Catalyst Entertainment of Toronto and u.k.-based partner The Britt Allcroft Group have bought into Toronto’s Phoenix Animation.

Catalyst ceo Charles Falzon will not disclose the cost of the acquisition or the level of Catalyst and Allcroft’s ownership of Phoenix, other than to say, ‘we own a considerable majority,’ and that ‘almost all the money is going to be invested in development and expansion of the company.’

The five-year-old traditional cel animation studio, run by producer Michael Hefferon, has so far done service production, including work for Kroyer Film’s Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest and Don Bluth’s Thumbelina, and some commercial work. Phoenix also produced the animation on Britt Allcroft’s Magic Adventures of Mumfie kids’ series.

Currently the studio is working on a Mumfie Christmas special for Fox and has a contract with mgm to do some work on All Dogs Go To Heaven, Part II. A couple of series and an animated feature for children, written by Hefferon and John Collins, are in development. Currently at the design stage, Hefferon hopes to be in preproduction on the feature by next year.

When asked what led to the sale to Catalyst, Hefferon says: ‘Although service work is important, I had started the company to do quality original material. Although that still might have happened, it could have been 10 years down the road before we had the backing to try to launch a theatrical feature or a series on our own. You can be as creative and talented as you want to be, but if you don’t have the money behind you, it just isn’t going to get made.’

Hefferon points to the measures other animation companies have taken to compete – Cinar and Nelvana going public, and the recent Paragon/Lacewood deal – as indications of how difficult it is for an independent to break into the producing side.

With Catalyst as its operating partner, Phoenix gains entry into the international market through Catalyst’s distribution arm, and u.s. representation via Catalyst’s l.a. office.

Falzon says he’s looking at bringing a higher profile to Phoenix, and embarking on more proprietary properties with an eye to making the company more recognizable as a supplier in the u.s.

Hefferon will handle the creative side, Catalyst the business side, which Hefferon says is another reason the deal happened: ‘It really wasn’t my interest to go out and try to put financing deals in place.’

Phoenix’s 9,000-square-foot studio, equipped with two full-service animation cameras – one of which is the only computerized multiplane camera in Canada – has the capacity to do up to three major projects simultaneously, depending on the freelance talent available.

Phoenix has a core staff of about a dozen, which will be beefed up to 50 or 60 this summer to handle the Mumfie special, All Dogs and development. And although Phoenix lost 12 animators in a Disney raid a year and a half ago, through its educational work co-op programs and reputation in the industry Hefferon says finding the talent has not been a problem.

The addition of computerized systems for painting is being considered as an ancillary area, as is offering computer animation. Since the focus has been long-format, Hefferon says he never actively sought out the commercial work that came to Phoenix, but if they do decide to tackle the commercial area, they would set up a commercial division and try to bring in jobs from outside Canada.

‘When I started the company, we never tried to take work away from another Canadian studio; we didn’t sit here dividing up the pie. We brought in projects that would not have been done here if we didn’t bring them in. That’s what we’re looking to continue to do – to expand the Canadian market, not take away from it.’

Catalyst senior vice-president Nancy Chapelle is ceo of the new alliance, now known as Phoenix Animation Studios. Still holding an equity position in the company (which also is not being disclosed, although Hefferon describes it as ‘substantial’), Hefferon, formerly president, becomes vice-president production and creative development. Collins remains director of animation.