EXCLUSIVE: Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo has signed on to co-create animated kids series Lulu and the Help You Crew.
She is working up the 3D CGI-animated show with comedian Ariane Price, a senior member of The Groundlings improv comedy sketch theater. Both had small roles in Bridesmaids, the 2011 comedy feature Mumolo co-wrote with Kristen Wiig.
They’re working closely with UK-based kids company Cake, which is leading development and production, and North American full-service studio Reel FX Animation. Cake will sell the show internationally.
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The series, running to 52 11-minute eps, will target 3-5 year-olds. According to producers, it follows Lulu, an “extraordinary eight-year-old girl who lives in the multicultural melting pot of Vista Feliz with her Argentinian grandmother Abuelita and an eccentric, hilarious and perfectly imperfect crew of rescued pets; a cat, chameleon, turtle and puppy, all of whom she gave a second chance, a home and a different kind of family.”
Lulu and her family overcome everyday challenges such dealing with overwhelming new experiences, sibling rivalry, worries about what others think, fear of the dark and finding confidence.
The show is based on Price’s book, The Amazing Ned, and inspired by her and Mumolo’s experiences of mixed ethnicities, and producers say it’ll include “belly-laugh-inducing, song-fuelled stories.”
“As mothers, pet rescuers and comedians we are excited to share this heart felt project that will have both kids and their parents laughing and learning,” said Mumolo and Price in a statement.
“Lulu and The Help You Crew is a show that we feel perfectly meets the needs of our time,” said Cake CEO Ed Galton. “Ariane and Annie are stars on the improv scene and so we are very excited about what that can bring to younger audiences.”
Mumolo was Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated for 2011 comedy Bridesmaid along with Kristen Wiig, who starred alongside Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd. She also wrote Megan Leavey for LD Entertainment and Bleecker Street and wrote the screenplay for David O. Russell’s Fox 2000 drama Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. On the acting front she’s appeared in NBC’s About a Boy, This is 40, Bad Moms and Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar, which she co-wrote and co-starred in alongside Wiig. Upcoming credits include Adele Lim’s Joy Ride for Lionsgate and Amazon’s The Idea of You opposite Anna Hathaway.
Price recently graduated from the Groundlings Main Company and performs improv on the main Groundlings stage on Melrose Avenue in LA. She has had TV development deals with Warner Bros Discovery, Lionsgate, Rogue Atlas and Sad Clown Productions, and is launching a comedy podcast with Stampede Ventures. On the acting front, she has worked on numerous animated kids shows and appeared in Parenthood, Trophy Wife and Modern Family. She had also had a role in Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar.
London-based Cake is best know for kids series such as Total Drama, Angelo Rules, Pablo and Mush-Mush & the Mushables. Its currently slate of shows in development include Angry Birds: Summer Madness and Supa Team 4 for Netflix and Space Chickens in Space for Disney EMEA. The sells shows from the likes of Rovio Entertainment, Channel X and Ragdoll Productions and has offices in Berlin, LA and Toronto.
Reel FX Animation has created or partnered on animated titles such as The Book of Life, Rumble, Back to the Outback and SCOOB. It developed a virtual production division, which uses a proprietary Unreal Engine-based pipeline technology that was used to make Netflix 10-part series Super Giant Robot Brothers!, which launched last year.
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