Build in U.S. Demand Is Boosting Diversity in Animation, Says France’s ‘Jade Armor’ Producer TeamTO

Increased competition and higher demand is good for native animation production, says Corinne Kouper, the co-founder of France’s TeamTO, which recently announced the sale of all U.S. and Latin American rights to its original animated series, “Jade Armor,” to WarnerMedia.

“There’s a really positive energy in French animation, linked to the growing number of platforms, increased competition and demand,” adds Kouper, who believes the deal will allow her company to extend its reach within the U.S. and Latin America.

The WarnerMedia deal also highlights a shift in demand from U.S. platforms, she adds.

“We feel that the centre of gravity, which used to be very U.S.-centric, is changing: Networks are increasingly interested in local production. It’s particularly notable in France because we’ve always been a big producer of animation. And thanks to recent social movements, there’s a demand not only for local voices but also for more diversity.”

“Jade Armor” tells the story of martial arts-loving Lan Jun, an unlikely teenage heroine whose life takes an unexpected turn when she puts on a mysterious jade bracelet and finds herself wrapped in a suit of armor equipped with magical powers. With the help of her two best friends and the mystical creatures that give the armor its powers, she has to contend with both an array of super villains and the challenging trials of teenage life.

Created by a female-led team, the comedy-action series, which has been in development since 2015, originally featured a boy in the lead role.

“I worked on the first version when he was a boy, and it appeared that the character who stole the show was his best friend, a girl raised by her grandma who was a Kung Fu master. She was more interesting than him, so we decided to make a change,” explains director and co-creator Chloé Miller, who directed episodes of long-running TeamTO-Cake Ent. series “Angelo Rules.”

“She’s diverse, far from the clichés of cute girls or tomboy action lovers you find in cartoons,” says Miller, who was moved by an advertisement which exposes a collective cliché where “doing it like a girl” is perceived as an insult.