"The Websters"
After becoming a successful IP in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, The Websters' IP is now entering the German market through distribution company OneGate Media. "The Websters Movie", a Slovak-Czech animated feature film for children, released nationally on October 13, 2022, ranked in the Top 10 most viewed films in the first weeks after its release and has since surpassed the 60,000 audience mark.
On the other hand, the related animated series "The Websters" is available on Amazon and German distributor Der Filmverleih has released "The Websters Movie" at Easter. "The Websters" are a spider family. Their youngest daughter Lili recently started school and a big new world opened to her. A world full of wonders and challenges. Luckily, there are other five Websters to always help Lili out. Until one day, when a human girl finds Lili’s kite. A human, the biggest danger there is for spiders! But Lili wants her kite back at all costs.
The feature film is a combination of 5 animated adventures of the spider girl Lili linked together by an action-packed storyline in which little Lili follows a human girl of her age. The film follows a 13-part TV series already widely popular in the countries of its origin - Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Another 6 episodes are ready for broadcast and 7 more are in production, thus completing a 26-episode spider adventure package in 2024.
The Websters stories have also been released in three books and two audio books. “The launch of international distribution for Websters is very promising: It is exciting to see that 'The Websters' have caught the eye of a German sales agent who expressed interest in both the feature film and the series” says Czech producer Anna Vasova from 13ka, who represents the film internationally and at the moment deals with further territorial sales.
“We are very pleased to bring 'The Webster' to the German-speaking audience. The adventures of the Webster spider family and their friends are told in a very charming way and the detailed animation immediately captivated us. We believe that children will be able to identify with the little spider Lili, her brother and their friends and see that both small and big everyday problems of the Websters are similar to their own,” explains Susanne Freese, Senior Manager Kids & Family OneGate Media.
The animated feature film by award-winning director Katarina Kerekesova addresses issues that are very close to contemporary children and parents - such as family dynamics, internet and not fitting in among other kids in school. The project brought several creative challenges. “Combining live action with 2D and 3D animation juxtaposes two realities. The differences in size and proportions offer not only a chance for using fascinating visuals and a unique artistic style but also give us the opportunity to tell stories of cooperation and comprehension,” explains director and producer Katarina Kerekesova from Slovak Fool Moon.
The film was financially supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund together with the Czech Film Fund and co- produced by Slovak and Czech Television and by leading Czech post-production studio PFX.