VFX/Animation Studio Tippett Expands Into Canada (EXCLUSIVE)

Berkeley, California-based visual effects and animation production company Tippett Studio, helmed by two-time Oscar winner Phil Tippett, is expanding into Canada with its first satellite office in Toronto, which will be called Tippett Canada.

The company’s recent projects include “The Book of Boba Fett,” Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” Marvel Studio’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” all three on Disney+, and Season 2 of “Locke and Key” on Netflix.

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Tippett’s Toronto operation, which will house a fully functioning post-production studio, will be headed by Gary Mundell, president of Tippett Canada, and current COO of Tippett Studio. Tippett Canada will be servicing clients including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Disney, Showtime, New Line and Legendary, including “The Toxic Avenger.”

Projects in production include “The Orville” Season 3, “Black Adam” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on Showtime.

Canadian-born Mundell was promoted from head of production to COO of Tippett Studio in January. As head of production and executive producer on a range of projects, he has managed teams of more than 200 people with budgets of up to $100 million.

“Now is the perfect time for us to establish a permanent presence in Canada, which has emerged as a critical hub for the design and development of high-end media,” said Sanjay Das, CEO of Tippett Studio. “Our new studio will serve our marquee clients and strengthen Tippett Studio’s position as one of the world’s leading creators of animation, VFX and location-based experiences.”

Courtesy of Tippett Studio

“The talent base in Toronto is high. I look forward to growing this team over the next few months,” Mundell said.

Phil Tippett was behind iconic characters such as Jabba the Hut and the Rancor Monster in “Return of the Jedi,” the Tauntauns and Wampa in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the Raptor and T-Rex stop-motion puppets in “Jurassic Park,” and the ED-209 from “Robocop.”

He won Oscars for “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi,” and was nominated for “Starship Troopers,” “DragonHeart,” “Willow” and “Dragonslayer.” He won Emmys for “Dinosaur!” and “The Ewok Adventure.”

His film “Mad God,” which will be released on Shudder in the U.S. on June 16, world premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and was showcased at other festivals, including the Edinburgh Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival. The movie is an experimental animated project that is 30 years in the making.

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