Starz Animation Toronto will animate the beloved Christmas story of “Yes, Virginia” for a 30-minute holiday special, presented by Macy’s, set to air on CBS on Friday, Dec. 11/09 at 8pm, Head of Studio David Steinberg announced today. The 3D animation studio is producing the animation for the television feature in conjunction with The Ebeling Group (TEG) and director Bitstate.
The timeless tale, based on a letter sent from little Virginia O’Hanlon to the New York Sun, will also be available for viewing in Canada.
“We’re honored to be working with some very talented and creative people to craft what is sure to be a new holiday classic,” Steinberg said. “Our studio team is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring many of the high-quality feature tools we’ve developed in-house to raise the production value of this TV production.”
“The talent at Starz Animation Toronto is mind-blowing,” said Pete Circuitt, director for the Ebeling Group’s Bitstate. “After seeing the work this team did on movies like ‘9’, we knew we had to look no further to make this piece as rich and enduring as it deserves to be.”
Set in New York City during Christmas season of 1897, eight-year-old Virginia has second thoughts about the existence of Santa Claus after her friends tease her and insist that he doesn’t exist. Virginia poses the question of whether Santa really exists to her local newspaper, at the suggestion of her father, who tells her, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Editor Francis Church takes the opportunity to rise above the simple question and addresses the philosophical issues behind it.
After reassuring her that there is a Santa Claus, the editorial goes on to say that “He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.” To this day, it remains the most reprinted editorial to ever run in any English-language newspaper.
YES, VIRGINIA was created and produced by Macy’s and JWT in conjunction with The Ebeling Group and MEC Entertainment, a division of Mediaedge:cia.
Source Starz Animation
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