I directed and co-produced this cg animated feature film together with colleague and friend Mark Mertens, for Skyline Entertainment NV. It is based on the very popular comic book series 'Suske en Wiske', created by the incredibly talented and prolific Belgian artist and writer Willy Vandersteen (1913-1990). The series is still running, and every year about 3 to 4 milion albums are sold in Belgium and The Netherlands.

I was involved in the project since long before it became the first movie of what probably will become a series, before there was a production company interested. I storyboarded and animated the initial 5 minute demo - at the time still intended for a toon shaded TV series - in early 2000, while friend Mark organized, rendered and coordinated. The test obviously hit some nerves, and once the rights became available and Skyline got interested, the ball really got rolling.

Pre-production of the movie was started end of 2006 and the film was released in July 2009, in theaters in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It is the first fully cgi film created in the Benelux, with local money, but with international talent. It has been welcomed enthusiastically and to much acclaim, and I hope it will continue to do well, both in theaters and on DVD. It has in the mean time found distribution for the former USSR region and parts of Asia, as well as North America, and will be released here in the spring of 2011.

Preparations are already underway for a sequel.

There has been quite a bit of interest in the movie from all over the world. It is slated to be shown in several festivals, and a number of distribution deals have already been signed. For more information, feel free to get in touch, either with me, or directly with Mark Mertens (producer of the animation depatment), Eric Wirix (executive producer) or Jan Theys (sales and marketing manager) at Skyline Entertainment in Brussels, Belgium.