After years of focused on shorter formats and experimentation, Irish studio Pink Kong is creating its first long-form series and building out a whole slate of new projects.

Planet Park (pictured) takes an eco-conscious look at four female intergalactic rangers who protect a planet-sized park and its inhabitants.

With funding from Screen Ireland, the project for kids ages five to seven has a trailer, pitch bible and two scripts. The 52 x 11-minute show’s stereotype-breaking female leads, mixed with the its theme of protecting the environment—a key concern for kids globally—should help the show resonate, says Pink Kong co-founder and director Aoife Doyle.

The studio is looking for broadcasters, distributors, producers and financing partners, says co-founder and head of production Niahm Herrity, adding that she hopes this project marks the start of a new era for Pink Kong.

Faced with challenges related to securing co-producers and financial backers for full series orders when it opened in 2014, the prodco initially looked at building a catalogue of less expensive, faster-to-market short-form content, such as musical series Urban Tails.

“We always wanted to do longer formats, but we made the strategic decision to start with shorter ones to show our capabilities,” says Herrity. “Now we’re able to build up a slate of original new projects with more confidence that partners will want to work with us because our previous work has done well.”

Herrity points to Urban Tails (52 x two minutes), which introduces animals through hip-hop music videos, as a success story. In 2019, Monster Entertainment got involved with the series as a distributor, and sold the show to kids SVOD Azoomee, Turkish entertainment company Fauna and kids app Curious World. Now, Pink Kong is looking to expand Urban Tails into a longer 52 x seven-minute series.

The studio is also lining up a number of new development projects, including a full-length feature and a sci-fi adventure series called Rovas Novas (52 x 11 minutes). Aimed at kids six to nine, Rovas Novas follows a group of galactic warriors who protect Earth’s puppies from harm.

Beyond a full content slate, Pink Kong is looking to expand its animation range, adding 3D to its 2D capabilities, says Herrity. It’s also exploring game engines as a way of enhancing its production process.

This isn’t the first time Pink Kong has dipped a toe into new technology—the studio previously experimented with family-friendly VR short film Aurora. Trying out the nascent format paid off when it won a handful of awards on the festival circuit, including Best Animation for Apps, Games and Interactive at the 2019 Irish Animation Awards. It also snagged an Outstanding Achievement award for immersive VR from Infinity Film Festival Beverly Hills, as well as nominations from the VR Awards and Stereopsia in 2018.

“We’re chatting with some partners now, but we’re always open to talking to others about our properties,” Herrity says. “Our slate is growing, and we’re going to be busy with these new projects, setting up financing strategies, distribution and finding broadcasters—all of the fun stuff we’ve been working towards.”