TONIC DNA

You can call us TONIC DNA - fresh and dynamic Directors ’N Animators. We are a full-service, award-winning studio based in Montreal and clients and collaborators around the globe.Animation, Live-Action & VFX ... with TONIC DNA it’s all under one roof! We can produce your commercial or other communications project – from development right through to final delivery.With our 30 + years of industry experience, we’ve delivered projects in almost every style and technique imaginable - 2D, 3D, Stop-Motion, Illustrations, Motion Graphics, Interactive, Live-Action, Hand-Painted and always with a finger on the pulse of new and emerging trends in the art of craft and animation. Over the years, we’ve worked with some of the industry’s top agencies and brands creating memorable campaigns for McDonald´s, Nestlé, Canadian Tire, Cadillac, United Airlines and Coca-Cola, to name just a few.Got a project in mind?Give us a call and let’s bring your story to life!

Tonic DNA / Airplan - Reactine "Best Backyard"

Tonic DNA / Dir. Robert Valley - Ghost Kidz "Goin' Off"

Step into the world of Ghost Kidz! LiL' ILL and Filth-E join forces with Vince Staples in their electrifying debut video, "Goin' Off." TONIC DNA is thrilled to be part of this exciting Superplastic project! Academy Award-nominee Robert Valley brings his trademark hyper-graphic and unmistakable animation style to the first chapter in this multi-part video series. Desert-saturated colors, distorted designs, and blended 3D and 2D techniques create a rambunctious trip into a new sonic universe.

Tonic DNA - IGA / Mr. Beaver's Yule Log

For the second year in a row, Tonic DNA was delighted to help bring IGA's Christmas tale to life with Sid Lee. In this delightful story "The Yule Log of Mr. Beaver," we follow the merriment of three adorable rascals as they attempted to take Mr. Beaver's pride Yule Log, only to be invited in for a cooking class and a celebrations amongst new found friends. Utilizing hand touched 3d character animation and detailed environments, Tonic delivers another slam dunk for the holidays!

Tonic DNA - Jump

TONIC DNA as part of their in-house experimentation, this short film, JUMP was created as research into how they can merge 3D and 2D animation to achieve new animation styles. The story is about Leaf, a young person learning to use their power to jump into new universes. Each jump gave Tonic the opportunity to explore new stylistic possibilities. They wanted something cyberpunk, alive with Kirby crackle, graphic and punchy, with stills you want to hang on your wall. "The process we landed on involved trying new techniques for animation effects, and compositing. We alternated animation frame rates on 2s and 3s to enhance the action. After 3D was locked, we added hand-drawn animation effects over the top. In compositing, we applied cross hatching for shadows and hand-drawn tone effect for highlights with a new custom toolkit of shaders."

TONIC / SuperPlastic - Social Compilation

Tonic DNA - Newt the Gnu - 70 years of Kelloggs x Leo Burnett

Tonic DNA / Freebird - Teaser

To mark World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st, intellectual disability charity L’Arche debuted a teaser for a new short film, entitled ‘Freebird’. Partnering with Canadian musician Jordan Hart and award-winning animation studio Tonic DNA and their director Joe Bluhm, the charity produced a beautiful film that challenged the misconceptions surrounding Down Syndrome. The plot follows the coming-of-age story of a boy with Down syndrome who learns to navigate the world with a loving mother, an absent father, a classroom bully, and a life-long crush. Now, as the full four-minute film launches, we witness 45 years of life flash by in just a few short minutes. Not that it moves too fast to leave an impact - quite the opposite, as a combination of stunning animation and soulful storytelling communicates the quintessentially human story at the heart of this campaign.

Tonic DNA / Little Bites - Queen

Tonic DNA / Central Park - Trailer