Philippe Druillet (Lone Sloane, Metal Hurlant).

Crevier also announced an agreement with Emploi-Quebec, a Quebec government agency, which will permit 25 students to gain in-depth training on the production.

Third-quarter results

The company’s results are in for its third financial quarter ending April 30. Revenues are $29.3 million compared to $30 million in ’98, while net profits stand at $1.4 million or an eps of $0.07, up 75% over the $800,000 recorded during the same period last year. Gross margin reached $7.5 million or 25.4% of sales, while operating income (ebitda) increased to $3.4 million compared to $2.9 million for the preceding third quarter.

In a release, Motion says, ‘The cumulative results for the first three quarters reflect the important repositioning performed during the second quarter, which involved postponing several productions.’

Production highlights

Motion says its current confirmed production slate (’99/2000) matches last year’s sales, in the order of $120 million.

Crevier says in the year ahead as much as two-thirds of Motion’s production will be in English.

The company is currently shooting the 13-hour drama series Little Men in Toronto. The property was acquired outright from Alliance Atlantis Communications last month. aac produced 13 hours last year.

ctv has purchased the first season and Crevier says a decision on the second season, budgeted at $16 million, is pending. Little Men has been sold to station group PaxTV in the u.s and is being produced through Motion’s international division, headed by Jacques Methe.

Andre Picard, president of the company’s national drama division, says two English-language tv movies will be shot this year: Lucille Teasdale, licensed by ctv and Reseau tva, and a fact-based, crime-adventure story, which is being coproduced with Nova Scotia-based producer Wayne Grisby (North of 60, Black Harbour).

Picard says a third season of Popular Mechanics for Kids has been greenlit by Hearst Entertainment and Global while the Owl/sda series Hello Mrs. Cherrywinkle is being adapted for Tele-Quebec. Picard says pbs will air Mrs. Cherrywinkle next season, and if the response is positive, new episodes of the show will be produced for pbs in the future.

Picard, also head of Motion’s large-format film division, is developing a science-based imax project on the human body with bbc.