Spirit Untamed Spirit Untamed

Independent U.K. vfx and animation studio Jellyfish Pictures has opened its first location in India and has placed Jasjit Singh in charge as general manager of the new Mumbai outfit. The studio expects to have more than 100 artists working at the location by the end of the year.

Jellyfish is only the latest player to set up shop in India. The territory has seen an increase in both vfx and animation production over the past several years and the local market has proved extremely interested in animated content. India’s government has taken notice and is backing an ambitious growth plan for animation, vfx, and video game production.

In 2022, broadcaster Sony Yay! announced it would be getting into original animation and Qyou Media launched a dedicated adult animation channel. Disney has found success in the territory with local animated fare and opened a new ILM animation/vfx studio in Mumbai.

Jellyfish Mumbai details:

  • Jellyfish was founded in 2001 and launched Jellyfish Animation in Brixton in 2014 with the series Floogals. That same year, the company won its first Emmy for its art direction and graphic design work on Your Inner Fish. In 2019, Jellyfish moved into feature animation, teaming with Dreamworks on Spirit Untamed. The studio has seen impressive growth over the past several months and has already hired more than 220 new artists since the beginning of 2023.
  • Over the years, Jellyfish has provided vfx and animation services for numerous major titles including How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming, Stranger Things, and several Star Wars films and series.
  • The company’s expansion into India comes after it recently embarked on a large-scale restructuring of its leadership team with a series of executive appointments made last November.
  • The new unit will be helmed by Jasjit, a former senior producer at DNEG-owned Redefine with more than 15 years of experience in the field.
  • Said Singh: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to become part of the Jellyfish Pictures family. The company culture and ethics create a great place to work, and I anticipate an exciting and fast-paced future ahead of us!”
  • Jellyfish CEO David Patton added: “We will soon have over 500 creatives working for Jellyfish Pictures around the world. Given that India is home to so many fantastic vfx and animation artists, it makes perfect sense for us to set up a base in Mumbai to ensure we are able to work closely with the very best of this incredible talent. We anticipate that we’ll have over 100 Jellyfish Pictures artists working in Mumbai by the end of the year, supported by our next-generation production platforms.”

Pictured at top: Spirit Untamed

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Jamie Lang

Jamie Lang is the Editor-in-Chief of Cartoon Brew.