Cinesite Animation is a production and service animation studio based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. It is part of

Cinesite Cinesite (also known as The Cinesite Group) 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 offering services in visu ...

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

-based animation studio

Nitrogen Studios Cinesite Vancouver (formerly known as Nitrogen Studios Canada, Inc., commonly referred to as Nitrogen Studios) is a Canadian animation company founded by husband and wife duo Greg Tiernan and Nicole Stinn. The company was founded in October 2 ...

. In July 2022, the studio acquired Canadian animation studio

L'Atelier Animation Cinesite (also known as The Cinesite Group) 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 offering services in visu ...

. 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. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...

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 film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

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 J ...

. The first,

, in partnership with the Harold Lloyd Estate, is currently in pre-production and will be co-produced with

Aniventure Aniventure is a British content creation and intellectual property company based in London, England and set up in 2013 to produce family-oriented feature animation. Aniventure works with production partners to take feature film concepts from pit ...

. 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 animated Comedy film, fantasy comedy musical film directed by Peter Lepeniotis and written by Michael Schwartz and Zina Zaflow, from a story by Robert Moreland. Produced by Vanguard Animation and 3QU Media, the film star ...

, directed by Peter Lepeniotis, which was released in 2018, after being delayed from 2017, with

Charming Charming may refer to: Fiction * ''Charming'' (film), a 2019 animated musical comedy film * Charming, a fictional town where the television series ''Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television ...

starring

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

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 SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference centered around computer graphics organized by ACM, starting in 1974 in Boulder, CO. The main conference has always been held in North ...

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 Decem ...

, Cinesite announced the opening of its studios in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. 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 2016 establishments in Quebec