Red Kite And Once Were Farmers Combine To Form New Studio In Scotland

The Scottish animation studios Red Kite Animation and Once Were Farmers have joined forces to launch a new production company, Wild Child Animation.

Here are the plans for the studio.

• Wild Child will produce content and animation services for both the U.K. and international marketplaces. It is formed as a 50/50 complementary joint venture between the two existing studios, and will remain in Scotland.
• Red Kite’s Sueann Rochester and Ken Anderson will, respectively, become managing director and director of exploration and discovery at Wild Child. Once Were Farmers’s Will Adams and Rory Lowe will both be creative directors. Ron Henry will join the new company as director of operations and Michael McKiernan will be finance director.
• Launched in 1997, Red Kite has developed and produced a range of films and series aimed at younger audiences. Its portfolio includes the series Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and Wendy, as well as last year’s feature Princess Emmy. Its properties have aired on networks including the BBC, France Televisions, ZDF, Canal+, ABC, Disney XD, Teletoon, The Hub, Channel 9 Australia, and Cartoon Network.



• Once Were Farmers was set up in 2002, and has offices in both Scotland and England. It produces digital design, motion graphics, animation, visual effects, and live action film for an international client base. As well as providing services for a wide range of commercials, the company makes its own short films — it won a BAFTA Scotland award for its 2018 short Widdershins.
• According to Kidscreen, Henry had been working as a consultant for both companies before joining Wild Child. He was previously CEO at The Flying Circus, a cg animation studio based in South Africa, and a partner at British production company Perplexia Pictures.
• In a statement, Rochester said, “Having worked together co-developing previous projects, we realised that the combination of Once Were Famers’s creative skills and Red Kite’s production expertise was a natural fit. Our complementary skill sets will accelerate our expansion and increase our impact at an international level.”
• The Scottish animation industry is still small compared to England’s (and particularly London’s). But it’s growing, and starting to consolidate its talent network through events like Move Summit, which returns to Edinburgh this month for its fourth edition.