Animation
Toonz inks co-finance & animation deal with Gnosis Moving Pictures
MUMBAI: Indian animation company Toonz Media Group and Los Angeles-based Gnosis Moving Pictures have inked a long-term co-financing and animation deal for a slate of CG-animated films that will be rolled out over the years. The first movie under this partnership will be directed by Academy Award-winning claymation pioneer Will Vinton.
Toonz CEO P. Jayakumar said, “At Toonz we believe in creating wonderful stories with a soul for kids all over the world. It was a delight to discover that Gnosis has a similar vision and I hope this partnership brings out wonderful visual treats for kids across the globe for a very long time to come.”
Toonz will contribute substantial equity to the projects and will produce the movies at its India and New Zealand facilities. On the other hand, Gnosis Moving Pictures will team help develop and distribute the movies.
“This long term partnership furthers our mission to bring animated projects that both entertain and encourage children across the world. Toonz shares our vision and we look forward to embarking on this journey with them to enrich the lives of children through a slate of animated film properties,” said Gnosis Moving Pictures CEO Darius Kamali.
Toonz will produce the films with Kamali and Gnosis’ Kasey Adler, who oversees the company’s investments and strategic partnerships.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
