The Jim Henson Company is developing a new 52 x 11-minute animated/puppet preschool series entitled ImaginOcean, based on the acclaimed off-Broadway musical, John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean.

The new underwater-based series featuring comedy, music, and themes of friendship follows the adventures of a young fish named Dorsel (John Tartaglia) and his friends as they journey the deep blue sea.

The animations and puppetry will come to life via the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, which allows animated characters to be puppeteered in real time.

Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford are on-board as executive producers for Henson, while John Tartaglia, Jill Shinderman and Michael Shawn Lewis will executive produce for New York’s Jellyfish Jive Productions.

It is still very early days for this series that is just in the process of being introduced to possible commissioning broadcasters. Henson, meanwhile, has a bible and is close to locking down the character design. It’s also on the hunt for a partner to look after secondary animation.

With files from Lana Castleman