Barcelona-based production outfit Brutal Media is bringing back “The Triplets,” a popular animated kids’ series that delighted audiences in more than 160 territories for more than two decades, and will be looking for partners at Mipcom.
Raimon Masllorens, CEO at Brutal Media and driving force behind the project, has assembled a group responsible for rebooting the popular franchise, popularized in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, which includes original alumi as well as new faces with experience in the international kids’ content market.
Jordi Gasull, screenwriter and producer of Spanish animated box office smashes such as the “The Adventures of Tadeo Jones” movie series and “Capture the Flag,” will lead writing for the series, with art direction overseen by Roser Capdevila, “The Triplets” original creator, alongside Marta Capdevila and Helena Batet.
The original run saw more than 100 episodes produced in 35 languages, many of which are still be broadcast in territories around the world. It also maintains a strong digital presence, with more than 30 million online views accumulated over the last two years. “The Triplets’” value on the secondary market proved strong as well, with more than 500 products licensed, 10 million units sold and more than 2 million books purchased in 20 languages.
Based on Capdevila’s own daughters, three actual triplets born in 1969, the series follows sisters Teresa, Anna and Helena – Tessa, Annie and Nellie in the English dub – as they troll the Bored Witch, the girls’ portly caretaker who sends them into the worlds of their storybooks when they’re misbehaving.
In the updated series, set 20 years after the first finished, the trio represent the next generation of triplets and will, according to Brutal, “experience new adventures for a new generation, once again traveling back into classic tales and discovering characters from history, just as their parents did.”
“Our enthusiasm and ambition behind the ‘Triplets’ relaunch can only be matched by the respect we have for one of our most successful and internationally-bankable children’s creations,” explains Masllorens. “Their world and values have transcended the confines of the screen for several generations, and their relevance and potential today is so obvious that revisiting them is proving to be an incredibly rewarding experience.”
Roser Capdevila, creator of the original characters, adds: “I’m delighted to be taking on this great challenge of resurrecting ‘The Triplets’ in this new era of digital transformation and revision of values. ‘The Triplets’ was inspired by my daughters within the pages of a story and, later, they were featured in many exciting cartoon reiterations. Now, with the team that Brutal Media has brought together, including contributors I trust completely, we’ll add a little magic so that the Bored Witch, who was getting very tiresome, can once again harangue Teresa, Anna and Helena in the stories.”