Swedish animation producer Nuttery Entertainment and India’s Toonz Media Group have started production on an 11-minute "Defenders of Imagination" pilot.

The pilot is scheduled to premiere at Annecy. The full season is 52 episodes targetting six-to nine-year-olds.

This is the first joint initiative for the long-time allies, who say the CGI/animated project follows more than 20 years of “near collaboration”. 

Based on Swedish authors Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson’s books, the fantasy/adventure/comedy series revolves around a brother and sister and their friends who fight a threat to turn their town into a “mundane dystopia”.

"Defenders of Imagination" builds on the original world of the book series’ main character, Hakan Brakan. 

The companies say that while the show will be rooted in familiar techniques, they are exploring new animation techniques and workflows

“This is an era of technological upheaval and we are conscious that whatever seem like a good idea today, will have been replaced by an even better solution four months from now,” they say.