MONTREAL, Nov. 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toon Boom Animation announced today a technology collaboration agreement with The SPA Studios for their hybrid animated feature film currently in development and slated for theatrical release in 2019. Klaus is the latest animated feature film project by Sergio Pablos, co-creator of Despicable Me. Klaus is an animated comedy set at Christmas time and will be a heartfelt family movie for all ages.
Toon Boom will work with The SPA Studios to integrate their flagship product Toon Boom Harmony™. Harmony will give the production the visually beautiful imagery required for Klaus. Toon Boom will work with The SPA Studios to push their pipeline to new heights by building innovative tools that will enable them to execute their story vision until final production. Harmony will be the primary animation software used for the production and The SPA Studios’ creative and technical teams will work closely with Toon Boom to create the highest quality of animation design and style.
“The trailer for Klaus is already seen as a game changer for the animation industry,” states Francisco Del Cueto, CTO at Toon Boom Animation. “We are very excited to be working with The SPA Studios to build a new generation of animation tools that will help define a new benchmark for animation quality and style.”
Klaus includes many innovative techniques including complex, interactive lighting and the use of advanced texturing capabilities.
“The studio is using a hybrid technique to create visuals; we do not see this project as simply another 2D animated film. Our goal was to find solutions to overcome the technical limitations which prevented us from achieving a traditional and classic animated style,” said Pablos, Director of The SPA Studios. “We’re just getting started, but the possibilities are very exciting. And, if your intention is to put something that feels hand-crafted on the screen, there’s no shorter path than starting from a hand-crafted medium.”
Pablos will be at CTN Expo in Burbank, California on November 21, 2015. In a featured event, Pablos will provide a sneak peek into the art and techniques used in the Klaus teaser trailer. CTN Expo brings together the top professionals from both the traditional and digital worlds of animation. Now in its seventh year, CTN is a resource for education, employment, inspiration and business opportunities for anyone in the animation industry.
About The SPA Studios
Sergio Pablos founded The SPA Studios in Madrid, Spain. The studio focuses on offering the highest quality animation for clients, such as Universal, Blue Sky, Warner and Disney. They also develop original stories for feature animation movies, such as the box office hit Despicable Me. Klaus will be the first animated feature to be directed and produced by Pablos.
About Sergio Pablos
Sergio Pablos’s career includes credits as Supervising Animator for the following Disney titles: Tarzan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Treasure Planet, just to name a few. Pablos’s work has led him to be nominated twice for the Annie Awards—for his character design work on Rio (Fox Pictures) and for character animation on Treasure Planet (Disney). For more information, visit: thespastudios.com.
About Toon Boom Animation
Toon Boom Animation Inc.’s award-winning software is the global standard for 2D animation and storyboarding. Toon Boom solutions provide everyone from enthusiasts to professionals with the artistic freedom to create in any style and efficiently publish anywhere. Customers include Bento Box Entertainment, Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Fox Television Animation, Mercury Filmworks, Nelvana and The Spa Studios. For more information, visit: toonboom.com.
Copyright © 2015 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved. Toon Boom is a registered trademark and Harmony and the Toon Boom logo are trademarks of Toon Boom Animation Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.