MUMBAI: DQ Entertainment has signed a joint venture agreement with LPPTV, France and Method Animations SA, France for the co-production of a TV series Little Prince, backed by French Television major, France 3.

Originally written in 1943, The Little Prince is based on the books of Antoine de Saint-Exupery and has been translated into over 180 languages, selling more than 130 million copies worldwide. In addition, The Little Prince has spawned plays and animated pictures including a 1974 Paramount Pictures production and a Nickelodeon US cartoon series aired in 1980’s.

Little Prince, 52 x 26′ 3D animation will have a global estimated budget of approximately €18 million, as disclosed by Method Animation.

Method Animation CEO Aton Soumache said, "Adaptation of Le Petit Prince for series animation is an exciting and very challenging journey. This is a landmark achievement for Method group."

DQE Group chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti added, "The legacy of The Little Prince built over 6 decades continues to have great entertainment and business depth. This co-venture with French majors is strategically extremely important for DQ Entertainment, to be part of major round of commercialisation by way of Television, home videos, video games etc. for this global brand."

France Television head of children’s programming Julien Borde said, "The cartoon will be an adaptation of the work of Saint-Exupery and make it suitable for children. In almost every episode, the Little Prince will leave in search of his home planet, and exciting adventures will follow. We are happy that best of the creative companies have come together to produce this animated version of the Little Prince."