Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc.

Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in the summer of 2014. The company develops and produces traditional 2D animation, motion comics, motion graphics, art assets, digital paint, illustration for television series, motion pictures, video game cinemas, commercials, advertising campaigns, educational properties, and entertainment companies.

History

Powerhouse Animation's name is partially inspired by Raymond Scott's song " Powerhouse", which was often placed in scores that Carl Stalling wrote for Warner Bros. shorts and has been featured in numerous animated cartoons. In 2002, Powerhouse produced the short "Heroes" which parodied the film ''Clerks'' as well as Marvel Comics characters. After seeing the short, Kevin Smith, the director of ''Clerks'', contacted the firm to produce an unfinished commercial from ''Dogma''. After producing the short, Smith hired Powerhouse to create an arcade machine that featured a custom video game. The game was given, as a wrap party present, to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez for their work on '' Jersey Girl''. In the game, the main character is Lopez trying to rescue Affleck from an unknown villain and a band of ninjas. In 2003, the firm created a 35 mm test for a feature film based on '' Clerks: The Animated Series'' for Smith. They animated '' Clerks: The Lost Scene'' which was included on the ''Clerks X: 10th Anniversary'' DVD. As writerdirector Smith explains in the introduction to the scene on the DVD, it had originally been written for ''Clerks'', but was not filmed due to budgetary costraints. In 2004, they animated the "Mr. Mom" video for the band Lonestar.

The firm produces animated versions of many syndicated comic strips including ''Dilbert'', ''Pearls before Swine'', ''Cul de Sac'', ''Liō'', ''Pooch Café'' and ''Over the Hedge'' produced by RingTales. Powerhouse has animated over 300 ''Dilbert'' shorts. It has produced animated content for educational companies including TED-Ed, Brain Chase, Compass Learning, Ignite! Learning and the National Fire Protection Association. It produces animated content for websites, podcasts and other internet companies including several segments of the "B.S. Report Animated Archives" and "Jalen Rose Story Time" for ESPN's ''Grantland'', and episodes of Kevin Smith's ''Spoilers'' series for ''SModcast'' and Hulu.

In November 2010, they finished working with Disney Interactive Studios to make the cutscenes for ''Epic Mickey'', and in 2012, '' Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two''. In November 2013, Powerhouse worked with Disney Interactive Media Group and Disney Television Animation with collaboration by language instruction company Rosetta Stone to create a nine-episode season of '' It's a Small World: The Animated Series'', Based on the Disney Parks attraction, ''It's a Small World''. In 2014, Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. opened its first satellite office in Burbank, California. Powerhouse Animation LLC, a division of parent company Powerhouse, joined The Animation Guild and became a Signatory of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees) in May 2015.

Powerhouse has produced animated advertising content for brands such as Old Spice, IAMS, Disney Parks, Disneyland, Metlife, Coca-Cola, Oreo, Mountain Dew, Ruffles, GoDaddy.com and many others. In 2015, they worked with Weiden+Kennedy to animate a segment for a Weight Watchers ad called "All You Can Eat" that aired during Super Bowl XLIX. Powerhouse has produced animated music videos for Lizzo, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wale ft. French Montana, A Sound of Thunder and Lonestar. The firm also develops original IPs and has optioned a series to a toy company. In 2015, the company wrote, created, designed and voiced a short series for AwesomenessTV/DreamWorksTV called ''Advice Times with Grandpa Theo'' that can be seen on DreamWorksTV's YouTube page.

In 2017, Powerhouse worked on numerous cutscenes featured in the action-adventure game '' Agents of Mayhem''. In October 2021, the studio worked with OfflineTV to create an animated music video called "Break Out" and worked with Sega to release a launch trailer for '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania''. In November 2022, the ''Sonic Frontiers'' promotional short "Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence" was released, featuring animation by Powerhouse Animation. In September 2023, the '' Sonic Superstars'' promotional short "Trio of Trouble" was released. In November 2023, the ''Sonic Dream Team'' opening animation was released.

In February 2017, Powerhouse Animation announced their first adult animated series for Netflix titled ''Castlevania'' which is based on the video game franchise of the same name. In May 2018, Powerhouse announced their first series based on original property titled ''Seis Manos''. In March 2019, Powerhouse announced a series based on Greek mythology titled ''Blood of Zeus''. In August 2019, Powerhouse announced the series '' Masters of the Universe: Revelation'' which serves as a direct sequel to the ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' series. In January 2021, Powerhouse announced two series based on the King Kong and ''Tomb Raider'' franchises titled ''Skull Island'' and '' Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft'', respectively. In June 2021, the studio signed a first-look deal with Netflix. In June 2022, Powerhouse announced the series '' Castlevania: Nocturne'' which acts as a sequel to their previous ''Castlevania'' series.

Projects

Television series

Miscellaneous

References

External links

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{{Animation industry in the United States

American animation studios
Companies based in Austin, Texas
American companies established in 2001
Mass media companies established in 2001
2001 establishments in Texas
Privately held companies based in Texas