Nordic animated projects Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile and Puck heading to Cinekid’s Junior Co-Production Market

Last month, Cinekid announced the projects selected for this year’s edition of its Junior Co-Production Market. The event is set to return to Pathé Amsterdam Noord during the 2024 edition of Cinekid for Professionals, running from 29 October to 1 November. On this occasion, 19 projects will be presented to the industry, including 11 films, seven series, and one work in progress.

NFTVF gained access to the two projects set to be pitched at the gathering — the animated feature Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile and the animated series Puck.

Penned and directed by Esben Toft Jacobsen, Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile aims to captivate young viewers aged 5-9 and their families. The director’s previous credits include the animated features The Great Bear (Den kæmpestore bjørn) and Beyond Beyond (Resan til fjäderkungens rike), as well as Netflix’s first Scandi original The Rain, for which he worked as a creator and visual supervisor.

His new endeavour, budgeted at €3 million and combining 3D animation with painterly visuals, is now in advanced development and has received development backing from the Swedish Film Institute and Creative Europe MEDIA. Production financing is set to start in January 2025, with a tentative release date slated for Q1 2027.

The story revolves around Millie, an orphaned mouse who lives with a family of loving hedgehogs. She is afraid of everything, especially the crocodile that bit off her tail when she was a baby. Her only friend is Morten, the son of the hedgehog family. One day, their football ends up in the river, and when Morten tries to retrieve it, he falls in and is carried away. Terrified, Millie knows she has to find Morten. She sets out on a journey, accompanied by a frog named Archimedes. As they travel down the river, Millie struggles to find the courage she needs. With the help of an old turtle who possesses a magical courage stone, Millie finds the strength to face her fears. The river leads them to a lake where the crocodile has laid her eggs. She demands that all animals bring food and toys to ensure her children’s happiness — or face the consequences.

The production team includes delegate producer Petter Lindblad of Sweden’s Snowcloud Films, co-producer Marleen Slot of Dutch outfit Viking Film, co-producer Claus Toksvik Kjær of Denmark’s Nørlum Entertainment, and the helmer himself, serving as a co-producer for Denmark’s Vi Glæder Os Preben. Key creatives are art director Thomas Ø Poulsen, senior character modeller Kristian Rydberg, script consultant Mieke de Jonge, and storyboard artist Gijs van der Lelij. Animation studios Dupp Film (Sweden) and Job, Joris & Marieke (Netherlands) are also attached to the project.

The team has already received several letters of interest and will be seeking pre-sales and financiers at Cinekid.

Zooming in on the project’s themes, they say: “Having worked primarily on animated projects for children, and now having kids of his own and seeing them grow up and tackle challenges in life, this story about courage was close to Toft Jacobsen’s heart. We all feel scared sometimes, and as a child, there are so many new things that can be frightening. We need to build up our courage to handle them, step by step.”

“The story of the small mouse Millie, who must face her greatest fears to save her foster brother Morten from a big crocodile terrorising their world, shows how she grows and rises to the occasion. In the end, she not only saves her brother, but also all the other captured animals — and even the crocodile, who had been terrorising the other animals because she was scared.”

The second Nordic project, Puck, is penned by Caroline Drab and Anna-Karin Garhamn and aims to appeal to preschoolers aged 3-5.

The series is based on a book and a 2D-animated multiplatform project revolving around Puck’s adventures in everyday life. With humour and wit, Puck and sidekick Bunny try things for the first time, such as going to the cinema, visiting a restaurant, and going to the dentist. The team describes Puck as “gentle viewing for the youngest audience”.

Currently in late development and securing financing, the show is being staged by Drab herself for the Swedish firm BCD Film, in collaboration with Trollhättan-based Dockhus Animation.

The director is yet to be confirmed, but the team aims to release the show in 2026. Finnish pubcaster Yle, the Swedish Film Institute, and Film i Skåne are also attached as partners, with Folkets Bio handling its Swedish distribution.

“We are very happy to be selected for the popular Cinekid Market, and we’re looking to secure co-producers, financiers, broadcasters, distributors, and sales,” Drab signed off.