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April 4th, 2012 12:00 PM by Aaron H. Bynum
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Attending MIPTV this year is The Animation Band, an animation production studio that has successfully cooperated on television properties for a bevy of European broadcasters. The company's talent is flexible, having worked in multiple styles and genres since it was founded in 1996. The Animation Band has offices in Rome and Milan, Italy, and is often attends the spring and autumn animation markets, including the more local Cartoons on the Bay festival. The company's library has been growing quite a bit as of late, with titles ranging from teen adventure and mythology to social drama.

The Animation Band is a frequent partner with Rai Fiction, the production arm of the ever-busy Italian media group.

Most recently, the two production companies have generated Ragazze dell'Olimpo (Girls of Olympus), produced this past year, as a clever and beautiful adaptation of an ongoing book series.

Additional television animation co-produced between these two outfits, and others, include Stellina, directed by Alessandro Belli and Sidney Kombo, which is the tale of an enterprising, eleven-year-old orphan girl working her hardest against all odds to become a performer/acrobat, like her late mother.

There's also Ulisse: Il Mio Nome E Nessuno (Ulysses: My Name is Nobody), produced in 2010 and 2011, a journey-adventure regaling viewers with the famous tale of the Greek hero.

Animation developed and produced in Italy currently nurtures a reputation for warm character design, vibrant art direction, and through some examples, assemble a team of underdog characters that were ultimately meant for much more than a high school classroom. Girls of Olympus appears to succeed in each of these segments, deriving its source material from the young adult stacks at the local bookstore and infusing its simple take on ancient mythology with a bit of relatable, new-century adventure.

At the focus of Girls of Olympus are three teens: Sid Madison, Luce Grimaldi, and Hoon Song.

Sid is athletic and spirited, a fencing champion; Luce is charming and knows how to win a boy's heart; and Hoon Song, quite simply, is an academic genius -- these three girls don't have very much in common but for one thing, their birthday.

As Girls of Olympus continues, the three high school freshmen learn in no uncertain terms that they all share an emotional past life in the realm of ancient deities. The good news? As the reincarnated, mortal forms of Aphrodite, Artemis, and Athena, they are blessed with curious new powers. The bad news? Ares, the god of war, now knows where he can find the goddesses who once slipped through his fingers eons ago during an epic power struggle.

The Animation Band is producing twenty-six episodes of the action and adventure series with Rai Fiction. The series' producers have commented in the past year about translating the twists and turns of tales and mythos into a modern fantasy, notably confident in how well the original book series by Elena Kedros adapts to the animated medium. In Girls of Olympus, Sid, Luce, and Hoon must enlist one another's help as they struggle through their newfound abilities and learn more about their hidden past lives as warrior goddesses. Ares, long ago, turned many of the gods and goddesses to stone in an effort to take control of Olympus. Fortunately, three goddesses fled his grasp, and in their possession a collection of powerful gems as well.

As the series continues, these three girls, whom otherwise might not have anything in common, suddenly share more than a familiar past.... from the looks of things, Sid, Luce, and Hoon share a destiny as well.

Kedros' original book series first went on sale in April 2008 (Ragazze dell'Olimpo: Lacrime di cristallo), published by Mondadori, and has since been followed by at least five additional volumes.

Many of the books' themes find Sid, Luce, and Hoon trying to balance their everyday relationships with the relationships of fellow gods/goddesses whose help they need, and ultimately learning how to trust one another in times of desperation and need. Girls of Olympus is directed by Carlo Odorici and written by Paola Mulazzi and Alessandro Sisti, with background art by Samuele Maggi.

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