Kids and family entertainment venture Toon2Tango, a Leonine Animation Studios company, has announced that it will co-produce "Paluten Freedom," an animated film for the whole family based on a wildly successful web video series. It will co-produce alongside renowned production company Odeon Fiction, which has secured the film rights to the web video series that inspired the film.
The theatrical release is set for 2027. The film will be distributed by leading independent media company Leonine Studios, which recently made headlines with the hit children's and family franchise "The School of Magical Animals," the third part of which is currently one of the most successful films of 2024 with more than 2.6 million cinema viewers in Germany alone.
The "Paluten Freedom" IP includes the successful YouTube series of the same name, which now boasts over 380 episodes, a nine-volume bestselling book series with more than 1.8 million copies sold, and a hit comic. This hugely popular brand, created by Paluten (whose real name is Patrick Mayer), is now the inspiration for an animated film adventure featuring new stories from the "Paluten Freedom" world and its lovable and funny characters such as Paluten, Pig Edgar, Professor Duck, Dieter, Karla, Captain Greasepants, and Evil Paluten. Patrick Mayer and Klaas Kern are developing the screenplay for the film together, continuing their successful collaboration beyond the book series.
Paluten is a German social media superstar who entertains millions of followers with his high-energy and hilarious takes on gameplay, videos, challenges, and collaborations with other YouTubers. His Paluten YouTube channel, which launched in 2012, boasts over 5.46 million subscribers—the most for gaming-related content in the German-speaking world—and over 5.4 billion views. A second channel, Team Paluten, currently has 1.62 million subscribers and over 823 million views. Together, the channels make Patrick Mayer one of the most successful and popular YouTube stars in Germany.
Paluten has 2.2 million followers on Instagram, and his Twitch channel has over 827,000 followers. But that’s not all. Paluten also runs a popular weekly podcast, "Äffchen mit Käffchen," with his old school friends Denno and Malte, which is available on all popular platforms.
Philip Voges, producer at Odeon Fiction, was thrilled that the project made it to the big screen: "I am very proud that Palle and his agency 2nd Wave have placed their trust in us to bring 'Paluten Freedom' to the big screen. I am also delighted that we are able to tackle such a high-profile in-house project where production and distribution are realized together under the umbrella of LEONINE Studios. In 2012, I started with Minecraft videos on a small monitor, and now I’ve got something on the big screen! No joke, if someone had told me that back then, I would have taken them straight to the hospital! It’s still just as incredible to me today that nine volumes of 'Paluten Freedom' have now been published! So if you see someone in the cinema with a little tear in their eye, it could be me. Because 'Freedom' has become so much more than 'just' a story. I met many of my best friends in the early days. When the book series started, I met my wife, and now that I’m a father, the 'Freedom' film project is starting. An incredible journey. I’m very happy and grateful for everything I’ve been able to build over the last few years through the overwhelming support of my community. A cinema film, people! UN-BELIEVABLE!," stated.
Ulli Stoef, producer and CEO of Toon2Tango, celebrated the expansion of the project.: "We are delighted that Toon2Tango is part of this fantastic project, excited to be working with one of the best-known social media stars in Germany, and confident that together we can develop a popular and successful franchise with 'Paluten Freedom' that will build on and expand its massive online success," commented.
The animated film "Paluten Freedom" is a production of Odeon Fiction, a Leonine Studios company, in co-production with Toon2Tango, a LEONINE Animation Studios company. The agreement with Paluten was made through Boris Lehfeld, Paluten’s manager and MD of the agency 2nd Wave.
The film’s producer is Philip Voges ("Türkisch für Anfänger," "Erkan & Stefan," "Wo ist Fred?"). Its co-producers are Toon2Tango founders Ulli Stoef ("Mia and Me," "Maya the Bee - The Honey Games," "Leo Lausemaus," "Agent 203") and Jo Daris ("Wissper," "Agent 203," "Monster Loving Maniacs"). Leonine Studios will distribute the film in theatres.