‘Planet Sheen,’ ‘Sym-bionic Titan’ Win Top Pulcinellas

The 15th edition of Italy’s popular Cartoons on the Bay festival drew to a close this past weekend in Rapallo. Among the animated TV shows honored with the top Pulcinella awards this year were Nickelodeon’s Planet Sheen (Best Children’s Series), Tiger Aspect’s Tinga Tinga Tales (Best Preschool Series) and Cartoon Network’s Sym-Bionic Titan (Best Tween Series).

This year’s special programming tributes included a focus on the output of Brazilian animation studios (TVPinguim, 2d Lab, Digital Spirit and Mixer, to name a few), as well as a salute to French studio Method Animation. In addition, festival-goers were treated to Italian-language versions of Fox/Blue Sky’s Rio and Disney’s Winnie the Pooh before their official release in the country. Roberto Genovesi is the artistic director of the event, which is sponsored by Italy’s TV channel Rai.

Here is the complete list of the winners of Cartoons on the Bay’s Pulcinella prize:

• Best Preschool Series: Tinga Tinga Tales (Tiger Aspect, U.K.)
• Best Children’s Series: Planet Sheen (Nickelodeon, U.S.)
• Best Educational or Social Message Project: Made in Chinatown (Sergio Basso, La Sarraz, Italy)
• Best Tween Series: Sym-Bionic Titan (Cartoon Network, U.S.)
• Best Young Adult Series: The Tatami Galaxy (Madhouse, Japan)
• Best TV Pilot: Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs (SLR Productions, Australia)
• Best Promotional Project: Stupid People Dirty Deeds (WIZZdesign, France)
• Best Interactive Project: Halo Reach: Gray Matter (Xbox, Bungie, U.S.)
• Best Animated Short: The Lost Town of Switez (Directed by Kamil Polak, Poland)
• Pulcinella Career Award: Game designer Warren Spector (Epic Mickey)
• Pulcinella Career Award: Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio De Sousa
• Pulcinella Cross-Media Project: Gruppo Alcuni’s Pet Pals: Marco Polo’s Code
• Studio of the Year: Method Animation (France)
• Italian Studio of the Year: de Mas & Partners

Michael Carrington (CCO, Turner), Kevin Geiger (president, Magic Dumpling Ent.), Jeff Gomez (president and CEO, Starlight Runner), Annalisa Liberi (head of children’s acquisitions, Rai) and Aida Queiroz (festival director, Anima Mundi) were the jurors for the 15th edition of the festival. For more info, visit www.cartoonsbay.com.

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