Alison Mann Alison Mann

Veteran executive Alison Mann has partnered with management firm Fourth Wall Management to launch the production company Fourth Wall Animation. She will be co-president of the new venture, while serving as a manager at Fourth Wall Management.

Mann comes with two decades’ experience in animation and gaming. A specialist in recruitment, she was most recently vp of creative/strategy at Sony Pictures Animation, where her duties included fostering international talent and advising on films and series in development.

At Fourth Wall, Mann will work to identify IP, develop original content, and sign animation clients. The company was founded in 2016 by longtime UTA agent Jon Huddle. It has a solid roster of existing animation clients, including:

  • Trent Correy (Once Upon a Snowman)
  • Hamish Grieve (Rumble)
  • Jenn Kluska (Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
  • Meghan Malloy (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
  • Zach Parrish (Raya and the Last Dragon)
  • Aram Spencer Porter (We Bare Bears)
  • Ian Jones-Quartey (Steven Universe)
  • Pam Pettler (Corpse Bride)
  • Fergal Reilly (The Angry Birds Movie)
  • Stephanie Stine (Raya and the Last Dragon)
  • Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe)
  • Jeff Westbrook (The Simpsons)
  • Henry Yu (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation)

To that is added Mann’s own client list, which includes:

  • Jimmy Craig (The Secret Life of Pets)
  • Sophie Koko Gate (Slug Life)
  • John Hoffman (Luca)
  • Donna Lee (Raya and the Last Dragon)
  • Dan Serafin (The Thundermans)
  • Michelle Staphylas (Kung Fu Panda 3)
  • Olivier Staphylas (Abominable)

Before joining Sony, Mann worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Zynga, Disney Interactive, Paramount Animation, Illumination Entertainment, and Nickelodeon/MTV. Shows and films she has worked on include Spongebob Squarepants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, The Secret Life of Pets, Despicable Me, The Grinch, and Vivo.

She is also the co-founder and CEO of The Bric Foundation, which aims to improve employment opportunities for women and under-represented groups in entertainment, media, and tech.

Mann said in a statement:

Animation is an amazing medium and vessel for storytelling that we believe can support any type of narrative imagined. Instead of asking ourselves “Why is this animated?” we should be asking ourselves “Why is this not animated?” I am excited to join forces with Jon Huddle and Fourth Wall to start this animation production company to push the boundaries of this medium, not only in themes and story but in design.

The news about Mann’s new venture was first reported by Deadline.

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