THEY may have no souls, but the inhabitants of Zombie Hotel are stealing hearts around the world. The children’s cartoon created by Telegael and Magma Films in Spiddal, Co Galway, has taken a special award for best television series at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France. This is considered the world's preeminent animation film festival and has been running for about 45 years in the small Alpine town.
“The show was developed over two years and then production took another two years from beginning to end,” said Siobhan Ni Ghadhra, head of production at Telegael.
A co-production with Alphanim of France, it cost about �10m to complete. Ni Ghadhra, said the award gave Telegael further international recognition. The 26-episode series follows the fortunes of Rictus and Funerella, who run the Zombie Hotel, and their twin children, Fungus and Maggot. The kids are allowed to go to the local “human” school on condition that they let nobody know that they are zombies. It is obvious to everyone, however, that they are different and so they fall into trouble with the local bullies until they make friends.
Zombie Hotel is screening on CBBC, the British broadcaster’s digital children’s service, among other stations. Directed by Luc Vinciguerra and produced by Paul Cummins, it has been described by the Daily Telegraph as “a clever and enjoyable romp kids will love”. It has been sold to more than 20 territories worldwide, including Germany, France and Australia.
Telegael, an independent television company, is 24.9% owned by RTE, although its interest is purely financial.
It was set up in Galway in 1998 with start-up funding from Udaras na Gaeltachta. It has grown significantly since then and now employs 44 full-time and about 40 part-time staff. It also has offices in Donegal, Belfast and Dublin.
In 2004, Telegael won an Emmy for Tutenstein, a story about a 10-year-old boy struck by lightning and brought back to life in a museum. It was a co-production with PorchLight Entertainment, Nic Entertainment and Discovery Channel.
