TORONTO — Corus Entertainment announced today it has signed a development agreement with L.A.-based Duncan Studio to produce original animated feature films for the global market.
Under the terms of the agreement, Corus’ Nelvana kids content producer and distributor will invest in the development of new animated content created by Duncan’s in-house production division Duncan Originals as well as from Nelvana’s library of children’s IP, and from select third-party properties, says the press release announcing the collaboration between the two companies.
The first title to be developed under the agreement is Mother Nature, a character-driven, action-adventure feature film created by Duncan Studio founder Ken Duncan. The CG-animated film is a richly layered sci-fi fantasy set in a futuristic society and explores its relationship to the natural world, says the release.
“Our passion for bringing great stories to life is shared equally with our long-standing goal of expanding into animated feature films,” said Doug Murphy, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment. “We are excited to embark upon this new agreement and to leverage the acclaimed creative talents of Duncan Studio together with Nelvana’s robust portfolio of timeless, world-renowned animated characters and stories.”
“As Duncan Studio continues to imagine and develop new and exciting ideas and projects, our new relationship with Corus Entertainment provides the resources, scope and scale to make our creative vision a reality. As a Canadian myself, this deal is especially significant, having begun my career as an animator at Nelvana. We are thrilled to work together as we develop this slate of original films,” said Duncan.
