Sam and Julia

Sam & Julia is based on the publishing success of the Dutch book series “The Mouse Mansion”, created by Karina Schaapman, with over 1 million books sold internationally. Karina’s turbulent early years inspired her to create a welcoming world, where kids are free to go out and discover, and where different customs and ways are enriching, not threatening.

Sam & Julia is a moving story about friendship, love and belonging. Julia is an outgoing and curious little mouse, who arrives in the Mouse Mansion – together with her mother – from an exotic island far away. She is immediately welcomed by Sam, a shy mouse that lives is the Mouse Mansion with his big family. Sam introduces Julia to the Mouse Mansion community. Together they go on small and big adventures that lead them to all corners of the mansion where they discover its wide variety of inhabitants. Sam & Julia become best friends and each day Julia feels more at home in the loving community of The Mouse Mansion.

Sam & Julia is a truly tender and heartwarming tale of the friendship of two adorable mice, written for a pre-school audience.





Format
78 x 7 minutes

Genre / Subgenre
Junior / Animation / Comedy

Target Audience
Preschool 3–6

Technique
Real Time 3D

Key Words
Mice, Mouse Mansion, Sam, Julia

Focus / Themes / Tonality
Sam and Julia is a comedy animation series for preschool kids.  It tells the adventures of Julia, a mouse coming from a faraway island and Sam, her friend in the mansion she now lives in.

USP
Real Time animated 3D series, with stop motion style, to match the real-doll-very-unique-atmosphere of the best seller book series Sam & Julia by Karina Schaapman that the series is based on.



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Characters

  • Sam

    Sam is 6 years old and lives in the front center of the Mouse Mansion. He lives there with his big family. Sam is a shy and somewhat reserved mouse who appreciates peace and quiet. A meticulous perfectionist at heart, he likes to read, do puzzles or invent things. Sam’s life is going just fine until new neighbours arrive in The Mouse Mansion: outgoing Julia with her single mother, who arrive from an exotic island far away. Against all odds – as they couldn’t be more different – Sam & Julia hit it off immediately. Sam introduces Julia and her mother to the diverse community in The Mouse Mansion. When Sam is with Julia, he dares to do things he wouldn’t otherwise do, and the friendship boosts his confidence. When he is not dragged into a new adventure by Julia, Sam also enjoys the moments of peace and quiet at Julia’s small apartment.

  • Julia

    She admires Sam’s inventiveness and can bring two attributes to the duo that Sam is lacking: self-confidence and the ability to reply in the right way at the right time.

    Julia is an outgoing mouse aged 5 years and 8 months and comes from an exotic island far away. She recently arrived at The Mouse Mansion, where she lives with her single mother in a modest apartment. She doesn’t know anyone at her new home, but soon that changes when she meets Sam. Sam introduces Julia to the diverse community that lives and works in The Mouse Mansion. Julia is energetic, fearless, audacious and always looking out for thrills and excitement, and usually takes the initiative to go on an adventure with Sam. Without ever trying to come across as better than Sam, she urges him to be more self-confident and always encourages him in his endeauvours. Her freedom of thought and originality, as well as the fact that she is also very much at ease with her own character quickly makes Julia a welcome guest in the many homes and workshops at the Mouse Mansion. Her friendship with Sam helps her to feel more and more at home at the Mouse Mansion each day.

  • Julia´s Mother

    Julia’s mother arrives with her daughter from a distant island. Each evening she tells Julia stories about when she lived there, as well as traditional tales. She wants her daughter to have and to remember some of these key traditions from her original heritage. She also prepares food that mice like Sam have never seen or tasted, cooked in a wadjan instead of a pan. More nostalgic in nature about her heritage than Julia, her mother takes longer to get used to their new life. Julia’s mother is wise, caring and loving, and has a solution for everything. She is resourceful and can make anything out of nothing.

  • Ben

    Ben is 3 years old and gives Sam a lot of hassle. Sam’s mom often makes Sam look after Ben. Restless, clingy and talkative, Ben rarely allows Sam to maintain the calm he so longs for. With an inquisitive nature, Ben tries in vain to find out the location of Sam and Julia’s secret hiding place.

  • Dan

    Dan is 9 years old and shares his room with Sam. He often teases Sam who responds good naturedly with such clever answers that usually leave Dan totally bemused.

  • Sarah

    Sarah is 13 years old, sociable and very “girly”. She impresses Julia who would like to be her age and who finds her very pretty. Sarah babysits for mice in The Mouse Mansion, especially looking after Ella, who is not the easiest child to babysit.

  • Ella

    Ella is the same age as Sam and Julia. Her family is wealthy compared to the other mice in The Mouse Mansion. Ella’s room is styled very differently from the rooms of other mice her age. Sam and Julia are never allowed to touch any of the items in the room. Ella takes ballet classes, which makes Julia a little jealous because she would like to be able to wear a tutu like Ella. Ella’s parents are often away and so she tries to find attention in other ways. Authoritarian by nature, she likes Sam because he is compliant. But with Julia it is much less easy for her to make Julia do as she asks.

  • Ramastou

    Ramastou is Sam’s uncle. With his cart and bell to signal his presence in the courtyard, he encourages the neighbours to get rid of the items that are cluttering up their lives and homes. At Ramastou’s workshop, Sam and Julia discover piles of newspapers, unusual objects, rags, trinkets and hidden treasures. Sam and Julia love to help Uncle Ramastou, and he can almost always provide Sam with spare parts for his recycling projects.

Credits

Produced by
Cielo Films and Superswiss Red in coproduction with ZDF, ZDF Studios, France télévisions, Caribara and M.A.R.K.13™

Producers

Léon-Gilbert Hus, Fabien Baboz, Holger Weiss

Executive Producers
Nicole Keeb, Arne Lohmann, Ian Schaapman, Ariel Askenazi, Michael Knobloch

Director
Régis Vidal

Copyright
© 2023 ZDF Studios, Superswiss Red and Cielo Films

 



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