works are looking for something that’s similar to something else that’s currently successful.
What’s hot and what’s not is constantly cycling.
Some of the large corporations are interested in branding. That means that they want
programs that viewers will associate with their company and its values and reputation—what
the company stands for and promises. At least one multinational corporation is interested
in attracting loyal child viewers who will want to search out their company’s programming
as adults. A few networks are looking for projects where the creator’s voice is prominent.
Many development people have told me that they look for a project that the writer/
developer is passionate about. I think this is true, but the project must also attract viewers!
Most children’s networks have core values they want to include in all their children’s
programming. These values change frequently as the networks rebalance their programming
for government mandates and for the viewers they currently want to attract. Here are some
examples:
Core values of Kids WB! (U.S.)- Heart
- Humor
- High adventure
- Heroism
Dr. Renee Cherow-O’Leary’s Whole Child Curriculum Used by Playhouse Disney
(U.S.) Do you recognize these from the human development chapter?
- Physical development
- Emotional development
- Social development
- Cognitive development (acquiring facts and information about the world)
- Metacognitive awareness/development (thinking about thinking, problem solving)
- Creative/artistic development
- Moral, ethical, spiritual development
Those are only examples and may have changed by the time you’re ready to pitch to
these companies. If you’re developing a children’s project with a certain company in mind,
you might want to learn what the company specifically needs and tailor a project especially
for them. However, because it’s so difficult to sell any project, you’ll probably want to pitch
your project at a number of places.
The truth of the matter is that if you have a great project and someone is interested,
the development people at that company will rework it extensively anyway. Any necessary
values can be worked into the project at that time. What’s important is that you’re aware of
this ongoing development process for most television projects. Any original project for chil-
Development and the Animation Bible 83