Saskatoon animation series bringing helpful robots to life

After the film tax credit was cut in 2012, some filmmakers left Saskatchewan for neighbouring places. But one company is still making a go of it and is releasing 52 animated episodes this spring.

Saskatoon's Cheshire Smile Animation is preparing to launch their animation series RoBOTiK. It features two characters Becca and BuBO in their robot shop to help others.

Executive producer Tim Tyler said the industry is hard regardless of a film tax credit.

"The truth is that the secret to making television in Saskatchewan is being prepared to go out into the world and tell people about the ideas," Tyler told CBC's Saskatoon Morning. "And to find people who are in the world outside of Saskatchewan who can buy in."

"That's what we were doing before the film tax credit," he said. "And that's what we've been doing after the tax credit."

Tyler said Cheshire Smile Animation will have produced 106 animated episodes since the tax credit was cut.

RoBOTik is set to in May of 2019. Tyler said robots come to the robot shop with Becca and her robot dog BuBO for a transformation or change.

"For instance there's an episode where there's a robot that's really concerned about his hands. And so we go through all of these all these iterations of what kind of hands that he needs," he said. "And at the end he just wants really big hands so that he can play patty cakes with his good friend."

Tyler said they are using digital animation technology as well as a physical 3D set. The robots communicate with each other not through English or French but just with motions so there are no language barriers to the story.

"The show is is broadcasting in French Canada. We're hoping to get it into English Canada but really it's made to travel," Tyler said. "It's universal. It can play anywhere in the world."

There's still work that has to be done before May but Tyler said they started testing it by showing the show to preschool-aged children.

"They love to smile. I watch them and you watch the smiles grow on their faces," he said. "It's my favourite thing to do."