Cinesite Animation is a production and service animation studio based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. It is part of

Cinesite Cinesite Studios (also known as Cinesite VFX or simply Cinesite) is an independent, multinational business which provides services to the media and entertainment industries. Its head office in London opened for business in 1994, initially offe ...

Studios, along with its partner company Cinesite VFX. Cinesite officially announced the launch of its dedicated feature animation division on February 8, 2016. In March 2017 the Cinesite group acquired

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based animation studio

Nitrogen Studios Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seventh ...

. In July 2022, the studio acquired Canadian animation studio L'Atelier Animation. In August 2022, it purchased a majority stake in Canadian animation studio Squeeze. The company is currently in development on a slate of nine animated films, scheduled to be in production by 2020, in addition to service work for 3QU Media and

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...

Feature films and shorts

The first of nine films announced as in development by Cinesite Animation are

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

and

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

. The first,

, in partnership with the Harold Lloyd Estate, is currently in pre-production and will be co-produced with Aniventure. An animated feature inspired by the stage show

is also in development, with Ireland's River Productions. Cinesite Animation also has a slate deal wit
3QU Media
to create several animated feature films. The first,

Gnome Alone ''Gnome Alone'' is a 2017 computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Peter Lepeniotis and written by Michael Schwartz and Zina Zaflow, from a story by Robert Moreland. The film was first released in November 2017 in Cyprus, Greece, Romania ...

, directed by Peter Lepeniotis, which was released in 2018, after being delayed from 2017, with Charming starring Demi Lovato released in the same year. Cinesite also animated seasonal production The Star for Sony, released in November 2017. In December 2013, Cinesite released
Beans
, to showcase its creature animation skills. The 30-second animation went viral, amassing over 14 million views on YouTube and earning the opening slot in the 2014 SIGGRAPH Electronic Theatre. The animated short also won a gold award at the AEAF animation awards.

Growth in Canada

In January 2014, with the support of

Investissement Québec Investissement Québec is a company established in 1998 under an act passed by the National Assembly of Quebec to favour investment in Quebec by Quebec-based and international companies. Its registered office is located in Quebec City. In December 2 ...

, Cinesite announced the opening of its studios in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. Its initial employment target was reached 18 months early, in August 2015. On February 8, 2016, the opening of Cinesite's Animation division was announced in Montréal, Canada. The company subsequently announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based animation studio

in March 2017. On February 8, 2016, Cinesite Animation announced the launch of Animate Montreal (Animez Montréal). The initiative, founded by Cinesite partnered with a group of associated companies, aims to help with upskilling, training and filling experience gaps, supporting the growth of the emerging Montréal animated film industry.

Filmography

References

{{Animation industry in Canada Canadian animation studios Companies based in Montreal Cinema of Quebec