Piwi+

Piwi+ (formerly Piwi) is a French pay television channel for children aged 3 to 6, owned by the Groupe Canal+.
History
Piwi was first launched on October 20, 2002 as a preschool block on Teletoon, and then on December 3, 2003 as the preschool channel from Television Par Satellite. In 2007, TPS merged with its competitor Canalsat.
In 2016-2017, Piwi+ became a Canal+ exclusive all around the world. It is also distributed on VOO in Belgium and Teleclub Les + in Switzerland.
The Happy Planet series
Happy Planet is a French-Canadian computer-animated multimedia franchise for preschoolers produced by Paris-based animation company EnSky Studios, notable for the Smart Planet series.
The series debuted in Canada with the French-language debut on June 12, 2001, and then in France on September 25, 2001.
The series takes place in a colorful island made of rainbows and stars, populated by seven colorful mascots, and primarily focuses on the Eurodance group of seven children, known as the Piwi Club.
The stories follow the children's adventures playing in a colorful island and learning life lessons, such as being kind to others, being imaginative, having responsibility, and being curious about the world around them.
Mascots
Soleil
Voiced by: Naike Fauveau (2002-2004), Lucile Boulanger (2005-2011)
Color: Yellow
Soleil is a 3-year-old female Piwi with yellow body and orange rays. She is the adventurous leader of the group. She is also the mascot partner of Bethanie, a 4 1/2-year-old girl with fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a yellow t-shirt with a sunshine, an orange skirt and yellow sandals.
Gourmand
Voiced by: Brigitte Guedj (2002-2004), Lara Saarbach (2005-2011)
Color: Orange
Gourmand is a 6-year-old male Piwi with orange body and green bubbles. He is the silly clown of the group. He is also the mascot partner of Billy, a 4 1/2-year-old boy with tan skin, brown hair and brown eyes, wearing an orange t-shirt with a carrot, green shorts, white socks and orange sneakers.
Etoile
Voiced by: Caroline Combes (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011)
Color: Violet
Etoile is a 6-year-old female Piwi with violet body and yellow feathers. She is the cutest princess of the group. She is also the mascot partner of Eloise, a 4 1/2-year-old girl with fair skin, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a violet t-shirt with a star, a yellow skirt and violet sandals.
Radar
Voiced by: Valerie Lecot (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011)
Color: Indigo
Radar is a 8-year-old male Piwi with indigo body with red satellites. He is the athletic superhero of the group. He is also the mascot partner of Joel, a 4 1/2-year-old boy with fair skin, brown hair and green eyes, wearing an indigo t-shirt with a crescent moon, red shorts, white socks and indigo sneakers.
Ventouse
Voiced by: Fily Keita (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011)
Color: Green
Ventouse is a 7-year-old female Piwi with green body and red suction cups. She is the sweetest gymnast of the group. She is also the mascot partner of Alice, a 4 1/2-year-old girl with tan skin, brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a green t-shirt with a four-leaf clover, a red skirt and green sandals.
Ressort
Voiced by: Sauvane Delanoe (2002-2004), Lara Saarbach (2005-2011)
Color: Red
Ressort is a 9-year-old female Piwi with red body and indigo springs. She is the friendliest cheerleader of the group. She is also the mascot partner of Samantha, a 4 1/2-year-old girl with fair skin, red hair and green eyes, wearing a red t-shirt with a heart, an indigo skirt and red sandals.
Peinture
Voiced by: Blanche Ravalec (2002-2004), Kelly Marot (2005-2011)
Color: Blue
Peinture is a 5-year-old male Piwi with blue body and yellow fountain tanks. He is the smartest artist of the group. He is also the mascot partner of Willy, a 4 1/2-year-old boy with fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue t-shirt with a cloud, yellow shorts, white socks and blue sneakers.
Production
Christophe Malcombe designed and created the characters and developed the pilot episode with his friend Michel Raimbault, using the new Alias Wavefront Maya animation software as previously they used Softimage 3D.
In the early months, before funding, Christophe Malcombe lived in a studio in Paris so he could afford to develop the series on television. The pilot led to the series being commissioned by Teletoon (TPS Jeunesse). It was the first French-Canadian multimedia franchise for preschoolers to make it on to television.
Other animators who made their significant input were Xavier de Broucker, Christophe Geron, Christele Jolens, Bernard Lacroix, Sarah Lellouche, Nathalie Perre, Fabienne Rivory, making each story with only ten days to complete each one in order to meet the schedule.
Music and songs were written and composed by Akad Daroul.
Animation
The Happy Planet series was produced by Paris-based animation company EnSky Studios, notable for the Smart Planet series and was the company's first production to use a new Alias Wavefront Maya animation software as previously they used Softimage 3D.
Several characters were completely modeled, rigged and animated using Alias Wavefront Maya. Rendering was done with Mental Ray, while compositing work was completed in Adobe Premiere and Media Composer.
