Diego and Friends need a Kickstart
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Diego and Friends: A family-friendly animated series exploring universal themes such as friendship, teamwork and love, DIEGO AND FRIENDS features no violence, racial discrimination or religious references, creating true family and educational fare. The series is currently on Kickstarter to produce a high-quality English dub of the existing 10 episodes. Maja Kejzar, project producer, spoke to us and gave more details on the project…
ABOUT
Diego and Friends is an animation series for families with children from 2-to-9 years old.
Based on fables, which means that animals have the main role and it always ends with a moral, DIEGO & FRIENDS is about a group of charismatic dogs who get involved in creative adventures. Diego, the English bulldog, has the main role, and together with his dog buddies and cats he gives children the opportunity to learn about friendship, help and respect in a subtle way. Apart from being educational, the animation is also funny and amusing.
WHY PARENTS LIKE IT?
• Absolutely no violence! Children are not afraid to watch it alone.
• It’s educational! Children will learn about positive norms and values: friendship, mutual respect, team work, and also about different dog breeds! (Dogs and cats can be friends as well)
• Positive attitude of the characters!
• Proper language and good manners!
• Slow rhythm of the cartoon! We don’t want children to be tense, but rather feel relaxed and comfortable while watching it.
WHY KIDS LIKE IT?
• No bad guys in the cartoon! We want children to feel relaxed and happy. So, we have created an amusing and pleasant atmosphere.
• Funny dog and cats in the cartoon! Kids are laughing at clumsy Diego, his dog buddies and two dogs during their funny adventures.
• Parents can watch it, too! The interaction and conversation between characters don’t only engage children’s’ interest but are adapted to a sense of humor that appeals to adults. The added value is that children will be able to watch a cartoon together with their parents, so the entire family will be satisfied to spend quality time together.
PRESENT SITUATION AND OUR OBJECTIVE ON KICKSTARTER
So far, we have produced 9 pilot episodes (10 minutes) and a Christmas Special episode (18 minutes) in Slovenian. Our goal is to SYNCHRONIZE it in English in order to present it to a broader audience.
IDEA ABOUT DIEGO AND FRIENDS
Roko is the father of the project Diego and Friends. Some years ago he co-funded a small 3-D animation studio for production of 3D animations for commercial purposes.
He has decided to do something good and different for kids. One day he came up with the idea of producing a cartoon about his dog Diego. It all started in 2009, when he got a puppy called Diego as a present from his wife, when they became parents. Roko’s sister, Daša, drew him a special sketch of Diego and his girlfriend as a decoration for the baby’s room. That is how Roko got the idea that his dog Diego should have his own cartoon. So, he gathered a team of great artists and started a project. The production of Diego and Friends started and so far we have managed to produce 10 episodes and present it to the audience in Slovenia. Children simply love it. Our goal is to collect money to dub it to English in order to present it to English broadcasters.
Throughout the years of the working process we have managed to improve our animation skills & techniques in order to produce a cartoon of an even better quality in the future.
Feedback from Slovenian audience has been very positive and children simply love it. Therefore, we suppose that English speaking children will be more than happy to be given a chance to watch it in their mother tongue. We promise they will enjoy it.
CHARACTERS:
The main character is Diego, the English bulldog.
His loyal dog friends are: Tosca, Rhonda, Mimi, Zorro, Socrates, and Napoleon
Secondary characters: 2 cats and a group of children
Each animal character has special human characteristics, so relationships among them are like those among human friends, but from the dogs’ perspective. The cartoon addresses human norms and values, such as friendship, help, support and love, which are important for children’ development and social integration.
For more information and to support the project visit the kickstarter campaign
