Triggerfish is a

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

based in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The studio is best known for its animated feature films '' Adventures in Zambezia'' (2012), '' Khumba'' (2013), and '' Seal Team'' (2021), as well as the work they have done on television specials created for UK producers Magic Light Pictures.

History

Triggerfish was established in 1996 by Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye in Cape Town, South Africa. As a

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

studio, it produced multiple commercials for South African ad agencies. From 1998 through 2008, Triggerfish produced animation for

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...

for the South African version of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'', ''

Takalani Sesame ''Takalani Sesame'' ("be happy Sesame" in Venda) is the South African co-production of the children's television program ''Sesame Street'', co-produced by Sesame Workshop and South African partners. The series debuted in 2000 and has been airing f ...

'', as well as the US domestic and international versions of the pre-school kids' program. Stuart Forrest joined as a junior animator in 2002 to work on ''Takalani Sesame'' for seasons two and three. In 2004, Forrest and James Middleton became partners in Triggerfish and in 2005 became the sole partners when the original founders left the company. In 2007, Anthony Silverston joined as creative director, and Mike Buckland joined as head of production. At the same time, the company moved away from stop-frame animation and relaunched as a

studio. In 2015, at the Premier's Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards (PERA), Triggerfish was named Business of the Year by the Western Cape Government. In 2021, Triggerfish received the Mifa Animation Industry Award at Annecy for "the pioneering role that the company has played in animation in South Africa, and Africa most widely.”

Short films

In 2008, Triggerfish created a 30-minute short entitled ''The Rise and Fall of Tony the Frog''. The short was produced by Ambient Animation in Cape Town for Isaac Entertainment. In 2018, Triggerfish released an original 4-minute short entitled ''Belly Flop'', co-directed by Jeremy Collins and writer Kelly Dillon. This was one of four shorts screened during the closing ceremony at Annecy 2018. A second original short film,''Troll Girl'' premiered at the Cape Town International Animation Festival in 2021. Triggerfish was one of nine studios selected around the world to produce a short for '' Star Wars Visions: Volume 2'' anthology. The short, entitled "Aau's Song", was released on 4 May 2023.

Feature films

From 2006, the team began to shift focus to

motion pictures A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

by writing their first script '' Adventures in Zambezia'', with US-based rights company Wonderful Works. The script went into production in 2009 and was released in 2012. In 2010, the studio started production on '' Khumba'' which started its worldwide release in Q3 2013. Triggerfish's third feature, called '' Seal Team''., premiered on Netflix on 31 December 2021. In 2022, Seal Team made the Netflix Top 10 Films global list for its launch week.

Television animated series

On April 16, 2019, it was announced that

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

had given a series order for the animated superhero series '' Mama K's Team 4''. The series is expected to be produced by the studio in collaboration with CAKE. Malenga Mulendema will be credited as an executive producer and writer of the series. In February 2021, it was announced that

eOne Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

had greenlit the animated superhero series '' Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes'', about a seven-year-old African girl whose passions in life are dancing and martial arts. The original idea for ''Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes'' was created by Kelly Dillon and Marc Dey, then developed for television by Robert Vargas. ''Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes'' launched in March 2023 across linear and streaming platforms including Disney Jr., Disney + globally, and France Télévisions. In June 2021, it was announced that

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

had greenlit Triggerfish's animated anthology series '' Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire''. Inspired by the continent's diverse histories and cultures, the 10-part anthology brings together a slate of rising animation talents from six African nations to produce action-packed sci-fi and fantasy stories that will present bold visions of advanced technology, aliens, spirits and monsters imagined from uniquely African perspectives. Oscar-winning director Peter Ramsey ('' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'') is as executive producer, with Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston. Triggerfish is the lead studio for the anthology, working in collaboration with animation studios across the continent and globally. The development process was curated and produced by the team at Triggerfish, including Tendayi Nyeke, Anthony Silverston, and Kevin Kriedemann, who proposed the initial idea for the anthology. The final 10 films are from Ahmed Teilab (Egypt), Simangaliso “Panda” Sibaya and Malcolm Wope (South Africa), Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane (South Africa), Ng’endo Mukii (Kenya), Shofela Coker (Nigeria), Nthato Mokgata and Terence Neale (South Africa), Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove (Zimbabwe), Tshepo Moche (South Africa), Raymond Malinga (Uganda) and Lesego Vorster (South Africa). Each film is 10-15 minutes long, and together comprises a feature-length anthology of original animation that will be released as a Disney Plus Original across the globe. The series will release on July 5, 2023.

