‘Ronja, The Robber’s Daughter’ Wins International Kids Emmy

The 4th International Emmy Kids Awards took place on Tuesday during MIPTV in Cannes, France. Two of the six winners were animated projects: the Japaese CG series Ronja, The Robber’s Daughter and the UK/Irish preschool series Bing.

Ronja, based on a children’s fantasy book by Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking) won the kids animation category. The other nominated projects in the kids category were Get Ace from Australia, Mr. Trance from Colombia, and Le Trésor du Vieux Jim from France.

Directed by Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill), Ronja was produced by Polygon Pictures (Knights of Sidonia). Dwango and NHK were also production partners. The 26×26′ cel-shaded CGI series has not received widespread distribution outside of Japan and Scandinavian countries, but an English dub was reportedly produced last year and is being shopped around to English-speaking markets.

On the preschool side, Bing, made for the BBC channel CBeebies, won the prize. The series, directed by Nicky Phelan, is a co-production between Brown Bag Films, Acamar Films, and Tandem Films.

Two hundred TV industry executives, producers, and creators attended the event. The three previous international kids Emmy ceremonies had been held in New York City. Video clips from the award ceremony can be viewed on the International Emmy Awards website.