Media in Ireland is buzzing with excitement for the recent new expansion of Boulder Media Studio which was bought by Hasbro last year to expand their entertainment service capacity.
Speaking to the media, the company stated that they are working on new content for several Hasbro franchises, namely Transformers, Littlest Pet Shop and Micronauts.
“At Hasbro, we are very fortunate to have an extraordinarily robust brand portfolio, and we’re excited to be working with the team at Boulder to bring our brands to life through storytelling for more audiences through more platforms than ever before,” said Stephen Davis, executive vice president and chief content officer, Hasbro, Inc. “As we build our storytelling capabilities across TV, film, digital and social media, we’re looking to add talented, passionate, perpetually curious crew to our award-winning team of animators.”
The Studio’s expansion will support a growing slate of entertainment around Hasbro brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP and MICRONAUTS, as well as animated series on behalf of third-party clients.
It was not disclosed to the press regarding what exactly they are working on. It could either be a brand new animated series or a future season/follow-up or a spin-off to the current Robots In Disguise cartoon series on CN. It can even be Rescue Bots.
A new Transformers animated series was on the pipeline since the early days of the Hasbro acquisition. At the moment Polygon Pictures is working on RID while Rescue Bots (by multiple studios) is on hiatus.
Check out the full Press Release, after the jump.
Boulder Media Significantly Expands Dublin Animation Studio With Additional Crew And New Space
DUBLIN and PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Boulder Media, which was acquired in 2016 by Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), is adding several new animation positions to its operations in Dublin. To house the expanded team, Boulder Media will be relocating to a larger studio space in the summer.
The Studio, which currently employs a crew of 160, is ramping up its hiring significantly to support its growing production pipeline. Boulder Media is currently recruiting for positions in conceptual design, 2D and 3D animation, as well as animated CG feature film.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled about the opportunities we can offer our crew,” said Robert Cullen, creative director, Boulder Media. “We’re bringing to life some of the world’s most famous and popular brands here in Dublin. It’s unique and very special both for our studio and the local industry.”
The Studio’s expansion will support a growing slate of entertainment around Hasbro brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP and MICRONAUTS, as well as animated series on behalf of third-party clients.
“At Hasbro, we are very fortunate to have an extraordinarily robust brand portfolio, and we’re excited to be working with the team at Boulder to bring our brands to life through storytelling for more audiences through more platforms than ever before,” said Stephen Davis, executive vice president and chief content officer, Hasbro, Inc. “As we build our storytelling capabilities across TV, film, digital and social media, we’re looking to add talented, passionate, perpetually curious crew to our award-winning team of animators.”
Speaking about the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor T.D said, “This is a great announcement for Boulder Media and is an important next step for the Dublin operation in terms of the scope, scale and intensity of activity at the studio. This expansion will allow for future job growth and increase the numbers of films produced by this Company. I wish all the team the very best at this exciting time for the company.”
Hasbro is a client of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
Commenting on the expansion, Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said, “The expansion adds critical mass to a thriving Irish animation sector, further highlighting Ireland’s place as one of the most dynamic and creative hubs in the world.”
Interested parties can view available positions at www.bouldermedia.tv; or email [email protected].
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play Experiences. From toys and games to television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands, including NERF, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, LITTLEST PET SHOP and MAGIC: THE GATHERING. The Company’s Hasbro Studios and its film label, Allspark Pictures, are building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Through its commitment to corporate social responsibility and philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to make the world a better place for children and their families. Learn more at www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro & @HasbroNews) and Instagram (@Hasbro).
About Boulder Media
About Boulder
Boulder Media is a multi-award winning Irish animation company based in Dublin. One of Ireland’s largest animation studios, it has produced many great shows for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, BBC and Disney, including Wander Over Yonder for Disney, and Go Jetters and Danger Mouse for BBC. Learn more at www.bouldermedia.tv/.
jamarmiller
wish they would have him do prowl or sideswipe then in cyberverse.
Scaleface
At TFcon Michael Bell mentioned he was voicing a villain in the Micronauts series.
kaijuguy19
The reason why Samurai Jack's popular is not just the minimalist style it's the way they've used it that makes the series so unique even to this day. It's also used to show themes in each episode and to prove a point in them. There's a reason why it won awards back then.
Also am I the only one tired of the argument that every other animation style that isn't 2D is lifeless? Like others said in the thread when used right all animation styles are excellent in their own way so I don't see why Flash animation's any different.
ScientistMan
Yeah, but that's all we have to go on at this point.
Purple Heart
Like wtf is this thread? Halo is being called "grimdark ninjitzu" and FHFIF is being called "complete and uttershit"? And people are dissing on an animation company who's current show used every type of animation.
bellpeppers
Maybe the next Transformers show should be performed in
Sock Puppet Theater
Feralstorm
I think little can really be inferred about a potential TF show from the studio's previous work, as they draw their art and animation style from the show creator(s), and Gumball is pretty much every animation style in existence in one show.
