Spectra Animation

Spectra Animation was a Canadian animation production company based in Montreal, Quebec, known for their work of the children's television series' Kid Paddle, Toopy and Binoo, and Fred's Head.

The company was founded in 2000 as the animation division of L'Équipe Spectra. Its facility was closed in 2012, after it was acquired and folded into Echo Media.

History
While not much information has been found about the company's history, Spectra Animation was founded in 2000 by L'Équipe Spectra founder Alain Simard as its animation division.

2003-2006; Kid Paddle, Toopy and Binoo
The earliest known production of Spectra Animation is the 2000's Canadian animated television series Kid Paddle, based on the comic series by Belgian writer Midam. Producing two seasons, the show first aired on September 1, 2003, and concluded on February 19, 2006.

Following the success of Kid Paddle, Spectra Animation would collaborate with Montreal-born storyteller Dominique Jolin and Treehouse Originals in 2004, and would produce an animated television series based on the stories by Jolin. Premiering on January 3, 2005, the show sparked a strong positive reception, with critics praising its story and overall plot for each episode, with its lessons derived towards its young age demographic. The first season produced 32 episodes, and was followed by three spin-off shows, and four mini-movies. The show's spin-offs and mini-movies were copyrighted as 2007, after its first season concluded in 2006.

The animation technique was handled through the power of Adobe Flash animation, similar to Newgrounds animation, which was spiking in popularity in 2000s.

2007-2012; Fred's Head, decline, acquisition and absorption into Echo Media
In 2006, it was reported that Spectra Animation was in talks of a television show based on a concept by Canadian cartoonist Benoit Godbout and production company Galaxy 7, named Blaise la Blase, translated as Fred's Head in English.

The show debuted on October 29, 2007 in Canada on Teletoon, before concluding on July 6, 2008 after only one season. The show was nominated for the Shaw Rocket Prize in 2009. The company, around this time, was going through a decline, and no further productions were revealed.

In 2012, Spectra Animation was acquired from L'Equipe Spectra, which included its cinema and television divisions, and was absorbed into Echo Media Film and Television. It was succeeded by the later company.

2013-present; Echo Media
Spectra Animation's first project under the Echo Media label was a reboot television show, simply titled Vroom Vroom Zoom, which involved puppetry, rather than the standard Flash animation as its predecessor. However, 2D animation was provided for backgrounds and other assets of the show.

In 2021, an 80-minute feature film was announced by Echo Media, with Screen Media as its planned distributor. The film is scheduled for release on August 11, 2023, as stated by the official YouTube channel in February 2023.