Trio Orange, the prodco behind several live-action kids shows for Télé-Québec, has teamed up with three Canadian animation veterans to launch a new studio in Montreal called Punch! Animation.

Punch! and Trio plan to work together to develop original animation, and they’re looking to build connections with co-producers, broadcasters and distributors.

Trio Orange has never produced animation before (beyond some very brief segments created as interstitials for some of its past live-action projects), and this partnership with Punch! represents the company’s entry into the genre, says co-president Annie Sirois. It had been looking for an opportunity to launch an animation division for some time.

Punch!’s three founding animators are Sylvain Lavoie, Benoit Godbout and Julie Mongeau. Lavoie was most recently a director at 9 Story Media Group, and worked at Oasis Animation for several years before that on the adult animated series F is for Family. Godbout is a former director at CarpeDiem Film & TV, where he primarily focused on animated feature films, and he also consulted at Oasis. And Mongeau was an executive producer at CarpeDiem for four years after working as a producer at Echo Media and DNEG.

The partnership between the two companies will see them work closely together on development and production, with Trio Orange providing Punch! with business support, financing and resources.

One project they’ve confirmed they’re collaborating on is a series adaptation of Lavoie’s comic book Crobot Magnon, about a robot who travels back in time to help prehistoric kids survive in their harsh world. The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Quebec’s cultural agency SODEC selected it to receive funding last month. Two books in the series are already out, a third set to hit book shelves by late March, and Lavoie is writing a fourth title now. In the coming weeks, the studios will be developing a first animatic for the project to be shown at industry events.

Punch!’s other project is Scary Stuff, which has also received CMF and SODEC funding. It’s based on Alexandra Larochelle’s kids book series about two stepsisters confronting their fears while their grandfather sends them text messages from the afterlife, says Sirois.

Trio Orange makes content across many genres, including feature films, docs and scripted series. Its kids output includes live-action comedy Denis Danger (Télé-Québec), The Millimus (ICI Radio Canada, Télé-Québec) and educational series Joanie’s Safari (Télé-Québec, TV5 Monde).

Updated with details from Trio Orange co-president Annie Sirois. 

Image courtesy of Punch! Animation. Pictured from left to right is Punch!’s Benoit Godbout, Sylvain Lavoie and Julie Mongeau.