It’s been 25 years since veteran animation producer Clint Eland founded the acclaimed studio Mercury Filmworks in Canada. The studio, which was born during the early days of TV’s digital ink and paint revolution, has become one of the leading forces in the industry. The Ottawa-based company was the first studio to use Harmony software to produce an animated series in house (Mischief City) back in 2005, and it also was the first studio outside of the Disney family ever to animate Mickey Mouse. In recent years, it collaborated with Netflix to produce Craig McCracken’s acclaimed show Kid Cosmic, and was the first studio to produce an animated series for Amazon (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). The studio was also the driving force behind the popular and Emmy-winning series Hilda (2018-2020).
On the occasion of the studio’s big birthday, we caught up with the studio’s Chief Content Officer Heath Kenny to find out more about Mercury Filmworks’ up-and-coming slate and plan for Annecy.
Animation Magazine: Big congrats are in order on your studio’s silver anniversary! So, what are your thoughts on this big benchmark?
Heath Kenny: We are celebrating 25 years since Clint established Mercury Filmworks with, ‘a scribble, and a simple ambition: to become the best digital animation studio in the world!’ It is incredible what he, along with a team of passionate creative individuals, has accomplished over the past quarter of a century. The work done by our Ottawa-based company and our local community of artists has been a beacon to artists all over the world. When working in London or Paris I, myself, would see a show from Mercury Filmworks and say to our teams let’s aim for something like Wander Over Yonder or Jimmy Two-Shoes or the Mickey shorts. To be part of this team and looking ahead to the next 15 years is a truly a dream come true.
Can you tell us about your recent animation slate (that you brought to Annecy)?
We focused on showcasing three original children’s series:
- Octicorn (52 x 11): We recently partnered with French Canadian animation house Stim Studio to co-produce this animated preschool series based on an Amazon Book of the Year Hello, My Name is Octicorn from debut authors Justin Lowe and Kevin Diller. Octicorn is on a journey to figure out all the feelings he has and what to do when they don’t feel so good. This CG-animated series is for anyone who has ever felt a little different.
Octicorn - Tales of the Underwear Dragon: This show is based on Scott Rothman’s popular children’s picture book Attack of the Underwear Dragon illustrated by New York Times’ Best-Selling illustrator and Annie Award-nominated animator, Pete Oswald. Medieval stories about valiant knights and dastardly dragons are infused with a fresh new spin in this 2D-animated comedy series (11’ x 52) for kids ages 6-11. Every episode will feature an original song, written by Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer, producer, arranger, and orchestrator Bill Sherman (Sesame Street, In the Heights, Hamilton).
- A Mouse Called Julian is based on Joe Todd-Stanton’s eponymous award-winning children’s book, which brings a unique, modern illustration style to an inversion of the classic Aesop Fable of The Lion and the Mouse. Our mouse learns that sometimes, having a friend over for dinner can be just the right amount of variety in your day.
Annecy is an industry event that holds a special place in my heart. It is unique in the way it combines creative energy and business opportunities in a beautiful and inspirational setting. So much creative international talent congregates annually to share and premiere their latest projects and the process they went through to make them a reality. We are excited to see what our peers have been cooking up and to introduce these three projects, all based on acclaimed children’s literary works, to our community.
What do you think makes the studio unique in the competitive animation landscape?
Our team has always sought to take something and push it beyond what is expected. Our people genuinely care about the characters and shows we get to work on. That’s what sets the great studios apart — the willingness to go that step further and the desire to keep innovating. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves to remain ahead of the curve so that we can deliver more than what others think possible, and we have earned the reputation of being a very collaborative studio that strives to bring the vision of the creators we work with to life, while all the while protecting our partners from collaboration chaos. It was absolutely essential to Clint and our entire leadership team that we create a team and environment that is diversified and dynamic, and that we foster the growth of our community of creators, dreamers and unconventional thinkers.
Can you tell us what other new projects you’re currently working on?
Mercury is also in development on two new originals created by in-house talent: BloopyMerps (8 x 11’), a sci-fi adventure comedy series for kids created by three longtime Mercury Filmworks employees Shane Plante, Ross Love, and David Laliberte; and Pangors of Puddle Peak (52 x 11’) [created by Heath Kenny himself]. BloopyMerps follows a rules-loving robot and a soft-hearted alien on a mission to terraform, a lifeless planet that’s not as lifeless as they thought. Pangors of Puddle Peak features eight-year-old best friends who discover fantastical creatures hidden in plain sight. Additionally, set in 1830’s Europe, Once Our Land (1 x ‘90 mins) is a fantasy/sci-fi animated family feature based on the graphic novel by Peter Ricq. It tells the story of Fritz and Ingrid who embark on a journey to rid the city they love of cruel beasts and learn to trust those around them again.
How would you describe the studio culture at Mercury Filmworks?
Inclusivity and a commitment to fostering the creativity of our talent in-house is hugely important to Mercury Filmworks. We celebrate our team’s diversity in a variety of ways, including internal events like ‘Lunch & Learns’ that explore, discuss, and celebrate the places we come from and the things we believe in. Given our massive pool of diversified talent, we also often look internally for the next big idea, which is how one of our original projects, BloopyMerps, came to be.”
What are your plans for the near future?
We will continue our 25th anniversary celebration through this year and continue to build our development and production pipeline with original new series. It has definitely been a challenging few years in the industry that supports each other and firmly believes that high-quality projects with compelling storylines and characters will always find a home and audience. We will continue to evolve and explore how we can utilize new technologies, just as Clint did 25 years ago, to further enhance our creative freedom. Technology is a tool, and we are more than the tools we use. We truly are living in the Golden Age of Animation and couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds.
For more info, visit mercuryfilmworks.com