RKillian
Foster's used a paper doll style as a cost saver. Compared to traditional animation, it's lifeless. Plus, I never went through the imaginary friend phase so I had no personal connection to it.
Now, Clone Wars? His minimalist style worked for a comedy like Dexter. Slapped onto an action cartoon 2 minutes at a time, not so much. Oh, I know, Samurai Jack, but artsy for the sake of artsy is not a selling point for everybody. And then there's the prequel aspect of it. Some people get off on Halo grimdark bad ass trooper space ninjitsu. I don't. It took a throwaway background detail from the original movies and turned it into cookie cutter filler. You're welcome to like it but it did absolutely nothing for me.
Megastar
What is wrong with you!?
RKillian
I like Gumball for what it is but Foster's was completely uninteresting. Tartakovsky's Clone Wars was also beyond overrated. It merely benefited from Episode 1's massive hype machine.
Jochimus
Haven't seen enough of the other two to judge, but Gumball's like a regular thing for me.
Rodimus
Supposedly 3D is cheaper, at least that's the myth. But lest we forget how expensive the hardware and labor is to have tools powerful enough to sculpt, rig, and animate fluently with such high demands. But I digress. It's not the flash animation that's so bad, it's the choice to just scribble a shape and call it a character no matter how ugly it is. I remember in the 1st grade getting books about drawing cartoons and they were the most primitive books you can find designed for 6 years olds like me at the time and they all had these same shapes in their dumbed down style to teach 5 and 6 year olds how to draw. Meanwhile you could go turn on the TV and find really cool looking cartoons on TV that adults drew and animated and many still think about fondly today. There's even young kids in modern day going to go on YouTube to admire what they missed as opposed to what they're being force fed today. I see them in the comments section all the time.
But to each their own. If it's going to be the Cartoon Network cheap scribble style, then this most certainly be ignored by yours truly. To me that is just pure laziness to draw that way. Transformers isn't a comedy where it can get way with that kind of lazy, cheap, style.
Shepard Prime
The reason why 2D animation isn't as popular has nothing to do with FLash animation. Good, hand drawn 2D is more expensive to do (according to studios at least). Why do you think there's been such a huge uptick in CG animation? Pixar proved that you could do really good CG animation when you know what you're doing (which, when CG animation was in it's infancy, that definitely was not the case) and it caught on.
Going back to Flash animation, there's no inherent badness in the animation. It's a tool, just like CG and 2D. It's all up to the individual creatives to make good or bad use of it. So let's say we wait to see what they do with the toon before we start denouncing it's going to be horrible, yeah?
Rodimus
If that poster is any indication of how they draw their animation characters, I\'m afraid for Transformers. At some point when you just draw scribly blobs without any care for the actual aesthetic and somewhat of a realistic style, the brand will either flop or have drastically lowered standard. The style of just drawing random odd ball shapes and using flash animation is pure shit. Pardon the language. I don\'t use profanity much but that\'s the simplest and most honest way to put it. It\'s one of the contributing factors that 2D animation is no longer popular in western civilization. Because when all you have is pure garbage being made these days, no one is going to want to buy it and every one is going to go for the 3D.
I hate being so negative, but that\'s just how I see it. And I\'m actaully in a really good mood at the moment. If this is what I think it is, consider it to be ignored.
At this point Transformers might need it\'s own anime series to get anything good in 2D animation.
SpectrumBelle
WOY is actually pretty decent.
kaijuguy19
Wait what? I'm sorry but those three shows you've mentioned are anything but garbage at least for me. They've proven to make pretty compelling stories and characters in those shows and Gumball has shown that it can do wonders when it comes to exploring different animation styles.
Spin-Out
I mean, I hate it when Flash/Toon Boom is used for TV shows (because of all the terrible Flash shows made in Canada over the last decade and a half), but all three of those are pretty good IMO. The first two especially – Craig McCracken is awesome, and Lauren Faust helped out on Foster's. Of course, I like the stuff Genndy Tartakovsky's made more than Craig's, but… Genndy made Samurai Jack and 2003 Clone Wars. Those shows are two of the best action cartoons made
Of course, the best Flash cartoon is this one, but it's not a TV show. Still, I never get tired of Homestar Runner.
Shepard Prime
I was with you until you mentioned Gumball. Don't be dissin' Gunball, man. Plus, if they went and did another Animated-style cartoon, they wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice for that as the animation will at least be fluid.
TyrantGalvatron
After doing a little research on Boulder Studios, I'm concerned about this future Transformers cartoon they're apparently working on.
Boulder is the studio that does such pure and utter shit as "Wonder Over Yonder", "Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends", and "The Amazing World of Gumball"
Spin-Out
YES.