Toonz, Argentine firm to co-produce animated feature film

Animation content provider Toonz Animation and Argentina's Illusion Studios have inked a co-production deal to produce a 90-minute 3D animated feature film based on the famous Argentine comic strip Gaturro.

Animation content provider Toonz Animation and Argentina's Illusion Studios have inked a co-production deal to produce a 90-minute 3D animated feature film based on the famous Argentine comic strip Gaturro.

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Created by Christian Dzwonik, the film 'Gaturro' chronicles the fun love story of two cats, protagonist Gaturro and Agatha.

According to Toonz chief executive P. Jayakumar, the project is estimated to be worth $6 million.

"Production will commence here in the next few weeks. The show is expected to hit theatres worldwide by 2010," said Jayakumar in a press statement. Pre-production work has been completed.

Toonz said the project posed a challenge. "Gaturro as a comic strip is an iconic character and it would demand greater care to give life in a different medium," the company statement said.

Added Illusion Studios chief executive Jose Luis Massa: "We believe combining the talent of our artists and the great expertise of Toonz Animation will help Gaturro have a special differential ingredient in his animated version."

Toonz, since setting up shop at the Technopark technology park here in 1999, has emerged as a major provider of animation content to producers in the US and Europe. Its employees have been drawn from countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Canada and the US apart from India.

The company is part of the Geneva-based business conglomerate Comcraft.

Toonz, which has a client list that includes big names in the media and entertainment sectors such as Marvel, Hallmark, Paramount, Disney, BBC and Cartoon Network, has listed Toonz as one of the top 10 multimedia studios globally by the Animation Magazine of the US.