Piwi+

Piwi+
Country	France
Broadcast area	Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland
Network	Télétoon (2002-2003); Canal+
Headquarters	Issy-les-Moulineaux
Programming
Language(s)	French
Picture format	1080i HDTV; (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	Groupe Canal+
Sister channels	Canal+ Family; Télétoon+
History
Launched	20 October 2002; 21 years ago (block); 3 December 2003; 20 years ago (channel)
Former names	Piwi (2002-2011)
Links
Website	www.piwiplus.fr
Availability
Terrestrial
Easy TV (Congo)	Channel 20

Piwi+ (formerly Piwi) is a French pay television channel for children aged 3 to 6, owned by the Canal+ Group.^[1]^[2]

Piwi was first launched on October 20, 2002 as a preschool block on Télétoon for Les Minitoons, and then on December 3, 2003 as the preschool channel from Télévision Par Satellite.^[3] In 2007, TPS merged with its competitor Canalsat.

In 2016-2017, Piwi+ became a Canal+ exclusive all around the world. It is also distributed on VOO in Belgium and Teleclub Les + in Switzerland.

Les Vacances de Piwi

Before the television channel's debut, the television show was first premiered on July 9, 2002 entitled Les Vacances de Piwi, a Canadian-French CGI animated edutainment musical children's show for young children aged 2 to 5 years old presented in Dolby Surround. It was first aired on Télé-Québec Jeunesse in Quebec, and then on France 5 for Zouzous and Télétoon for Les Minitoons in France that premiered later on October 20, 2002.

The show (alongside Bouge avec Mimik, which is seen after the show) was finally aired on TFO in Quebec, and then on Playhouse Disney France and Piwi in France on December 10, 2003.

Mascots

Soleil: Voiced by: Naïke Fauveau (2002-2004), Lucile Boulanger (2005-2011); Color: Yellow; Soleil is a 3-year-old female Piwi with yellow body and orange rays. She is the adventurous leader of the group.
Gourmand: Voiced by: Brigitte Guedj (2002-2004), Lara Saarbach (2005-2011); Color: Orange; Gourmand is a 6-year-old male Piwi with orange body and green bubbles. He is the silly clown of the group.
Étoile: Voiced by: Caroline Combes (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011); Color: Violet; Étoile is a 6-year-old female Piwi with violet body and yellow feathers. She is the cutest princess of the group.
Radar: Voiced by: Valérie Lecot (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011); Color: Indigo; Radar is a 8-year-old male Piwi with indigo body with red satellites. He is the athletic superhero of the group.
Ventouse: Voiced by: Fily Keita (2002-2004), Annabelle Roux (2005-2011); Color: Green; Ventouse is a 7-year-old female Piwi with green body and red suction cups. She is the sweetest gymnast of the group.
Ressort: Voiced by: Sauvane Delanoë (2002-2004), Lara Saarbach (2005-2011); Color: Red; Ressort is a 9-year-old female Piwi with red body and indigo springs. She is the friendliest cheerleader of the group.
Peinture: Voiced by: Blanche Ravalec (2002-2004), Kelly Marot (2005-2011); Color: Blue; Peinture is a 5-year-old male Piwi with blue body and yellow fountain tanks. He is the smartest artist of the group.

Production

The show was produced by DKP Effects and EnSky Studios in Canada. The show was created in a variety of CGI animation techniques. CGI animation styles include high quality animation for Maya and cel-shaded animation for 3ds Max during every episode, along with real-time animation mostly for LightWave and Messiah during the live-action segments that can teach kids to read with words, write with letters, calculate with numbers, build with shapes, and draw with colors.