EXCLUSIVE: Laughing Dragon Studios just lately grabbed a skateboard for a Tony Hawk toon, and now the Canadian manufacturing home targeted on the festive season.
The firm has unveiled Christmas collection Coal, which is because of drop in December 2025. Shaftesbury is signed up for worldwide distribution, with Muse Distribution dealing with Quebec. The Shaw Rocket Fund and Telefilm have supplied funding.
The three-part particular will observe Ethan Bishop, an eight-year-old boy navigating a troublesome time in his life that lands him on Santa’s naughty listing. In response, Santa implements ‘Plan C,’ sending a legendary Lump of Coal to information Ethan on a “ho-ho-hilarious journey.” Through a collection of constructive and damaging experiences with the coal, Ethan discovers a life-altering inventive expertise.
Cast contains Lucinda Davis (Radio Active, Winx Club) as Ethan alongside Zariah Ellis (Blue’s Clues & You), Briauna James (Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace, The Bold Type), Ralph Prosper (Assassin’s Creed, District 31), Mara Lazaris (LARPs, 1991), Eric Davis (How to Get Away with Murder, Black-ish) and Bruce Dinsmore (Arthur, The Secret World of Santa Claus) as Santa Claus.
Laughing Dragon is billing it as a “playful 2D animated series, complete with specialized magical charcoal-style sequences” for teenagers aged 6-10, and is planning it as an “festive tradition that can be cherished year after year.”
Guillaume Chassé (Curious George, F Is for Family) is directing and René Veilleux from Vérité Entertainment oversaw the voice course and casting. Astride Noel (Lyla within the Loop, Cocomelon Story Time) and Christopher Bernard (Lego Friends: The Next Chapter, Luna) are the writers. Laughing Dragon CEO Ryan Sohmer (Kabu, Disenchanted) is the chief producer.
“With an initial concept from our very own Ryan Costello and seeing what our Director of Original Productions Jeff Moss has molded Coal into over the last few years, I am thrilled to begin this next stage of production, and counting down until we can bring Ethan and his family to worldwide audiences,” stated Sohmer.
Writer Noel added: “It was a blast working on Coal, and I immediately fell in love with the dilemma of this holiday film that takes traditional Santa lore and spins it on its head. ‘Finding who is naughty and nice’ is not always as easy as the song makes it seem. The story serves as a wonderful reminder that even in difficult times, there is joy, beauty, and… nice to be found.”
Earlier this yr, we reported that Laughing Dragon was working with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk on animated collection Skatebirds, as a part of the Montreal-based firm’s push into authentic manufacturing. Initially starting as a full-service 2D animation studio, Laughing Dragon has labored on tasks similar to Apple TV+’s Central Park and Disney’s Disenchanted, and is growing an inner slate additionally together with madcap mythologic title Isaac & Friends and an animated adaptation of Least I Could Do, a webcomic created by Sohmer and Lar deSouza.