Mercury Filmworks

Mercury Filmworks was founded in 1997 in Vancouver by Clint Eland, the current Chief Executive Officer. The studio started with a small investment from friends and family including Reg Eland, who became a partner overseeing finances from 1997 to 2002 and managing partner of the Vancouver studio from 2003 to 2006.  

In the late 1990s, technology was evolving to allow artists to paint and render images at a much faster pace and with greater and more consistent results. Mercury Filmworks was one of the first companies in North America to specialize in digital ink and paint services in Canada.  

In 2000, Mercury Filmworks opened a studio location on King Street East in Toronto to satisfy a multi-year output deal for its services. Meanwhile, in its Vancouver studio, they produced  D’Myna Leagues using digital ink & paint plus CG integration, creating the first Canadian animated television series to integrate 3D locations in a 2D series.

In 2004, Mercury Filmworks moved its Toronto studio to Ottawa where local animation director, Jerry Popowich, joined the company as a partner.[7]

Mercury Filmworks was already a leader in the field of computer assisted traditional animation. However, in its Ottawa studio with the help of people like Director Christian Larocque, Rob Buchanan, Anthony Ng, Dave Merrit, Phil Lafrance, Graham Macdonald, Emma Gignac, and Craig Berry, Mercury Filmworks leveraged this to become one of the first companies in the world to produce an animated television series entirely in one studio using the beta version of Toon Boom Animation’s Harmony software. Using this software, they produced the series' “Mischief City” for Shaftesbury Films and YTV.  

The following year, Mercury Filmworks animated “Gerald McBoing Boing”. This production was widely regarded as a new benchmark for quality in digital animation.  

In 2007, the studio developed and co-produced “Toot & Puddle” with National Geographic for Nick Jr. This was the first use of advanced builds and rigging techniques resulting in a level of animation that was indistinguishable from hand drawn. This series set the new world bar for digital animation. Toot & Puddle was also one of Mercury Filmworks’s first proprietary series.

In 2008, Mercury Filmworks collaborated with Disney Television Animation on the series' “Kick Buttowski Suburban Daredevil." The series was the first full television series project with Disney Television Animation and one of Mercury’s first hybrid productions where characters were animated interchangeably and indistinguishably in both 2D and 3D. The series was one of the first examples of character-based CG Assists in a long form series..  

The studio again collaborated with Disney Television Animation on “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” in 2009.The animation project pushed advanced builds and rigging techniques to a new level.  

From 2012 to this day, Mercury Filmworks animates “Mickey Mouse” heritage shorts and television specials for Disney Television Animation.[8] They collaborated with Disney Television Animation and Director Paul Rudish on the award-winning reinvention of Mickey Mouse. The shorts have been widely regarded as the new benchmark when it comes to making digital animation look indistinguishable from the highest quality hand drawn animation.  

In 2013, Mercury Filmworks produced “The Lion Guard” with Disney Television Animation. The Lion Guard is a television adaptation of the theatrical animated film “The Lion King”.  The series involved advanced builds and rigging and heavy use of CG integration techniques for character and location assists. The Lion Guard set the standard for feature quality animation in long form television animation.

Two years later, the studio produced “Tangled the Series” with Disney Television Animation. A television adaptation of the theatrical animated film “Tangled”. The production methodologies used in the production were built upon the innovative techniques developed for The Lion Guard, and pushed animation and character performance levels to a new high.

Mercury Filmworks produced “Hilda” for Silvergate Media and Netflix in 2017. Hilda is one of the first series that didn’t push the bar in terms of process or technology. The artists involved focused on art, craft, and storytelling. The series has gone on to critical acclaim and is one of Netflix’s best and most successful animated series.  It is widely referenced as a benchmark in storytelling.

Lighthouse Studios

• Official website
• Mercury Filmworks at IMDb