CritterPix Nets Producer and Supervisors for ''Otter'' 3D Animated Feature; Former Pixar, ILM, Tippet Studios, and Don Bluth Films Talents Sign On.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- CritterPix Studios, a computer animation studio, has added key talent for a team now in pre-production on its first feature-length film, Ollie the Otter, according to Kelly Williamson, CEO of CritterPix. The feature, budgeted at $30 million, is about the misadventures of a sea otter and his land-lubber and oceanic friends, and is being produced in association with New Regency Productions.

Gary Goldman, a veteran animation producer and a Don Bluth Films alumnus, has more than 20 animated feature films to his credit, many of which were the box office record holders during the period they were in release, including Dragon's Lair 3D, The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia, American Tail, and Land Before Time.

"Gary will play an instrumental role in managing the complex production and motivating our animators," said Williamson. "Gary is also masterful at minding a budget. For example, he brought An American Tail in for just $9.5 million and Land Before Time for $12.5 million."

From Pixar, Chris Rock has signed on as CG Supervisor. While at Pixar, Rock was a Technical Director on Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars.

Joining CritterPix as F/X Supervisor is Nathaniel Hunter who previously was designer of CG special effects at Tippett Studios where he worked on the films, Mask 2, Hellboy, and Constantine.

"Chris and Nathaniel give us state of the art know-how in designing and implementing our CG pipeline," said Goldman. "These guys are as gifted and solid as I've seen and they'll finalize our hardware and software tools."

Sandra Joy Lee has been set as Production Asset Developer Lead and specializes in moving image media and database management. She comes from Industrial Light & Magic, (Lucas Digital), where she worked on Saving Private Ryan, Space Cowboys, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars: Episodes I, II, & III.

Tetsu Matsuo has joined CritterPix as I.T. Supervisor. He was formerly with Apple computer and "understands our complete workstation and renderfarm architecture," said Williamson.

"Sandra will develop and extend the capability of our overall work flow and Tetsu knows our workstation and renderfarm gear cold," said Williamson. "We had to staff with the best in the business because story is king in our world, but in animation the CG pipleline is absolutely essential."

Additionally, Williamson has set Eddie Oliver as the studio's Operations Manager. For 11 years Oliver worked with an international educational foundation with 400 centers in 52 countries. He started with the core team of founders and rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer as well as serving on both the domestic and international boards of directors. Other consulting work included projects for Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, LSI Logic, and Providian.

Prior to founding CritterPix, Williamson was a successful executive in the technology field, serving as Executive Vice President of Sales for Intellon Corporation (powerline networking semiconductors), BuzMe.com (Internet call waiting services) and Divio, Inc (chipsets for DVD and multimedia applications).

Williamson also wrote the screenplays Replicator, Teldom One, Think Fast, and Love Lies Bleeding. He also is the author of Ollie the Otter, a children's book on which the film is based.

Williamson recently announced the closing of $2.1 million private financing through Laidlaw & Company, bringing the studio's total seed financing to $4.45 million. Series A and B funding will follow.

"I believe CritterPix is taking the right steps in building its business," said media analyst and CritterPix investor, Harold Vogel. "Completing this financing was an important next step toward the company's ultimate goal of establishing a successful animated film studio enterprise."