Powerhouse Animation Studios
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Austin , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | 2D animation, motion comics, motion graphics, digital painting, illustration services |
Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is a U.S.-based animation company located in Austin, Texas, with an affiliate entity, Powerhouse Animation LLC, founded in 2014. Established in 2001, the studio focuses on 2D animation, motion comics, motion graphics, digital painting, and illustration services catering to television, film, video games, commercials, advertising campaigns, educational materials, and entertainment sectors.
History
The name Powerhouse partly derives from Raymond Scott’s composition "Powerhouse," famously used in vintage Warner Bros. cartoons. The studio began its journey by creating the 2002 short "Heroes," which satirized both Clerks and Marvel characters. This project opened doors to working with director Kevin Smith on various endeavors such as a commercial for Dogma, a bespoke arcade game for Jersey Girl stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and animation segments for Clerks: The Lost Scene. In 2004, the studio animated Lonestar’s "Mr. Mom" music video.
Powerhouse has crafted over 300 animated shorts adapting syndicated comic strips like Dilbert, Pearls Before Swine, and Pooch Café. Their portfolio also includes educational productions for TED-Ed, Brain Chase, Compass Learning, Ignite! Learning, and the National Fire Protection Association. Their digital projects extend to contributions for ESPN's Grantland and Kevin Smith's Spoilers series available on Hulu.
The studio developed cutscenes for Disney Interactive Studios’ games Epic Mickey (2010) and its follow-up (2012). Additionally, in 2013 they partnered with Disney Television Animation and Rosetta Stone to create the nine-episode series It's a Small World: The Animated Series. In 2014, Powerhouse broadened its reach by opening a satellite office in Burbank, California, and joined IATSE through its LLC branch in 2015.
Among their advertising clientele are brands such as Old Spice, IAMS, Disney Parks, Metlife, Coca-Cola, Oreo, Mountain Dew, Ruffles, GoDaddy.com, and Weight Watchers— notably contributing animation to the 2015 Super Bowl commercial "All You Can Eat." Their music video work includes collaborations with artists like Lizzo and Wale. The company also invests in original intellectual properties; in 2015 it debuted the short series Advice Times with Grandpa Theo on DreamWorksTV’s YouTube channel.
In the gaming arena, Powerhouse created cutscenes for Agents of Mayhem (2017), produced an animated music video for OfflineTV’s "Break Out" (2021), and developed launch trailers for Sega’s Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (2021). More recently, they have released promotional shorts tied to the Sonic franchise spanning 2022 through 2023.
Regarding original series development, Powerhouse unveiled its inaugural adult animated series for Netflix with Castlevania (2017), adapted from the iconic video game franchise. Subsequent Netflix projects include original series such as Seis Manos (2018), the mythology-inspired Blood of Zeus (2019), and the continuation of He-Man titled Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2019). In 2021, their portfolio grew with anime adaptations of both the King Kong and Tomb Raider franchises. That year also saw the signing of a first-look agreement with Netflix. In 2022, they announced a sequel series titled Castlevania: Nocturne, extending their flagship property’s storyline.
Television series
| Title | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| It's a Small World: The Animated Series | 2013 | Derived from the Disney theme park ride It's a Small World |
| Castlevania | 2017–2021 | Animated adaptation of the Castlevania video game series |
| The Adventures of Kid Danger | 2018 | Spin-off based on the Henry Danger series (2014–2020) |
| Seis Manos | 2019 | Original animated production |
| Epithet Erased | ||
| Blood of Zeus | 2020–2025 | Draws inspiration from Greek mythology |
| Masters of the Universe: Revelation | 2021–2024 | Continuation of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series (1983–1985) |
| Skull Island | 2023 | Part of the MonsterVerse universe, centered on King Kong |
| Castlevania: Nocturne | 2023–present | Follow-up to Castlevania, extending the video game adaptation storyline |
| Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft | 2024–present | Based on the Tomb Raider video game franchise; serves as a sequel to Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) |
Miscellaneous
| Year | Title | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Heroes | Short animated film |
| 2003 | Clerks: The Lost Scene | 35 mm test footage for feature film |
| 2004 | "Mr. Mom" | Animated music video for Lonestar |
| 2015 | "All You Can Eat" | Advertising campaign for Weight Watchers |
| "Advice Times with Grandpa Theo" | Short-form series | |
| 2017 | 'Agents of Mayhem' | Cutscenes for action-adventure video game |
| 2021 | "Break Out" | Animated music video production |
| 'Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania' | Trailer animation for game launch | |
| 2022 | 'Sonic Frontiers' "Prologue: Divergence" | Promotional short film |
| 2023 | 'Sonic Superstars' "Trio of Trouble" | |
| 'Sonic Dream Team' | Opening animation sequence for game release |