France.tv studio becomes the major owner of Dwarf Animation

France.tv studio, the production arm of France Télévisions, has acquired a majority stake in Dwarf Animation Studio, the production company of "My Dad the Bounty Hunter" and "Trash Truck", two animated series available on Netflix. Based in Montpellier, in the South of France, Dwarf was created about 13 years ago by Olivier Pinol. Under its new ownership, the indie will remain creatively independent and plans to expand its pre-production facilities and visual development and storyboarding capabilities, and Olivier Pinol will continue to head up the studio.

“I’m incredibly delighted to join forces with the amazing team at france.tv studio to welcome the creative community to the South of France,” said Olivier Pinol. “Having such an opportunity to grow and develop Dwarf Animation Studio as well as build a creative hub together is a truly gratifying and eye-opening experience.”

“We are proud of this partnership with Dwarf, which is a great opportunity,” shared france.tv studio Chairman Arnaud Lesaunier. “Dwarf’s industry expertise fits perfectly well into our creative ecosystem and activities, allowing notably for technological synergies to grow within our studio.”

Laurence Schwob, CEO of france.tv studio added, “This partnership with Dwarf Animation Studio, who is pushing the envelope in real-time animation, comes at an exciting time as france.tv studio was recently awarded an endowment by the French Ministry of Culture as part of the ‘France 2030’ initiative, which aims to develop advanced technology in France associated with production innovation of new forms of entertainment.”

France.tv studio has been looking to build a creative hub in the south of France, which has a strong talent base in animation. The division currently produces around 1,500 hours of content annually for France Télévisions’ channels and platforms, with a focus on live-action shows for older audiences and documentaries. It expanded into VFX in 2021 by acquiring a stake in French startup Les Tontons Truqueurs (Chronicles of the Sun).