Jellyfish Pictures, Animation Producer Of ‘Dog Man,’ Shuts Down Amid Industry Crisis

British animation company Jellyfish Pictures Ltd., which earlier this month paused all operations while “exploring all options for sale and investment,” is shutting down, part of the ongoing turmoil in the global animation and vfx industries.

In a statement earlier this month, the company blamed the “long-tail impact of Covid, coupled with rising costs and the fall-out from the writer and actor strikes” as the reason for its struggles.

The company’s remaining 69 workers are being laid off, with a handful remaining onboard temporarily to help wind down operations.

The company has appointed Howard Smith and Mike Pink of Interpath Advisory as the administrators to shut down the company. Smith said in a statement: “Sadly, this is the latest in a series of insolvencies across the animation and visual effects industry as studios up and down the country continue to battle fierce economic headwinds.”

The administrators will focus on selling Jellyfish’s assets, which include computer and audiovisual equipment.

The London-headquartered company was founded in 2001 and had studios in the U.K. and Mumbai, India. It most recently produced the animation for Dreamworks Animation’s Dog Man. It also produced animation for Dreamworks’ Spirit Untamed and parts of The Bad Guys and The Boss Baby: Family Business, as well as Netflix Animation’s upcoming The Twits.

On the vfx side, it provided services on numerous series, including high-profile titles like Black Mirror, The Book of Boba Fett, Gangs of London, and Watchmen, as well as features like Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and Solo: A Star Wars Story.