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Template:Infobox company Mercury Filmworks is a Canadian independent animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario. The studio was originally founded in Vancouver by Clint Eland, the current CEO, in 1997. Mercury Filmworks has produced animated television series and feature films for a variety of companies, including Disney, Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Warner Bros. Its recent projects include Kid Cosmic, Centaurworld, Hilda, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, and The Ghost and Molly McGee. The studio has won Emmy Awards for its work in several categories, most recently for Hilda.[1]
Mercury has over 340 employees employed at its Ottawa location, and continues to show steady growth.[2] In 2020, it was named one of the best offices in Ottawa by the Ottawa Business Journal.[3]
History
Mercury Filmworks was founded in 1997 in Vancouver by current chief executive officer Clint Eland.[4] The studio started with a small investment from friends and family, including Reg Eland, who became a partner overseeing finances from 1997 to 2002 and managing partner of the Vancouver studio from 2003 to 2006.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
In the late 1990s, technology was evolving to allow artists to paint and render images at a much faster pace and with greater and more consistent results. Mercury Filmworks was one of the first companies in North America to specialize in digital ink and paint services in Canada.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
In 2000, Mercury opened a studio location on King Street East in Toronto to satisfy a multi-year output deal for its services. Meanwhile, in its Vancouver studio, they produced D'Myna Leagues using digital ink & paint plus CG integration, creating the first Canadian animated television series to integrate 3D locations in a 2D series.
In 2004, Mercury moved its Toronto studio to Ottawa, where local animation director, Jerry Popowich, joined the company as a partner.[5]
The studio was already a leader in the field of computer assisted traditional animation. However, in its Ottawa studio with the help of people like Director Christian Larocque, Rob Buchanan, Anthony Ng, Dave Merrit, Phil Lafrance, Graham Macdonald, Emma Gignac, and Craig Berry, it leveraged this to become one of the world's first companies to produce an animated television series entirely in one studio using the beta version of Toon Boom Animation's Harmony software. Using this software, they produced the series Mischief City for Shaftesbury Films and YTV.
The following year, the studio animated Gerald McBoing-Boing. This production was widely regarded as a new benchmark for quality in digital animation.
In 2007, the studio developed and co-produced Toot & Puddle with National Geographic for the Nick Jr. Channel. This was the first use of advanced builds and rigging techniques resulting in a level of animation that was indistinguishable from hand drawn. This series set the new world bar for digital animation. Toot & Puddle was also one of Mercury's first proprietary series.
In 2008, Mercury Filmworks collaborated with Walt Disney Television Animation on Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil. The series was the first full television series project with Disney and one of Mercury's first hybrid productions where characters were animated interchangeably and indistinguishably in both 2D and 3D. The series was one of the first examples of character-based CG Assists in a long form series.
The studio again collaborated with Disney on Jake and the Never Land Pirates in 2009. The animation project pushed advanced builds and rigging techniques to a new level.
From 2012 to this day, Mercury Filmworks animates the Mickey Mouse shorts and television specials for Disney Television Animation,[6] once again collaborating with Disney and Director Paul Rudish on the award-winning reinvention of the character. The shorts have been widely regarded as the new benchmark when it comes to making digital animation look indistinguishable from the highest quality hand drawn animation.
2013 brought the fourth Disney-Mercury production, The Lion Guard, based on the theatrical animated film The Lion King. The series involved advanced builds and rigging and heavy use of CG integration techniques for character and location assists. The series set the standard for feature-quality animation in long form television animation.
Two years later, the studio produced Disney's Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, a television adaptation of another Disney theatrical animated film, Tangled. The methodologies used in the production were built upon the innovative techniques developed for The Lion Guard, and was to push animation and character performance levels to a new high.
Mercury Filmworks has been producing Hilda for Silvergate Media and Netflix since 2017. The series is one of the first that didn't push the bar in terms of process or technology. The artists involved focused on art, craft, and storytelling. The series has gone on to critical acclaim and is one of Netflix's most widely renowned and successful animated series. It is widely referenced as a benchmark in storytelling.