Several Hewlett-Packard and Dell computers running on a Microsoft Windows operating system were utilized and powered by Intel. Texturing was done with Adobe Photoshop, while audio production was completed in Pro Tools.
There were also visual effects created with Adobe After Effects and Avid DS.
Television movies
Happy Planet (2001)
The first movie, Happy Planet, premiered in Canada on Tele-Quebec and TFO with the French-language debut on July 10, 2001, and then in France on La Cinquieme as part of Les Zouzous block and Teletoon on October 21, 2001.
Super Happy Planet (2002)
The second movie, Super Happy Planet, premiered in Canada on Tele-Quebec and TFO with the French-language debut on July 9, 2002, and then in France on France 5 as part of Les Zouzous block and Teletoon as part of the Piwi block on October 20, 2002.
Television shows
Seasons 1-2 (Le Nouvelle Monde de Piwi; 2002-2003)
The show, originally airing as Le Nouvelle Monde de Piwi for its first two seasons, premiered in Canada on Tele-Quebec and TFO with the French-language debut on July 9, 2002, and then in France on France 5 as part of Les Zouzous block and Teletoon as part of the Piwi block on October 20, 2002. The show was renewed for a second season, which premiered in Canada with the French-language debut on January 7, 2003, and then in France on April 8, 2003.
The show takes place in a family treehouse and a garden in the countryside.
Seasons 3-4 (Les Nouvelles Aventures de Piwi; 2003-2004)
A third season was renewed one year after, leading to the show being renamed as Les Nouvelles Aventures de Piwi for its last two seasons, premiered in Canada on Tele-Quebec and TFO with the French-language debut on July 8, 2003, and then in France on France 5 as part of Les Zouzous programming block and Teletoon as part of the Piwi block on October 19, 2003. The show was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered in Canada with the French-language debut on January 6, 2004, and then in France on April 7, 2004.
The show takes place during summer vacation on the imaginary island of Rainbow Paradise.
Spin-offs
Piwi Baby
Piwi Baby is a French-Canadian computer-animated video series that teaches babies and toddlers to learn all about letters, numbers, shapes, colors and opposites. The video series was released in Canada by Christal Films with the French-language debut and then in France by Universal Studios Home Video and StudioCanal.
The video series was produced by Paris-based animation company EnSky Studios, notable for the Smart Planet and Happy Planet series. Several characters were completely modeled, rigged and animated using Alias Maya. Rendering was done with Mental Ray, while compositing work was completed in Adobe Premiere Pro and Media Composer.
Several Hewlett-Packard and Dell computers running on a Microsoft Windows operating system were utilized and powered by Intel. Texturing was done with Adobe Photoshop, while audio production was completed in Pro Tools.
There were also visual effects created with Adobe After Effects and Avid DS.
Dessine avec Piwi
Dessine avec Piwi is a French-Canadian computer-animated mini series that teaches young children to draw pictures of your very own. The mini series premiered on Piwi in France on September 3, 2005 and TFO in Canada on December 3, 2005.
The mini series was produced by Paris-based animation company Image-In, notable for both Smart Planet and Happy Planet series. The mascots were modeled, rigged and animated using Cinema 4D and Blender, with Adobe After Effects and Avid DS used for visual effects. Rendering was done with Mental Ray, while audio production was completed with Pro Tools.
Several Hewlett-Packard and Dell computers running on a Microsoft Windows operating system were utilized and powered by Intel. Texturing was done with Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, while compositing work was completed with Premiere Pro and Media Composer.
Bouge avec Mimik
Bouge avec Mimik is a French-Canadian computer-animated/live-action mini series that teaches young children how to get up and move to the music. The mini series premiered on Piwi in France on April 4, 2009 and TFO in Canada on July 4, 2009.
The mini series was produced by Paris-based animation company Image-In, notable for both Smart Planet and Happy Planet series. The mascots were modeled, rigged and animated using Cinema 4D and Blender, with Adobe After Effects and Avid DS used for visual effects. Rendering was done with Mental Ray, while audio production was completed with Pro Tools.
Several Hewlett-Packard and Dell computers running on a Microsoft Windows operating system were utilized and powered by Intel. Texturing was done with Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, while compositing work was completed with Premiere Pro and Media Composer.
Nathalie Hougay (aka Mimik) and the children were shot in front of the green screen; one method of transferring the live-action humans into the background was using computer graphics and visual effects.
Merchandising
Happy Planet has videos, DVDs, music, games, books, toys, apparel, and magazines that have been marketed in 2002.
Videos and DVDs
Several video and DVD releases of both TV movies and TV shows were released in Canada by Christal Films with the French-language debut and then in France by Universal Studios Home Video and StudioCanal.
The first movie, Happy Planet, released in Canada by Christal Films with the French-language debut on October 16, 2001 and then in France by Universal Studios Home Video and StudioCanal on January 22, 2002.
