Princess Pictures has purchased Dublin-based Boulder Media from Hasbro as part of a move to expand its production services capacity and start developing Irish projects.
Established in 2000, Boulder Media is one of Ireland’s most prolific animation studios, having worked on My Little Pony (Paramount Pictures/Netflix), RTE’s Memento Mori, Danger Mouse for Fremantle, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy and Transformers: Cyberverse for eOne, and Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball.
Princess Pictures managing director Emma Fitzsimons said the company had welcomed a studio that “boasts not only first-class artists but also kindred spirits that share our sense of humour and passion for great stories”.
“Boulder Media has an established reputation in kids’ animation production and we’re going to add a new focus – being prime-time adult comedy production,” she said.
Previous animation projects from Princess Pictures include Adult Swim’s Yolo: Crystal Fantasy and ABC’s Koala Man, both created by Michael Cusack.
Last year, the company announced it had deepened its relationship with the Fox Entertainment-owned Bento Box Entertainment, jointly launching animation venture Princess Bento Studio in Melbourne to provide production services for its own and third-party projects, such as Smiling Friends for Adult Swim.
Boulder managing director Jenni MacNeaney expected the “synergetic relationship” with Princess to open up new opportunities while amplifying its creative offering in the market.
“We are delighted to become part of the Princess Pictures group,” she said.
“It’s an exciting step forward in building the Boulder brand, one that values the great work we’ve produced over the last 22 years while setting us up for future success.”
Fitzsimons said there was already “some great shows in the pipeline” for the company.
“We’re very much looking forward to growing the Boulder Media business and to start creating new projects,” she said.
“Look out for hiring announcements for both Boulder Media and our Australian studio soon.”