Toon Factory (Samson and Neon, The Little Devils 3, How to Squoosh) has just negotiated the rights to Virtual Past, a hybrid project pitched at Cartoon Forum in 2021 by Cross River, with its original creators Jean-François and Jacob Henry.
“I am delighted to announce the brand-new development of Virtual Past, a sitcom project about the paradoxes of our lives that navigates between the world of video games and the everyday life of an ordinary, present-day family. It is an innovative and hilarious project I have a lot of faith in,” said Thierry Berthier, founder and CEO of Toon Factory.
Synopsis: On the instigation of 12-year-old Lucas, the Lambda family decide to take part in a new type of immersive video game, which uses all the senses, and become exclusive beta-testers. Thanks to virtual reality, they are propelled into the larger-than-life and frankly not so wonderful world of the Middle Ages! Will our family, which is not at all cut out for this kind of adventure, manage to come out of this physically and morally unscathed?
The combination 3D animation and live-action series (12 x 22′) is aimed at audiences 10 years and up, and will consist of. It will be co-written by a new team of writers and directed by Manu Joucla, the actor, comedian and director known to audiences as a member of “Nous Ç Nous.” Joucla has just finished shooting the TV film Santa at Home for M6, which will be presented at Festival de la Fiction in La Rochelle.
The character designs for the animated segments of Virtual Past are by Yann de Préval, the character designer for Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart for Cartoon Network and 50/50 Heroes for France Télévisions, and visual development artist on Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for Disney.
