Kittens
In this mischievous Christmas adventure, kittens Max and Mia must solve a mysterious theft to help their innocent father out of jail. Aided by old and new friends, our kitties rise to the challenge.
It's almost Christmas. Master thief and spider El Loco has pulled off another spectacular heist. Max loves mischief too, but his antics have led to him, his sister Mia, and their father Pepijn being thrown out onto the street again. Max really misses his mother Bruna, who is an astronaut in space. As does Mia, who tries to be the responsible one while Pepijn struggles to fill Bruna's shoes.
Pepijn's half-brother Boudewijn turns out to be the heir to the rarest Christmas star in history. His butler Ed, the turtle, convinces him to let the young family stay in the treehouse. Naughty Max talks his sister into sneaking out one night to touch the star. The next morning, the star has been stolen! Police rat Wolfgang finds the paw prints and wants to arrest the innocent kittens. Pepijn takes the blame. Max and Mia have to find the real thief to save their father.
They start their investigation. But as Max always causes trouble, Mia continues alone, and guinea pig Lou Lou takes care of Max, sharing a love for mischief. Mia discovers that Lou Lou has other motives as she finds a secret room with a spider costume and the star. Lou Lou is El Loco! Before Mia can go to Wolfgang, Lou Lou locks her up.
Max uses his ingenuity to expose Lou Lou and free his sister and father. Pepijn sees now that together with his kittens, they will eventually land on their feet. And Mia is having fun again! Together, they celebrate Christmas with friends and family under the shining Christmas star.
Pepijn's half-brother Boudewijn turns out to be the heir to the rarest Christmas star in history. His butler Ed, the turtle, convinces him to let the young family stay in the treehouse. Naughty Max talks his sister into sneaking out one night to touch the star. The next morning, the star has been stolen! Police rat Wolfgang finds the paw prints and wants to arrest the innocent kittens. Pepijn takes the blame. Max and Mia have to find the real thief to save their father.
They start their investigation. But as Max always causes trouble, Mia continues alone, and guinea pig Lou Lou takes care of Max, sharing a love for mischief. Mia discovers that Lou Lou has other motives as she finds a secret room with a spider costume and the star. Lou Lou is El Loco! Before Mia can go to Wolfgang, Lou Lou locks her up.
Max uses his ingenuity to expose Lou Lou and free his sister and father. Pepijn sees now that together with his kittens, they will eventually land on their feet. And Mia is having fun again! Together, they celebrate Christmas with friends and family under the shining Christmas star.
Directors statement
With Kittens, we create a world and universe that is attractive, cuddly and humorous for all children (internationally), a world where you would like to live and experience adventures with an exciting storyline for the kittens. Against creative decors we discuss various themes surrounding finding your place within your family and community. Even if your family does not meet the traditional standard.
In my opinion, the theme of growing up with parents who are not together is the most important. Three out of ten children in the Netherlands live in a similar situation. Children between the ages of two and seven make up for this ratio most often. Our entire cat family struggles with this in their own way. So it is something that will be very recognisable for both the children and their (grand)parents.
The film is full of colourful figures and old acquaintances from the Kittens series. Like the grumpy cat Boudewijn and his butler, turtle Ed. They accompany the protagonists Max and Mia. A nice extra for the hundreds of thousands of people who know the series, but the film stands alone.
A big part of the team has young children, and we have a good idea what the target group is missing in the current line-up. There is already a lot of animation and superhero films available. But the range of films of this length with the 'Arts and Craft feeling' is few and far between. Our ambition is to create a unique Christmas film that will stand out and be counted among the classics.
In my opinion, the theme of growing up with parents who are not together is the most important. Three out of ten children in the Netherlands live in a similar situation. Children between the ages of two and seven make up for this ratio most often. Our entire cat family struggles with this in their own way. So it is something that will be very recognisable for both the children and their (grand)parents.
The film is full of colourful figures and old acquaintances from the Kittens series. Like the grumpy cat Boudewijn and his butler, turtle Ed. They accompany the protagonists Max and Mia. A nice extra for the hundreds of thousands of people who know the series, but the film stands alone.
A big part of the team has young children, and we have a good idea what the target group is missing in the current line-up. There is already a lot of animation and superhero films available. But the range of films of this length with the 'Arts and Craft feeling' is few and far between. Our ambition is to create a unique Christmas film that will stand out and be counted among the classics.
NOVA VAN DIJK is a director and author. She directed and co-wrote the highly popular and long-running series Poesjes (2015 – 2018, NPO). Nova also directed several short films, including Thanatos (2015), De Grote Stad (2010), and Kattenkwaad (2010)
- DirectorNova van Dijk
- ProducersLayla Meijman, Machteld Van Gelder, Brechtje Schaling
- ScreenwriterLaura van Dijk
- Production countryNetherlands, The
- Production companiesKleine Storm, Studio Ruba
- Age4+
- Duration70 min
- GenresAdventure, Family, Pre-school
- TypeLive-action
- Year2026
- Spoken languageDutch
- Total budget€2,200,000
- Financing in place€83,750
Company profile
Studio Ruba is an Amsterdam based boutique production company founded in 2019 by producers Layla Meijman and Maarten van der Ven. With a deep faith in the power of collaboration, they focus on developing and producing cinematic cutting-edge stories with a select group of filmmakers. Their goal is to move, excite and broaden audiences' perspectives with innovative stories.
After producing a series of international successful and award-winning short and mid-length films, Studio Ruba’s first feature film Femi (Dwight Fagbamila, 2022) premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2022. In 2023, their coming-of-age road film Kiddo by Zara Dwinger had its world premiere at the Berlinale, was nominated six times at the Dutch Academy Awards including for Best Film, and won two awards. Besides NL, Kiddo had a theatrical release in BE and FR and traveled to 50+ festivals, amongst which Cannes Écrans Junior, Chicago Children’s FF and Leeds IFF, picking up a number of prizes on the way, like the Cinekid lion for best Dutch Children's film.
Currently the drama feature Idyllic by Aaron Rookus is in the final stages of post-production. The film is a co-production with Flanders (Polar Bear) and Estonia (Allfilm). In addition, their first minority co-production To A Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel had its world premiere at Cannes 2024 in the Quinzaine Des Cineastes and is travelling to festivals all over the world.
After producing a series of international successful and award-winning short and mid-length films, Studio Ruba’s first feature film Femi (Dwight Fagbamila, 2022) premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2022. In 2023, their coming-of-age road film Kiddo by Zara Dwinger had its world premiere at the Berlinale, was nominated six times at the Dutch Academy Awards including for Best Film, and won two awards. Besides NL, Kiddo had a theatrical release in BE and FR and traveled to 50+ festivals, amongst which Cannes Écrans Junior, Chicago Children’s FF and Leeds IFF, picking up a number of prizes on the way, like the Cinekid lion for best Dutch Children's film.
Currently the drama feature Idyllic by Aaron Rookus is in the final stages of post-production. The film is a co-production with Flanders (Polar Bear) and Estonia (Allfilm). In addition, their first minority co-production To A Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel had its world premiere at Cannes 2024 in the Quinzaine Des Cineastes and is travelling to festivals all over the world.
Meeting potential partners, inspiration for script development, reaching and engaging target audience.
Goals at JCM
Representatives at JCM and contact details
Maarten van der Ven
maarten@studioruba.com
