Passion Pictures

A London animation and documentary company, best known for Gorillaz videos, Compare the Market meerkats and Oscar-winning Searching for Sugar Man.

About Passion Pictures

Passion Pictures is a London animation studio and film company. It makes animated commercials, music videos and digital content for clients such as Apple, Compare the Market, McDonald's, Telstra and Alzheimer's Research UK. It is known for a ten-year collaboration with the virtual band Gorillaz and for the Compare the Market advertising campaign.

It was established in 1987 by chief executive Andrew Ruhemann. Its description says it works with and develops top creative talent. We did not find a longer mission statement. Passion Films, also headed by Andrew, has made feature documentaries since 1999. Its Searching for Sugar Man won the Oscar and the BAFTA for Best Feature Documentary in 2013. One Day in September won the Oscar in 1999 and The Lost Thing won an Oscar for animated short film in 2011.

The UK studio is at County House, 33-34 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1JN. The company also has a Paris studio and offices in New York and Melbourne, so UK staff work with a global network. It is a member of the Animation Producers Association in the UK. A February 2026 update on its profile page says the company was restructuring Passion Pictures Animation and Passion Docs, so check its own site for the current set-up.

Its listed awards include D&AD, British Arrows, Cannes Lions, Annecy and the One Show. Recent profile entries include stop-motion and rotating sets for Telstra satellite campaigns (April 2026) and a short film, The Gods of Minor Ailments, by Cat Johnston (February 2026). The profile does not list individual staff, so we have no named people.

Animation and documentary companies need many roles, among them producers, directors, animators, designers, editors and sound people. The mix of advertising, music video and documentary work means people can build skills across several kinds of film. Look at the company's own site for its current work and teams. Its LBB profile also lists the sectors it makes work for: food, media and entertainment, retail and restaurants, utilities, automotive and consumer electronics. Clients are described as ad agencies, record labels, gaming companies, broadcasters and brands. The profile says Passion is considered one of Europe's leading animation commercial production companies. It also lists an LBB Immortal Awards commendation for the Apple film Fuzzy Feelings in 2024, and a March 2026 mention of wins with Strange Beast at SXSW.

What they do

• {'desc': '2D, 3D and stop-motion work for brands and bands.', 'title': 'Animated commercials and music videos'}
• {'desc': 'Feature documentaries and other films.', 'title': 'Passion Films'}
• {'desc': 'Short animated content made for online audiences.', 'title': 'Digital content'}

Key facts

• Established 1987 by Andrew Ruhemann
• London studio at Rathbone Place, W1
• Also has studios and offices in Paris, New York and Melbourne
• Searching for Sugar Man won the 2013 Oscar for Best Feature Documentary
• Member of the Animation Producers Association (UK)

Website: passion-pictures.com