Rodeo FX Grows Original Animation Ambitions, Hires New Exec To Head Division

Montreal-based Rodeo FX, a vfx shop known for its work on projects like Stranger Things season four, The Witcher season two, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is expanding its efforts to create original stories and animation projects.

The company announced today that it has appointed Marie Amiot, co-founder and CEO of Montreal-based creative arts school FACTRY, as its new head of strategic development for animation IP.

Here’s what we know about Rodeo’s plans to move into the animation space:

• Amiot will be tasked with developing and expanding the company’s burgeoning animation division. The studio has recently been creating short films that it developed internally, including the TIFF-premiering short film Canary (trailer below) and the short-form series Itchy the Camel.
• “Our aim is to produce inspiring and distinctive, original stories that resonate with the public,” Rodeo FX CEO and founder Sebastien Moreau said in a statement. “Our animation department is ready for the next phase, both in terms of business growth and creative output. Marie truly represents the impulsion we need to bring to life what has been growing for the past few years.’
• Amiot co-founded FACTRY, a Montreal-based educational hub for creative workers that offers individual classes, youth programs, and private training for companies. Prior to founding the institution, Amiot worked for the poverty-reduction non-profit Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon and ad agency Sid Lee.
• In a statement, Amiot said, “I am extremely enthusiastic about diving into the world of animation. It is a medium with limitless potential and unparalleled creative freedom. My goal will be to bring Rodeo’s ambition to life, find our unique signature in animation, in sync with the original DNA that distinguishes Rodeo.”
• Rodeo FX is independently owned and employs nearly 900 people across locations in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Paris. Recently released projets include Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Little Mermaid, and Love, Death and Robots Volume 3, for which the company won a 2023 VES award.