Animation, VFX giant Jellyfish Pictures halts operations amid financial struggles
Jellyfish Pictures credits include Spirit Untamed for DreamWorks Animation
UK-based animation and VFX giant Jellyfish Pictures has paused operations amid a challenging market and financial struggles.
The company, whose credits include Spirit Untamed for DreamWorks Animation and Prime Video’s adventure drama series Nautilus, issued a statement yesterday citing the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing costs and the impact of the 2023 strikes in the US as the cause of its troubles.
“Like so many other companies operating across the VFX, animation and wider creative industries, we’ve been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the past 12 months. The long-tail impact of Covid, coupled with rising costs and the fall-out from the writer and actor strikes have had a profound effect on our business,” the statement said.
“Over recent months, we’ve been working closely with our key stakeholders to find a path forward, including exploring all options for sale and investment, with the aim of putting in place a strong financial platform upon which we can build. While we continue to engage in these discussions and explore our options, we have today taken legal steps to protect the position of the business while we strive to find a way forward.”
Jellyfish Pictures is also active in the originals space and has several projects in production and development, including preschool series Stan & Gran, which is due to launch on Paramount-owned Channel 5’s Milkshake! this year.
Other upcoming projects it has been working on include Netflix’s animated film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Twits and animated epic fantasy-adventure series Wolf King, based on Curtis Jobling’s Wereworld novels.
Jellyfish Pictures, which launched in 2001, expanded into India in 2023 and launched a VFX operation in Canada last year.
It launched its originals arm in 2018 following the appointment of Natalie Llewellyn, who was promoted to MD of Jellyfish Originals in 2020.
The company’s statement continued: “We have so much to be proud of. We’ve worked on fantastic, ground-breaking projects with brilliant partners. And we want to thank our amazingly talented award-winning teams who day in, day out, strive to push creative boundaries with their innovative thinking and skill.”
The news follows the recent revelation that French animation and VFX giant Technicolor Group has collapsed as a result of “severe financial challenges,” while numerous other VFX giants struggle to stay afloat.
