Awards ceremony to be held April 5 in Cannes

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominees for its International Emmy Kids Awards earlier this month. Studio Ghibli and Polygon Pictures ' Ronia the Robber's Daughter television anime was nominated in the Animation category and Shimajiro's WOW! ( Shimajirō no Wow! ) was nominated in the Preschool category.

Ronja the Robber's Daughter ( Sanzoku no Musume Ronja ) premiered in Japan last October and ran for 26 episodes. United Kingdom-based distributor Serious Lunch acquired the worldwide rights to the series and announced in June that it is seeking English-language broadcasters.

The anime adapts Swedish author Astrid Lindgren 's children's book, and it revolves around Ronia, the only daughter of Mattis, the chief of a tribe of bandits who live in a large castle in a forest. Ronia studies the ways of the mysterious creatures who live in the forest.

Goro Miyazaki ( Tales from Earthsea , From Up On Poppy Hill ) directed the Ronia the Robber's Daughter television anime series, titled Sanzoku no Musume Ronia in Japan. POLYGON PICTURES ( Knights of Sidonia , The Sky Crawlers ) animated the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli . Hiroyuki Kawasaki ( The Irresponsible Captain Tylor , Sorcerer Hunters , Ryoko's Case File , Psychic Detective Yakumo ) handled the series composition. NHK Enterprise produced the series, and NHK and Dwango handled production and writing.

Shimajirō no Wow! premiered in Japan in 2012 and is ongoing.

The Shimajirō television series feature Benesse Corporation 's characters created under the company's young child education brand Kodomo Challenge . Each episode follows young animal characters as they face the problems of real children and experience personal growth.

The original Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirou television anime aired in Japan from 1993 to 2008. The sequel Hakken Taiken Daisuki! Shimajirō aired from 2008 to 2010 and continued under the new title Shimajirō Hesoka from April 2010 to March 2012.

Japan's Kore-eda x High School Girls: Portrait of Fukushima 3 Years After was also nominated for the International Emmy Kids Awards in the Factual category.

The awards ceremony will be held on April 5, 2016 at the MIPTV market event in Cannes, France. Previous award ceremonies have been held in New York City.

The International Academy of Arts and Sciences launched the International Emmy Kids Awards in 2012 to recognize "excellence in children's television programming produced and initially aired outside of the United States." The awards recognize six categories: Preschool, Animation, Factual, Non-Scripted Entertainment, Series, and TV Movie/Mini-series.

Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time received a nomination in the Animation category in the first year.

[Via animeanime.jp]