Mercury, Cartoon Saloon set up JV

Canada’s Mercury Filmworks and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon are teaming up to create a 2D-focused animation studio in Ireland.

Paul Young

Lighthouse Studios will set up in Kilkenny, where Cartoon Saloon is based, and will create 140 jobs by developing animated children’s and family television entertainment for global distribution.

The move comes almost three years after Mercury announced its intention to set up a studio in Dublin, although the plans never came to fruition.

Lighthouse Studios aims to announce development and production projects in the coming weeks, the company said.

The joint venture will operate separately to Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon, with its own management team that will report to a board of directors comprising executives from the two prodcos.

Cartoon Saloon has been twice nominated for an Academy Award and is also behind the preschool series Puffin Rock, which recently secured a new round of international broadcasters.

Mercury Filmworks, meanwhile, has worked on series such as Atomic Puppet, Mickey Mouse, Wander Over Yonder and Jake & the Never Land Pirates in the past.

“Ireland enjoys a number of advantages when it comes to animation. The industry is supported by a growing number of educational programmes and draws talent from all over Europe due to the quality of projects being produced here,” said Paul Young, CEO of Cartoon Saloon.

“The Irish talent pool has been spilling over into other parts of Europe and North America for years and we look forward to welcoming a lot of that talent home.”