Pearn returns home with new animation studio location
London is getting more animated
with Bron Studios. Its animation
department, Bron Animation,
moved to its new location on 717
Richmond Street. Animation director,
Kris Pearn, called the new
place “a nice cozy space to make
cartoons”.
Bron Animation is behind the two animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs films. Along with animation, Bron Studios is also known for live action films such as Birth of a Nation, Special Correspondents with Ricky Gervais and Hyena Road.
Pearn, who was born and raised outside of Delaware, a small town west of London, calls the Forest City home. He said while living in the U.S. for 15 years and Europe for three years, he always wanted to return home.
“You can take the kid out of Canada but you can’t take Canada out of the kid,” he said.
Pearn added that his family bought and live on a small farm in Wallacetown, Ontario after Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 finished up.
“I wanted to give my L.A.-raised kids a swipe at living in the cold barrens of the north before they grew all the way up,” he explained. “Bringing Bron to London is really a chance for me to live where I want to live, and do what I love to do: make movies.”
Dorothy Downs, the executive producer of the Forest City Film Festival, is excited about Bron Animation’s new home.
“We’ve got animation schools all over Southwestern Ontario. It’s a hotbed for it as far as education goes,” she said. “It’s nice to see that it’s being supported by jobs becoming available and we would really like to support it in the future.”
Arron Kramers, a Fanshawe student in the general arts and sciences- film major program and aspiring filmmaker, was surprised at first, but said that having an animation studio is what the city needs because it would provide new opportunities for the film community in London.
“Normally, the movies that we make are horror, thriller and drama.” Kramers explained, adding that with computer generated imagery (CGI) or anything else under the animation umbrella. “We can do something more than just those genres in particular.”
Kramers said he would also be interested in either producing an animated film or writing a screenplay for one.
Pearn explained that the London site is a preproduction facility recruiting designers and storytellers. He said that everyone else on the animation team, which he described as “the talented actors moving and emoting with the characters”, will work at the Burnaby site.
Although he said details of most of Bron’s future productions are “very hush hush” right now, Pearn said that his latest project as a director, an animated version of children’s book The Willoughbys will keep the company busy for at least two years.
He added that the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) has taught him about the related programs available at Fanshawe and Western, and he hopes that Bron will work with them eventually.
Pearn said he’s trained aspiring animators since 2001. He began teaching at Sheridan College in 2001 and then online via Schoolism, along with giving lectures at animation festivals around the world.
“I always love working with young people and I think training is a necessary pay back to the breaks and lucky opportunities we’ve all had who have made it in the business,” he said. “I sincerely hope to become part of the community and work with the schools to help give skills and opportunities to young talent.”
Bron Animation is behind the two animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs films. Along with animation, Bron Studios is also known for live action films such as Birth of a Nation, Special Correspondents with Ricky Gervais and Hyena Road.
Pearn, who was born and raised outside of Delaware, a small town west of London, calls the Forest City home. He said while living in the U.S. for 15 years and Europe for three years, he always wanted to return home.
“You can take the kid out of Canada but you can’t take Canada out of the kid,” he said.
Pearn added that his family bought and live on a small farm in Wallacetown, Ontario after Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 finished up.
“I wanted to give my L.A.-raised kids a swipe at living in the cold barrens of the north before they grew all the way up,” he explained. “Bringing Bron to London is really a chance for me to live where I want to live, and do what I love to do: make movies.”
Dorothy Downs, the executive producer of the Forest City Film Festival, is excited about Bron Animation’s new home.
“We’ve got animation schools all over Southwestern Ontario. It’s a hotbed for it as far as education goes,” she said. “It’s nice to see that it’s being supported by jobs becoming available and we would really like to support it in the future.”
Arron Kramers, a Fanshawe student in the general arts and sciences- film major program and aspiring filmmaker, was surprised at first, but said that having an animation studio is what the city needs because it would provide new opportunities for the film community in London.
“Normally, the movies that we make are horror, thriller and drama.” Kramers explained, adding that with computer generated imagery (CGI) or anything else under the animation umbrella. “We can do something more than just those genres in particular.”
Kramers said he would also be interested in either producing an animated film or writing a screenplay for one.
Pearn explained that the London site is a preproduction facility recruiting designers and storytellers. He said that everyone else on the animation team, which he described as “the talented actors moving and emoting with the characters”, will work at the Burnaby site.
Although he said details of most of Bron’s future productions are “very hush hush” right now, Pearn said that his latest project as a director, an animated version of children’s book The Willoughbys will keep the company busy for at least two years.
He added that the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) has taught him about the related programs available at Fanshawe and Western, and he hopes that Bron will work with them eventually.
Pearn said he’s trained aspiring animators since 2001. He began teaching at Sheridan College in 2001 and then online via Schoolism, along with giving lectures at animation festivals around the world.
“I always love working with young people and I think training is a necessary pay back to the breaks and lucky opportunities we’ve all had who have made it in the business,” he said. “I sincerely hope to become part of the community and work with the schools to help give skills and opportunities to young talent.”
