Cinesite has announced that it has purchased a majority stake in the Canadian animation house, Squeeze, which created the Marvel Studios Disney+ animated series, “What If?” and the popular TV show “Cracké”.

No financial details about the acquisition were announced. One of the co-founders, Denis Doré, will be staying on as a leader.

Squeeze is an internationally renowned and award-winning animation studio in Quebec City and Montreal. Co-founded by Denis Doré and Patrick Beaulieu in 2011, and backed by a passionate creative team of almost 150, the studio develops larger-than-life characters through the magic of 3D animation. Squeeze works with companies including Disney, Marvel, Universal, Illumination, Warner, and Ubisoft, to name a few.

The studio also produces its own original creations, including its hit brand Cracké which has aired in over 210 countries and territories and has garnered over 325 million views on various digital platforms, including Tencent in China, since launching in 2016.

In a statement, Cinesite Group CEO Antony Hunt said:

“Squeeze is a fantastic addition. Not only for its successful original IP Cracké and for its world-class animation portfolio, but also for its mocap capabilities and scale, and the opportunity to further enhance a dynamic Montreal-based hub for the Cinesite group as a rapidly growing family entertainment powerhouse.”

Squeeze co-founder Denis Doré added:

“I’m very pleased to see Squeeze join a leading group like Cinesite, we share a common vision of creation and commercialisation of original animation content and, most importantly, fundamental values such as excellence, humility and integrity. Besides helping us strengthen our leadership position with our entertainment elite partners, this alliance will benefit our talented artists so they can deliver bigger-than-life character performances.”

The Cinesite Group has studios around the world and has worked on many of Marvel’s films, including “Avengers: Endgame”, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Captain Marvel”.  It was revealed at last month’s San Diego Comic-Con, that the second season of “What If?” will be coming to Disney+ in early 2023 and a third season has also been greenlight.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

View all posts