Nintendo Acquires Dynamo Pictures, CG Production Studio That Has Worked On Dragon Ball Super, Evangelion, One Piece, and Yuri!!! On Ice

Article written by Mario J. Lucero

According to Nintendo’s notification of acquisition, “Dynamo Pictures is expected to be changed to Nintendo Pictures”. Computer-generated animation by Dynamo Pictures has been seen in anime and video games.

Dynamo Picture’s anime productions have included Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, and Yuri!!! on Ice. Their video game work includes Catherine, Dark Souls III, Death Stranding, Lollipop Chainsaw, Ninja Gaiden, and Yakuza: Kiwami.

Nintendo has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding and treasury shares of Dynamo Pictures. The acquisition should complete by October 3, 2022, and will result in the Tokyo-based Dynamo Pictures, Inc. (President and CEO, Hiroshi Hirokawa) becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyoto-based Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Representative Director and President, Shutaro Furukawa). Before acquisition, Dynamo Picture planned and produced visual content, and afterward they will focus on visual content with Nintendo IP. The Dynamo Pictures, Inc. name will be changed to Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd.

Dynamo and Nintendo had previously worked on Metroid: Other M’s cutscenes and the 2014 Pikmin Short Movies animated shorts. Shigeru Miyamoto directed the Pikmin shorts and has hinted at plans for a Nintendo cinematic universe.

The acquisition of Dynamo Pictures suggests plans for Nintendo’s potential cinematic universe are underway. Nintendo is currently working on an upcoming Super Mario film with Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. The film stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. Rumors of a Nintendo cinematic universe also allude to a Donkey Kong film that is in development.

The Pikmin Short Movies can be found on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel. The shorts are titled “The Night Juicer”, “Treasure in a Bottle”, and “Occupational Hazards”. These were originally released in 2014, and were available on the Nintendo eShop in HD for the Wii U, and in stereoscopic 3D on the Nintendo 3DS.

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