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ON Animation Studio, the new Montréal studio for France-based ON Entertainment, will focus on producing world-calibre animated films. “The new studio gives us a foothold in North America and provides us with the resources we need to ramp up production and extend our reach,” said Thierry Pasquet, Co-founder of ON Entertainment . “On top of the tax incentives, Montréal’s large talent pool was another main reason we’re opening a studio here. The city’s drawing power was a decisive factor: Montréal has a strong ecosystem, and it’s a great place to live.”

Representing a capital investment of $12.2 million, the project will create roughly 300 animation jobs in Montréal over the next three years. ON Animation Studio already employs some 20 people, and its first production project, an animated movie featuring Playmobil characters, is already in the works. The studio plans to employ about a hundred people by the end of 2016 and reach its cruising speed by late 2017.

ON Entertainment was able to carry out the project thanks to funding from the Québec government, which extended a $2.44-million loan through Investissement Québec.

The Montréal facility is ON Entertainment’s only production studio. Until now, the company outsourced all its film production. The movies The Little Prince and Mune: The Guardian of the Moon were made in Montréal in partnership with a local studio. With its new facility, ON Entertainment hopes to increase its pace of production to one movie every two years. All will be produced in Montréal.