TBI Kids Hot Picks: Mitten & Shoe

Producer(s): Matinai Animation, Hotel Hungaria & Jam Media | Distributor: Aardman | Broadcaster: CBeebies (UK) & Ketnet (Belgium)

Developed with the support of the now defunct Young Audiences Content Fund, this 52 x 7-minute pre-school animation is set in a playground and follows the titular Mitten and Shoe and their friends, who are an assortment of children’s belongings that were left behind and are now looked after by an umbrella named Mc Drizzle.

It’s always playtime at the playground, where Mitten and Shoe meet new visitors from around the world, learning new songs and games.

“They’ll get lost in a maze of Mitten’s messy things, dig up all sorts of treasures in the sandpit, make stick dens in the park with Sargent Boot, help a lost Santa’s hat and save Christmas, have splashy fun in the splashpad next door and learn to beatbox with a pair of flipflops,” reveals Robin Gladman, Aardman’s head of acquisitions, sharing just a few of the adventures the duo have in store.

The idea for the series came from creator Nai Morris’s own experience taking her children to the playground and seeing other kid’s belongings – like dummies, hair clips and shoes – left on the fence or dropped on the floor,” reveals Gladman.

“This sparked the idea for a mitten and a shoe being left behind and becoming best friends and living in a playground with a family of other left behind characters.”

He adds: “It’s a comedy for young children, so it’ll be full of delightful and playful silliness from Mitten and Shoe and their quirky band of friends. We want the series to be very relatable for preschoolers, about making new friends, kindness, acceptance, and play.”