(ANS – Madrid) – Over 350 people, mostly children aged from 4 to 17, took part last Friday May 11 in the pre-view of the animated film produced by the Salesian Publishers EDEBE entitled “Los Cachorros: el código de Marco Polo” (The Pet Pals: Marco Polo’s Code). The showing took place took place in the “Proyecciones” cinema of Madrid, in the presence of the actor Carlos Latre and the characters Diva and Cilindro.

This full length film is based on the television series  “Los Cachorros” (The Pet Pals), transmitted for  two years by the  RTVE station on the Clan TV channel, which is now in its fifth season and entrances the young audiences of over 40 countries.

In this event the young spectators were able to greet two protagonists of the film in the characters  of  Diva and Cilindro, and helped them during  the projection with their applause, encouraging them to reach their  objectives.  At the end of the projection, the actor Carlos Latre, who speaks the part of the evil witch Corneja, greeted the audience, along with the two  “Pets” present.

The film relates the adventures of a group of friends, made up of Cilindro the rabbit, Oly the cat, Diva the gosling,  Portátil the dog, Pio the frog,  and Sinnombre the sparrow,  who have to exercise all their wits to get hold of the codex of Marco Polo before Cornja the witch does, in order to prevent the casting of a spell which would dry up all the canals of Venice. The film is a great adventure, with an aim which is at the same time simple and real: to teach children that by working together we can achieve high goals.

With this children’s film the Salesian Publishers  EDEBÉ makes the “jump” towards the big screen and widens its educational scope through audiovisual means.  On this occasion the work was done in collaboration with the  “Gruppo Alcuni”, a partner firm in Italy, with which it shares similar values.

At the Venice Film Festival, the film “The Pet Pals: Marco Polo’s Code” won the Kineo-Diamanti  animation category  award, on the grounds if its ability to unite artistic quality with public interest. Under the direction of  Sergio Manfio, the creator of the characters, the technical team made up of Italian and Spanish professionals, demonstrated the high quality which this type of animation film is reaching in Europe.

The film will on general release in Spain tomorrow, Friday May 18, simultaneously in 200 cinemas all over Spain. It is a good choice for families to enjoy an evening together. Children will have a further chance to meet the characters of “The Pet Pals” during the next  “Fiera del Libro” (Book Fair) in Madrid, given that the adventures of the Pet Pals continue in the 5 volumes already published by Edebé. Available on the website www.loscachorros.es there are videos, backgrounds,and songs from the film, and also early information about  a mascot competition.

Published 17/05/2012