Heather Walker has purchased traditional 2D-toon studio Yowza! Animation from founder Claude Chiasson.

Chiasson – along with brother Roger – will continue to lead the Yowza! team creatively as Walker manages the business and related productions. Walker plans to sustain Yowza’s heritage of classical hand-drawn animation while also pursuing ToonBoom, Harmony and 3D projects in an effort to invigorate the Canadian company’s international reach.

Yowza’s clients include DreamWorks Features, Disney Features, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Nickelodeon.

Currently, the studio is working on a series for Nickelodeon (U.S.), storyboards for Cartoon Network (Middle East) and a number of 2D and 3D development tests and projects. Last year, Curious World acquired Yowza’s series Hippothesis (pictured).

Walker has worked as an executive producer and producer at various animation studios, including Nelvana, and has produced broadcast materials for ABC, NBC, CBC and BBC.

Yowza will be moving to a new 8,000 square-foot studio in Toronto’s Junction Triangle neighborhood. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In other Yowza news, Pete Denomme, who launched 3D animation and VFX company Yowza Digital with Chiasson in 2003, has partnered with Switch VFX. After parting ways with Chiasson in 2015, Denomme rebranded Yowza Digital as Switch Animation. The newly launched Switch VFX  & Switch Animation is a Toronto-based digital VFX and animation production studio.

From Kidscreed

Updated July 6 8:32 am