Disney has chosen Jerusalem for its new animated series, the company revealed Tuesday.
The series, named "Polarizers," will be produced in the capital through collaboration between Israeli company Operating Room, L.A.-based company Technicolor, and animation giant Nelvana.
Production for the series has arrived in Israel following the decision of Film and Television initiative of the Jerusalem Development Authority to invest 8 million shekel ($2.08M) in the development of the animation industry in Israel.
Eyal Chaimovski JDA CEO hailed the initiative as a means of employing "dozens of artists throughout the year" and noted that the JDA is investing 12 million shekel ($3.12M) in Jerusalem's film and television productions.
Steven Wendland, vice president of animation at Technicolor, also hailed the project and stated that the staff is "proud to be involved in the first animated production in Israel and Canada."
Animation capital?
In addition to Disney's "Polarizers," the Israeli Snowball animation company is producing KONG, an animated 3-D series, written and directed by two leading figures in the film industry in Hollywood: Barry Cook (Mulan, Aladdin) and Ian McKay (Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Avengers).
The Jerusalem Film and Television Fund will also invest in 5 additional Israeli animated films.
"This step is part of the construction of Israeli animation industry, which until now did not exist in Israel, despite the existing talent in the country in the field of the script, animation and technology," said Yoram Honig, director of the Fund in Jerusalem.
"There had been several attempts to establish the animation industry in Israel, [but all were] unsuccessful," he added. "We consulted with the trade union and animation professionals from around the world, and we formulated a comprehensive plan to build up the animation industry into something stable and profitable."