Viva Kids Snags Stake In ‘Inspector Sun’ Producer 3 Doubles

LA-Based Viva Kids has acquired a minority stake in Canary Islands-based animation studio 3 Doubles Producciones.

Under the terms of the deal, Viva will have the option to acquire a majority share in 3 Dobles after two years.

The two companies have a strong working relationship and Viva will be releasing 3 Doubles’ latest feature Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow in U.S. theaters on October 13. Inspector Sun, a family-friendly film twist on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, just screened out of competition at this year’s Annecy Festival.

More details:

• Based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an increasingly important hot spot for European animation production, 3 Doubles specializes in both 2d and cg animation. It was founded in 2017 by Darío Sánchez, a long-time veteran of the animation and video game industries whose credits include producer on the cg-animated series Momonsters for RTVE in Spain, executive producer on the indie animated feature Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope, and production manager on Nella the Princess Knight for Nickelodeon.
• 3 Doubles upcoming pipeline includes cg-animated features Norbert, 200% Wolf, Superklaus, and Giants of La Mancha.
• In 2020, Ignacio Navas, owner of the Madrid-based video game developer MercurySteam, and José Ángel Olmo, founder of the Aliot Innovation financing agency, became partners at 3 Doubles.
• Viva senior VP of operations Laura Prieto will join 3 Doubles’ board as a member and acting secretary. Sánchez will continue as CEO and Navas as president.
• Speaking to Variety, which broke the news, Viva president Victor Elizalde said: “This new acquisition allows Viva the ability to produce animated films in-house whilst exposing 3 Doubles to a wider set of customers. This natural next step in continuing to produce and distribute animated content globally is a true win-win scenario for both companies.”
• Sanchez added, “We are very proud and satisfied with the agreement reached with Viva Kids. This agreement represents an important boost for our company and it will allow us to strengthen our technological capabilities and continue to develop high-quality and entertaining projects.”