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Snells Beach has been nicknamed ‘Snellywood’ in the media and local playgrounds after animation studio Huhu picked up a major multi-film deal.
International media report a group of companies in China, New Zealand and Canada have committed $800 million to produce 17 films in the next eight years.
Beast of Burden will be the first collaborative production on a 3D animated feature film between NZ and China. It is expected to cost $20 million and take two years to produce, increasing jobs and international visitors in Snells Beach.
While Huhu are staying tight-lipped about the details and their studios are hidden behind security gates, they are excited about the possibilities.
Lead producer David Townsend says it comes after 17 years of hard work. Huhu Studios is the longest running specialist 3D animation studio in NZ.
“We are all very excited and tentatively taking the next steps to what we hope is going to be an amazing future,” Mr Townsend says.
He says the term ‘Snellywood’ seems to be catching on.
“I went to pick up my children from school and the whole playground was chanting ‘Snellywood’. It’s early days, but we’d love for Snells Beach and the area to blossom and be blessed by what we are doing here.”
He says the 30 full-time staff at Snells Beach includes animators, concept artists, modellers, rigging, texturing, lighting and technical teams.
“It has been fun to be here while it’s small and we definitely want to maintain that culture, family feel, and genuine care of our staff, as we grow.
“We love being part of the community and artists love working here because of the lifestyle.”
A proposed China-New Zealand co-production between China Film Animation and Huhu Studios, Beast of Burden is written and directed by Kirby Atkins (Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron). Kirby wrote the script nearly two decades ago, and Huhu brought it to life with a trailer last year.
Mr Townsend said as soon as they finished the trailer people could see it was going to be an amazing film.
“A picture tells a thousand words, and a moving picture tells a thousand pictures.”
Beast of Burden is about creatures called Thoriphant forced into a life of servitude to humankind. They discover they once walked upright and had hands.
It will be produced by Trevor Yaxley, chief executive of Huhu Studios and Jun Huang, president and chief executive of China Film Animation, a subsidiary of China’s largest state-run film enterprise China Film Group Corp. It was announced at the Beijing Film Festival in April, and has financial backing from Qi Tai Culture Development Group.
Mr Yaxley said in a statement that it was the beginning of a close relationship for many years to come.
“We are delighted about the process of joining the best of the China animation industry with the best of the New Zealand animation industry.”
Huhu Studios is headed up in Snells Beach and has additional studios in Taipei and Beijing, specialising in 2D and 3D animation. For the past six years they have worked closely with China-based clients, delivering animated movies, long form TV series, advertising, TV commercials, theme park designs and consultation.
