Mercury Filmworks: Marking a Milestone

Celebrating its 25th year in the animation industry, Mercury Filmworks has grown in a number of ways to position the company where it is today. “We went from trying to prove to the industry that hand-drawn, really high-end animation could be done in Toon Boom’s Harmony to not only proving it but actually going beyond that initial promise,” says Heath Kenny, chief content officer. “We’ve actually been able to push it beyond what anyone, including ourselves, expected to be able to do with that software, which then has given our community and the industry opportunities to do much more with 2D digital animation than what was expected.”

He says that it’s been inspiring, as someone who started out as a traditional 2D animator with paper and pencil, to see what the creative thinkers behind powerful software have been able to accomplish. “That was the bedrock, if you will, the base from which to grow, develop and mature, which allowed us to then find our voices as storytellers.”

Mercury Filmworks remains an agile and collaborative partner, producing acclaimed content such as the Emmy-, BAFTA- and Annie Award-winning Hilda for Netflix. “We’ve established ourselves as not only creative but incredibly reliable, very much well-rounded and mature partners that can take on complex, valuable problems for our clients and not only solve them but solve them in a way that protects them from collaboration chaos,” Kenny says. “That reassurance for third-party service work is a badge of honor that we’re proud to wear. We’re able to offer the full service, end to end; we will take care of your most valuable brands and properties, and we’ll deliver on those with a great deal of surety, a really solid firm hand.”

As that core business has expanded, Mercury Filmworks has built its originals strategy over the last two and a half years with projects such as Octicorn & Friends, Bunny McBee, A Mouse Called Julian, Tales of the Underwear Dragon and more. “We’ve embraced innovation and pushed into telling our own stories and inspiring our creators to step up and take a swing at creating their own characters and building the worlds they live in,” Kenny says.

“It’s been a pleasure to see people grow and develop, and we’ve had a very reassuring welcome from the marketplace as well,” he continues. “People are intrigued; they want to know more, and they want to collaborate with us. We’re building partnerships, and we continue to be trusted with book properties and originals from our community and beyond. That growth and trust from doing the work and really getting involved in process, projects and people has allowed us to start to have a genuine voice and a seat at the table when it comes to originals.”