Jellyfish Originals Appoints Managing DirectorJellyfish Originals Appoints Managing Director

Jellyfish Originals, the children’s animation original production division animation and VFX studio, Jellyfish Pictures, has announced the appointment of Natalie Llewellyn to managing director. Llewellyn, who joined the company in 2018 as head of IP development, will take on a broader strategic role within Jellyfish Pictures and head up the company’s originals division.

“Since joining Jellyfish Pictures, Natalie’s eye for creative brilliance and commercial savviness has propelled our Originals brand to new heights,” says Phil Dobree, chief executive officer, Jellyfish Pictures. “Thanks to Natalie and her extensive global network of contacts across the children’s media industry, we have a solid slate of kids’ animation projects with an exciting amount of potential. Partnering us with toy manufacturers,

negotiating rights with international broadcasters and entering us into strategic co-productions has positioned Jellyfish Originals as a leading player in the industry. Now as Managing Director, I have full confidence that Natalie will take us even further as we step into the next phase of our Jellyfish Originals journey.” 

As managing director, Llewellyn will lead the creative and commercial efforts of Jellyfish Originals and drive the development, distribution, rights negotiation, financing and commercial strategy of its originals slate.

Llewellyn’s 10 years’ plus experience in the children’s production and distribution sector has enabled her to build the IP arm of Jellyfish, to extend its commercial remit, raise its international profile and grow and diversify the Original’s slate.

In the spring of 2018, Llewellyn launched an in-house creative scheme named the ‘Jellyfish Creative Bloom’, encouraging Jellyfish talent to present their original ideas for a kid’s animation show. Two successful ideas were taken into active development as part of the Jellyfish Originals slate and have since been picked up by strategic commercial partners. The latest round of Creative Bloom pitches is being launched next month. 

“It’s an exciting time for children’s content creation and I’m delighted to be taking the helm at Jellyfish Originals - boosting our development slate, and further strengthening our commercial efforts in both distribution and rights management,” says Llewellyn. “I’m incredibly proud of the projects we’ve nurtured and the industry partners we’ve collaborated with to date. The future for Jellyfish Originals promises tremendous growth and that’s incredibly exciting for all involved.”

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