The second movie, Super Happy Planet, released in Canada by Christal Films with the French-language debut on October 15, 2002 and then in France by Universal Studios Home Video and StudioCanal on January 21, 2003.
Le Nouvelle Monde de Piwi
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Piwi
Music
Several albums were released in Canada by Zero Music with the French-language debut and then in France by Universal Jeunesse, including songs from both TV movies and TV shows.
The Happy Planet soundtrack was released in Canada by Zero Music with the French-language debut on October 16, 2001 and then in France by Universal Jeunesse on January 22, 2002. The Super Happy Planet soundtrack was released in Canada by Zero Music with the French-language debut on October 15, 2002 and then in France by Universal Jeunesse on January 21, 2003.
The first album, Les Chansons de Piwi, was released in Canada by Zero Music with the French-language debut on October 15, 2002 and then in France by Universal Jeunesse on January 21, 2003. The second album, Plus des Chansons de Piwi, was released in Canada by Zero Music with the French-language debut on October 14, 2003 and then in France by Universal Jeunesse on January 20, 2004.
Games
Several games were released in Canada by Ubisoft Montreal with the French-language debut and then in France by Ubisoft Paris.
The first game, Happy Planet, released in Canada by Ubisoft Montreal in Canada with the French-language debut on October 16, 2001 and then in France by Ubisoft Paris on January 22, 2002.
The second game, Super Happy Planet, released in Canada by Ubisoft Montreal with the French-language debut on October 15, 2002 and then in France by Ubisoft Paris on January 21, 2003.
Le Nouvelle Monde de Piwi
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Piwi
Books
In October 2002, Fleurus Editions published a full Happy Planet range of books, some had stickers and some had tattoos, these usually retailed for PS8.99 when they were released from Hemma/EnSky Studios.
Toys
The series' producers, EnSky Studios, signed a deal to make the Paris-based toy company Silverlit, a French partner before the show was first aired and merchandise was first made available in October 2002. Prior to its debut, the range includes plush toys, deluxe figures and deluxe play sets.
In January 2003, several new toys arrived, including talking plush toys, talking interactive deluxe figures, talking deluxe play sets and more. Silverlit won the 2003 "Best Licensed Toy or Game range" Licensing Award for their Happy Planet range.
In October 2003, a new Paris-based toy company, Ouaps Toys have also made a range of Happy Planet toys, featuring the re-releases of the original products exclusively at Toys "R" Us, King Jouet, JoueClub, La Grande Recre and Maxi Toys. These products include the talking electronic Happy Rainbow Learning Center and the musical Happy Rainbow Piano as well as the musical Happy Rainbow Guitar.
In January 2004, more new toys were released like the talking electronic Happy Rainbow Storybook and the musical Happy Rainbow Boombox as well as the musical Happy Rainbow Dance Mat.
Programmes on Piwi+
Original programming
Au pays des signes
Zac & Zig
Quizzine
1.2.3 Piwi
Les mondes de Zac & Zig
Acquired programming
5, Rue Sesame
Anatole
Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps
Animal Mechanicals
Atout 5
Babar (1989-1991)
Bambaloo
Barbapapa (1974-1977)
Barbapapa Around the World
Barbie Dreamtopia
Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures
Bebe Lilly: Les Aventures de mon Coffre a Jouet
Bo on the Go!
Bob the Builder (2015-2018)
Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build!
The Backyardigans (moved to Nickelodeon Junior)
Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot
Charlie and Lola
Chi's Sweet Home
Chloe's Closet
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
Dinosaur Train
Dirtgirlworld
Dougie in Disguise
Duda & Dada
Engie Benjy
Fifi and the Flowertots
Fireman Sam
Frances
Franklin (1997-2004)
Funny Animals
Gabby's Dollhouse
George Shrinks
Hamtaro
Hello Kitty's Animation Theater
Hello Kitty's Paradise
The Hoobs
In the Night Garden...
Jay Jay the Jet Plane
The Jungle Book (2010-2020)
Kelly Dream Club
Kioka
La Fee Coquillette
Leo & Tig
Les Petits Fantomes
Let's Play with Boomchiki Boom
Little People (1999-2007, 2016-2018)
Little Robots
Loopdidoo
Masha and the Bear
Miffy's Adventures Big and Small
Miffy and Friends
Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends
Missy Mila Twisted Tales
Moko: The Young Explorer
Molang
Musti (1980-1996, 2007-2011)
My Little Pony (G3; 2003-2007)
Noddy, Toyland Detective
Noddy In Toyland
Noonbory and the Super Seven
Not Quite Narwhal
Panshel
Play with Me Sesame
Poko
PopPixie
Roary the Racing Car
Robocar Poli
The Save-Ums!
Sea Princesses
Sunny Bunnies
Tales of Tatonka
Tractor Tom
Trotro
True and the Rainbow Kingdom
VeggieTales in the City
VeggieTales in the House
Waybuloo
The Wiggles (TV Series 2-3)
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
Zoboomafoo
References
French television
television channels in Europe