Story Lab

In mid-2015, Triggerfish announced the Triggerfish Story Lab, a program that aimed to develop African writers and directors. The initiative had the support of the Walt Disney Company. Mama K's Team 4, the first Netflix Original animation series from Africa, was one of the projects unearthed by the Triggerfish Story Lab. A second TV series from the Triggerfish Story Lab, Kiya! (previously Ninja Princess), was announced in February 2021 to have been picked up by Disney+.

Triggerfish Academy

In June 2019 Triggerfish launched a free online learning platform aimed at encouraging young creatives to create their first animated film.

Filmography

;Feature films ;Television specials ;Television series

Feature Film Awards & Nominations

''Adventures in Zambezia''

* 2012 Best South African Feature Film at The

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It was founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the Univ ...

* 2012 Best Animation at South African Film and Television Awards * 2013 Best Animation at Africa Movie Academy Awards * 2013 Best Children's Feature at Anima Mundi * Nominated for Best Music in An Animated Feature (Bruce Retief) and Voice Acting In An Animated Feature (Jim Cummings) at the 2013 Annie Awards * Nominated for Best Male Vocal Performance in An Animated Feature (Jim Cummings) at the 2013 Behind The Voice Actors Awards * Nominated for Best Director (Wayne Thornley) & Best Original Score (Feature Film) at the 2013 South African Film and Television Awards

''Khumba''

Prior to its release, '' Khumba'' screened in competition at

Annecy International Animation Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

2013, where it was nominated for the Cristal, and was in the Official Selection of

and

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

2013. * Gold Panda Award for Best Foreign Animation (2013) * Gold Panda Award for Grand Prize (2013) * 2014 Best Animation at South African Film and Television Awards * 2014 Best Music Composition for a feature film at South African Film and Television Awards * 2014 Best Animation at Africa Movie Academy Awards * Nominated for Best Male Vocal Performance (Liam Neeson and Steve Buscemi), 2015 Behind The Voice Actor Awards

Short Film Awards & Nominations

''Belly Flop''

* 2018 Gryphon Award for Best Short 6+ at Giffoni * 2018 Best Animation, Africa Movie Academy Awards * 2019 Audience Prize: Favorite Short Animated Film, Children's Film Festival Seattle * 2018 Children's Jury Award at Cinemira in Budapest * 2018 Best In Show and Best In 3D at Longwood Animation Film Festival * 2018 Czech TV Audience Award at Zlin Film Festival * 2018 Special Mention at Cinema In Sneakers Film Festival in Warsaw * 2018 Best Local Film at Kleinkaap Short Film Festival * 2018 Family Shorts Award at Tenerife International Short Film Festival * 2018 Audience Award: Best Short Film at Animatopia ICAF * 2019 Special Jury Award at CMS International Children's Film Festival * 2019 2nd Place: Best Short Film at Kingstoon International Animated Film Competition * 2019 Grand Prize: Short Film at Seoul Guro Kids Film Festival * 2019 Audience Award for Best Short Animation at Festival Internacional de Cine para Niños * 2019 Audience Award for Best Short Animation at Madrid Film Festival FCM-PNR

TV Series Awards and Nominations

References

External links

* * {{Authority control South African animation studios Irish animation studios Companies based in Cape Town Mass media companies established in 1996 Mass media in Cape Town South African companies established in 1996