Jan 24, 2024

Jellyfish Pictures Appoints "Nimona" VFX Supervisor Archie Donato as Managing Director of Animation

Jellyfish Pictures, an independent British VFX and animation studio, has appointed VFX veteran Archie Donato as its new managing director of animation. Donato had been the creative director of the animation department at Jellyfish since last September.

Donato joined Jellyfish from DNEG, where he served as VFX supervisor and later head of VFX, working on titles such as Netflix's Emmy-nominated series "Enter Galactic" and the Academy Award-nominated "Nimona." Donato previously worked for major VFX companies including Rhythm & Fuse, Industrial Light & Magic, and Technicolor. He also spent 16 years at DreamWorks, where he was CG lead on "Kung Fu Panda," lighting supervisor on "Rise of the Guardians" and CG supervisor on "Mr. Peabody & Sherman." In his new role, Donato will lead Jellyfish's senior creative, production, and operations teams on all animation productions.

David Patton, CEO of Jellyfish Pictures, told Deadline, which broke the news: "Archie is a great addition to our team. Archie's extensive experience in the industry and detailed understanding of animation creativity and production make him a perfect fit to lead our animation operations. Having a "creative" at the helm of our animation division not only demonstrates our commitment to putting creativity at the heart of our business, but also ensures that we realize our ambition to be the best creative partner for our animation clients. It also ensures our ambition to be the best creative partner for our animation clients. [I am thrilled to be named Managing Director of Animation at Jellyfish Pictures and look forward to helping the company grow its feature animation and episodic business. It is a tremendous honor and privilege to manage some of the most talented artists and production teams in the industry.

Jellyfish is currently working on animated adaptations of Roald Dahl's "Twits" and Curtis Jobling's "Wear World," as well as an untitled DreamWorks Animation feature.