‘Wakfu’ Creator Ankama Expands Scope With Minority Stake in French Animation Studio InTheBox
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ankama, the French company behind the cult favorite adult animated feature “Mutafukaz” and video game franchises such as “Dofus” and “Wakfu,” has acquired a minority stake in Inthebox, a thriving Annecy-based animation studio.
The alliance will allow Ankama to “fast-track its production pipeline and benefit from Inthebox’s expertise with different techniques, such as 3D animation,” Ankama’s co-founder Anthony Roux told Variety in a conversation with Inthebox’s co-founders Mathieu Marin and Madjid Chamekh (pictured). “Even if they also do 2D and stop-motion projects, they have a know-how in 3D which we don’t have,” Roux continued.
Roux said that working with 3D animation opens many doors that are no longer accessible to 2D projects. “In France, there are still people working in 2D but as soon as you want to make a bit of money or be slightly more commercial it has to be in 3D,” Roux said, adding that even “Netflix will pay more for 3D animated projects because they have found that kids are more engaged than when watching 2D content.” InTheBox has a track record spanning from TV series to movies and commercials.
The banner recently worked on Jim Capobianco’s (“Ratatouille)’s “The Inventor” for which it created 350 shots in 3D vfx, as well as rotoscoping tracking and compositing; and “Even Mice Belong in Heaven,” a stop-motion puppet animation combining with 3D and CGI which earned nominations at the Cesar and European Film Awards.
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