Anatane: Saving the Children of Okura

Production

In 2002, Mark Maggiori received funding from the CNC to develop Anton ou Les enfants d’Okura. He registered the domain name Anatane.com a year later. In September 2004, French animation website Catsuka contacted Maggiori after noticing references to an animated series on his site; he stated the show was in development with France Télévisions and Canal J at Les Films de la Perrine, with a planned 2006 release, and hoped Production I.G. would co-produce.

Shortly after, Catsuka users found that much of the Anatane concept art had directly copied imagery from several anime productions. Maggiori claimed these were placeholder images not intended for the final show. Catsuka members later uncovered additional plagiarized work and created a contest to find more. In 2005, Tooncan joined as co-producer, with France 2 as broadcaster and Carrere Group as distributor; the budget was €5.9 million, with production expected to finish by September 2006.

In 2007, the series received capital from the Shaw Rocket Fund, with Télé-Québec as Canadian broadcast partner. The following year, Anatane was presented at Cartoons on the Bay and at the 2008 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, where five episodes were reported complete but the series unlikely to be finished. Carrere Group then filed for bankruptcy. In 2017, work resumed at Megafun Productions, a Canadian studio founded by former Tooncan owner Paul Cadieux.