Toonz starts Canadian operations

Thiruvananthapuram: Animation major Toonz Tuesday announced that it has set up its new production unit in Canada, Toonz Entertainment Global (TEG), in association with Mediabiz International, Canada. Toonz Entertainment Global aims to invest in projects worth $200 million in the next three years and will concentrate on producing both animation and live action properties, according to a press release issued by Toonz here. Toonz group CEO P. Jayakumar said the decision to set base in Canada stems from the growing co-operation between the North American production houses and Asian counterparts. "This will help leverage the cost arbitrage of Asia vis-à-vis the conducive production eco-system in Canada," Jayakumar said. The current projects that are in the pipeline include the iconic Speed Racer TV Series (Season 2) and HTDT, a TV series, both budgeted at $6.2 million. Founded in 1999, Toonz`s client list includes the biggest names in media and entertainment like Marvel, Hallmark, Paramount, Disney, BBC and Cartoon Network. It offers animation services like 3D animation, 2D animation, Flash, Stop Motion and VFX on a full spectrum of media platforms. IANS