Television series
| Show | Year(s) | Co-production with | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Harveytoons Show | 1998 | Harvey Films | Intro and film restoration |
| Ned's Newt | 1998–1999 | Nelvana Studio B Productions |
Season 2 |
| Yvon of the Yukon | 1999–2003 | Studio B Productions | Digital ink and paint |
| Mega Babies | 2000 | CinéGroupe | |
| Rainbow Fish | 2000–2001 | Decode Entertainment | |
| Rescue Heroes | 2000–2002 | Nelvana | Seasons 2–3 |
| D'Myna Leagues | 2001–2002 | Studio B Productions | Digital paint |
| Undergrads | 2001 | Decode Entertainment | Digital ink and paint |
| Maggie and the Ferocious Beast | 2002 | Nelvana | Season 3 |
| The New Woody Woodpecker Show | Universal Cartoon Studios | Season 3 (digital ink and paint) | |
| Dark Oracle | 2004–2005 | Cookie Jar Entertainment | Season 1 |
| 6teen | 2004–2006 | Nelvana | Seasons 1–2 |
| Mischief City | 2005 | Shaftesbury Films | |
| Krypto the Superdog | Warner Bros. Animation | Compositing, ink and paint | |
| Gerald McBoing-Boing | 2005–2007 | Cookie Jar Entertainment | |
| Class of the Titans | 2005–2008 | Studio B Productions Nelvana |
Digital ink and paint |
| Grossology | 2006–2007 | Nelvana | Season 1 |
| Ruby Gloom | |||
| Weird Years | 2006 | Lenz Entertainment | |
| Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs | 2007–2008 | CCI Entertainment | Season 2 |
| Wilbur | Chilco Productions | ||
| Wayside | Nelvana | ||
| World of Quest | 2008–2009 | Cookie Jar Entertainment | |
| Toot and Puddle | 2008 | National Geographic Kids | |
| Jimmy Two-Shoes | 2009–2011 | Breakthrough Entertainment | |
| Producing Parker | |||
| Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil | 2010–2012 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Doodlebops Rockin’ Road Show | 2010 | Cookie Jar Entertainment | |
| Fish Hooks | 2010–2014 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Jake and the Never Land Pirates | 2011–2015 | Seasons 1–3 | |
| Bad Seeds | 2013 | Nickelodeon Animation Studio | Pilot |
| Mickey Mouse | 2013–2019 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Stella and Sam | 2013–2014 | Radical Sheep Productions | Season 1 and specials |
| Wander Over Yonder | Disney Television Animation | Season 1 | |
| Fangbone! | 2014 | Radical Sheep Productions | Pilot |
| Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero | 2014–2015 | Disney Television Animation | Season 1 |
| Star vs. the Forces of Evil | 2015 | ||
| Pickle and Peanut | "Pilot-Greg" | ||
| If You Give A Mouse A Cookie | 2015–2021 | Amazon Studios | Season 2 co-animated with Lighthouse Studios |
| Atomic Puppet | 2016–2017 | Gaumont Animation Technicolor |
|
| The Lion Guard | 2016–2019 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Tangled: The Series | 2017–2020 | ||
| Legend of the Three Caballeros | 2018 | Disney Digital Network | Co-animated with Atomic Cartoons and Six Point Harness |
| Hilda | 2018–2023 | Silvergate Media | Season 1 co-animated with Atomic Cartoons |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | 2019 | Marvel Animation | "Black Vortex, Part 1" |
| The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse | 2020–2023 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Centaurworld | 2021 | Netflix Animation | |
| Kid Cosmic | 2021–2022 | Animation services | |
| The Ghost and Molly McGee | 2021–2024 | Disney Television Animation | |
| Interrupting Chicken | 2022–2023 | Apple Studios | |
| Strange Planet | 2023 | ||
| The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | TBA | Disney Television Animation | Animation services starting with Season 3[7][8][9] |
| Octicorn & Friends | Stim Studio | ||
| Pangors of Puddle Peak | TBA | [10] | |
| Badjelly the Witch | Mukpuddy Animation | [11] |
Lighthouse Studios
| Show | Year(s) | Client | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bug Diaries | 2019 | Amazon Studios | |
| If You Give A Mouse A Cookie | 2019–2021 | Season 2 | |
| Little Ellen | 2021–2022 | Warner Bros. Animation | |
| The Cuphead Show! | 2022 | Netflix Animation | |
| El Deafo | Apple Video Programming | ||
| Rick and Morty | 2023 | Williams Street | Season 7; 5 episodes |
Specials/shorts
| Feature | Year(s) | Client | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Witch | 1999 | Sony Wonder | digital paint and effects |
| Something Else | 2000 | Pearson Television | short pilot |
| Santa Mouse and the Ratdeer | Sony Wonder | digital ink and paint | |
| Timothy Tweedle the First Christmas Elf | Evening Sky | ||
| Animated American | 2008 | James Baker and Joe Haidar | short film |
| Uncookedland | 2011 | Disney Television Animation | Pilot |
| Rapscallions | 2012 | ||
| Shred Force | |||
| The Thunderbeards | |||
| The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar | 2015 | ||
| Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special | 2016 | ||
| Tangled: Before Ever After | 2017 | ||
| The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular! | |||
| Oh Canada! A Coast to Coast Celebration of 150 Years | short film | ||
| The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar | Disney Television Animation | ||
| Canticos | 2018–2020 | Encantos Media | |
| Mercury Shorts | 2021–present | ||
| Katz Café | 2023 | Disney Television Animation | Animation test |
| A Mouse Called Julian | TBA | Flying Eye Books |
Films
| Film | Year | Client | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Tigger Movie | 2000 | Disneytoon Studios | "Someone Like Me" sequence |
| Joseph: King of Dreams | DreamWorks Animation | ||
| The Kid | 2001 | Nelvana | |
| The Little Bear Movie | |||
| The Powerpuff Girls Movie | 2002 | Cartoon Network Studios | |
| Looney Tunes: Back in Action | 2003 | Warner Bros. Feature Animation | additional digital ink and paint, animation |
| Fat Albert | 2004 | 20th Century Studios | animation |
| The Legend of Frosty the Snowman | 2005 | Classic Media | additional digital ink and paint, compositing |
| Curious George | 2006 | Universal Animation Studios | digital ink and paint services |
| Team Hot Wheels: The Origin of Awesome | 2014 | Mattel | |
| Hilda and the Mountain King | 2021 | Silvergate Media | |
| The Bob's Burgers Movie | 2022 | 20th Century Studios Bento Box Entertainment Wilo Productions |
co-animated with Lighthouse Studios |
| Once Our Land | TBA | Goodbye Productions | [12] |
Theme parks
| Attraction | Year | Client | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway[13] | 2020 | Walt Disney Imagineering | Animated sequences |