In Easter Eggs, Jason and Kevin are friends, of sorts. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Beavis and Butthead, they are just as cynical about the world and its inhabitants whom they disregard even in moments of direst need. Nevertheless, they both exhibit emotional states that are all too familiar. Kevin is older and bigger and a bully, while Jason is prone to tears when picked upon. As the film progresses Jason hatches a plan to find the parrots that have escaped from the local Chinese restaurant. If he sells them he can buy a new mountain bike. But the plan can only work with the co-operation of Kevin.

The other film that screens at Annecy, is Ink. The ultra-short film is about a clean-up neat-freak octopus who uses all of his tentacles in trying to reach what he’s aiming for. It represents the sometimes miscommunication between individuals, even though they clearly have the same goal and in the case of Ink, it is about cleaning a certain dirty spot.

Regarding Easter Eggs, Joost van den Bosch points out how the film represents an entry point into international co-production for his company, which is already very busy as a studio and animation house. “We wanted to start doing production ourselves and we were looking for a partner and a project,” he comments. “Then in Annecy 2019 we had a meeting with Brecht Van Elslande from Animal Tank, the main producer. He liked our work and our profile and wanted to see if we could find a way to collaborate together, and so he started pitching all of the projects that he had. And one of them was Easter Eggs. It was already financed in Belgium and they had started financing in France, so it was obviously one of the more obvious projects to start with.”

Producing Ink was also a fun and interesting experience according to Van den Bosch. The ultra-short, due to the pandemic, had some difficulties. Especially because the film was intended to have an 3D release. Luckily, the film was and still is a great success, even without a proper 3D cinema release. Van den Bosch also jokes about the little mistakes in Ink, for example, in its main character. He notes that: "animating an octopus is so difficult, especially because of its eight tentacles." "I think nobody noticed it, but sometimes we only made six tentacles," Van den Bosch mentions as he laughs.

As mentioned before, both films have seen great success. Easter Eggs won the award for Best Belgian Short Film at Anima Brussel and the Audience Award for Best Flemish Animation Short Film. Furthermore, it got selected for Animafest Zagreb, IFFR, International Short Film Festival Leuven, Anifilm Liberec and is Berlinale's candidate for the European Film Awards. Ink won the Audience Awards at New York International Children's Film Festival, Cinekid Festival and KuKi Film Festival Berlin. It also got selected for Clermond-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Stuttgart International Film Festival For Animated Film.

Currently, Ka-Ching is developing some interesting projects. For example, the stop-motion The GROWcodile, which is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund. With a mooted delivery date in 2023, the film concerns the little Bridget who manages to rear a crocodile from a tiny egg. Amazing, but what to do with a father that has a shoe store with a love for crocodile leather?

Next, there is Tommie Tom, which is also supported by the Netherlands Film Fund. When Tommie Tom discovers that his favorite teddybear has disappeared, he gratefully accepts the offer of his best friend to help him search. Their quest makes for unexpected encounters and adventures. And for new friends. Like their preschool audience, they have discover a new part of the world.

For more information on Joost van den Bosch and Ka-Ching Cartoons, visit their website here or contact them:
+31 6 4509 8574
info@ka-chingcartoons.com

For more information on Annecy 2021, click here.
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Both Easter Eggs and Ink are supported by the Netherlands Film Fund.

See NL spoke with Joost van den Bosch earlier this year. This interview has been updated for Annecy 2021.