Toronto’s Titan1Studios and its Calgary-based subsidiary Missing Socks Entertainment have kicked off production on the children’s animated series Welcome.

Welcome (6 x 11 minutes) is aimed at six- to eight-year-olds and explores themes such as immigration, environment and friendship. Production is scheduled to wrap early next year with a premiere slated to coincide with Earth Day on April 22, 2025, according to a news release.

The writing team for the series includes Atul Rao, Ophira Caloff and Kirsten Rasmussen. Filipino-Canadian filmmaker Mathias Horhager is the director and Jon Cooksey is the showrunner. Former CBC Kids chief Kim Wilson is a consulting producer alongside Rao. Executive producers include Horhager, Cooksey, Titan1Studios founder and CEO Rathan Moorthy and VP, content Wes Ambrecht.

Welcome centres on a squid girl who moves with her mom from their ocean home to an estuary on Vancouver Island, where she discovers a whole new world. The cast includes Delia Chambers, Carter Trozzolo, Harper Gunn, Graham Horhager, Elena Juatco, Kanja Chen, Rao, Dean Humphries, Karen Robinson, Kirsten Rasmussen and Paul Gitlin.

Moorthy said in a statement that the series “sheds light on the challenges faced by newcomers, while also highlighting the importance of environmental protection.”

“It made me reflect on my own experience immigrating to Canada, and I hope it inspires kids to embrace new experiences and build friendships that bridge differences,” he added.

The studio also has short form content for the series both in development and production for platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok, in addition to interactive digital media for PC/Console and Roblox, which the company plans to release later this year.

Image courtesy of Titan1Studios