Wow, it’s hard to believe that DAVE Enterprises is turning 10!
From humble beginnings as a small six-person operation, in a shared space in Surry Hills on rented computers and furniture doing short form animation and TVCs, to servicing local and international animation studios as a premier pre-production animation specialist on TV series and feature films with a crew of seventy, it’s been a wild ride!
The studio has now delivered more than 500 episodes of content, amounting to over 200 hours of on-screen entertainment. Their impressive credits include DreamWorks’ Spirit: Riding Free and Dinotrux: Supercharged, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Bento Box’s Bob’s Burgers and Central Park, Princess Bento’s Koala Man, Universal’s Monsters Fortnite, and even a Specsavers Little Red Riding Hood commercial. On the feature side, DAVE has contributed to Netflix’s Back to the Outback, Bob’s Burgers: The Movie, Paramount’s Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, and Netflix’s upcoming Kuku Studios release In Your Dreams.
Recognition has followed. DAVE won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Storyboard Work on Spirit, alongside multiple Emmy and Annie nominations across Directing, Storyboarding and Editing. The team also weathered the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, establishing a hybrid remote workflow while keeping productions moving, as well as navigating industry-wide strikes — and even a near-catastrophic server flood.
“I get asked “Who’s DAVE?” all the time. DAVE isn’t anyone, but everyone. Everyone that poured their heart and soul into the work they have done here over the last 10 years. That’s who DAVE is”
Stephen Cooper, Creative Director
Currently DAVE is working on an exciting new project which will take them to the next level in animated series, so look out for news on that.
Along the way, DAVE has also released their own award-winning short film SMOKO with yet more development bubbling away in the kitchen. Cooking up ideas in collaboration with famous musicians, iconic comedians, world renowned sculptors, professional footballers and even a big cat specialist zookeeper, watch this space.
After 10 years, the Chippendale-based studio is showing no signs of slowing down. With over 500 episodes already under its belt, DAVE Enterprises is poised to deliver many more stories to screens worldwide.
