U.K. production company Eagle Eye Drama is snowballing its animation activity by launching a new toon shop, dubbed Eaglet Films. The London-based studio will produce a range of projects including series, films and specials, tapping animation talent from all across Europe.
Eagle Eye has tapped creative director Massimo Fenati and executive producer Tess Cuming to lead the new venture, having previously collaborated with them on their entrées to animation in the Channel 4 Christmas specials Quentin Blake’s Clown (2020) and Terry Pratchett’s The Abominable Snow Baby (2021) as well as the six-part Quentin Blake adaptation series Box of Treasures for the BBC. The company, like others, began exploring animation in the wake of worldwide film and TV production shutdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our core aspiration when we set up Eagle Eye was to break exciting new talent into the U.K. production community, so we were always very keen to diversify and broaden our portfolio to encompass children’s and family programming,” said Eagle Eye CCO Jo McGrath.
“Our successful foray into animated Christmas specials has been rapidly expanding into a substantial animation slate which now encompasses a major six-part BBC series and a movie development, so it made perfect sense to create a new venture under the visionary creative leadership of Massimo Fenati to allow this burgeoning side of the company to truly flourish and reach its full potential.”
Fenati and Cuming will also join Eaglet Films’ board of directors, alongside Eagle Eye’s Head of Production Isobel Nicholson.
[Source: C21]
