TORONTO — Production company Boat Rocker Media announced Wednesday it’s acquiring Ottawa-based animation studio Jam Filled Entertainment, as Boat Rocker looks to grow its family and kids content through strategic investments, the company said.
Known for 2D animation content, Jam Filled is a service animation studio whose work has been used on Nickelodeon’s The Loud House series and The Bagel and Becky Show, a new series produced by Radical Sheep, the family content arm of Boat Rocker. Jam Filled also created the animated series Numb Chucks for YTV and has several other projects in development with broadcasters, Boat Rocker said in a news release announcing the acquisition.
Jam Filled’s founding partners, president Kyle Mac Dougall and creative directors Jamie Leclaire and Phil Lafrance, will retain their current titles and remain with the company in key leadership roles. With more than 150 animators and artists currently on staff, Jam Filled will continue to operate under its current banner and will report to Boat Rocker Media’s CEO, John Young. Boat Rocker’s strategy is to grow the studio’s current 2D animation capacity while expanding its capabilities into high-quality 3D animation, the company said.
“Boat Rocker has made strategic investments in the family and animation space and the acquisition of Jam Filled will enable the studio to round out its abilities in 2D and 3D animation to develop even stronger, premium content,” said Boat Rocker Media’s co-executive chairmen, David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, in the news release.
“Jam Filled, with its founders Kyle, Jamie and Phil, are renowned in the industry for their high-quality work, attention to detail and integrity, but most of all, their creativity. They mirror Boat Rocker’s ideals and we are thrilled to welcome them aboard,” Fortier and Schneeberg said.
Jam Filled president Kyle Mac Dougall was quoted in the news release as saying: “Joining forces with Boat Rocker Media creates opportunities for Jam Filled to do more of what we love: make great animated content. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished up to this point and, with this partnership, we’ll have the resources to expand the Jam Filled brand at an accelerated rate.”
