Our Story

In 1998, Phil and Jacqui Cunningham founded Sunrise in Zimbabwe.

While Zimbabwe will always have a special place in their hearts, the challenges and shortages they faced made it an unlikely place for an animation studio to grow — but it was where the dream and vision for Sunrise was born.

The Legend of the Sky Kingdom, Africa’s first animated feature film, was the first project made in Zimbabwe — inspired by the creativity and resilience of local artists, who turned everyday junk into characters that came alive. The term “junkmation” was coined for the stop-frame animation style of that first movie.

The film won awards at festivals from Zagreb to São Paulo. More importantly, it proved something that still defines Sunrise: creativity flourishes when people are willing to work with what they have and give the story everything they can.

The move to Cape Town

After The Legend of the Sky Kingdom, Sunrise transitioned to 3D CG animation and relocated to Cape Town, South Africa. The tools changed. The heart of the work did not.

In 2003, we launched Jungle Beat, a dialogue-free series following Munki the monkey and Trunk the elephant through slapstick adventures. The show has since been broadcast in over 180 countries and accumulated more than seven billion views on YouTube. No dialogue — yet understood everywhere.

Where we are now

Today, Sunrise is a global, remote-first studio with over 100 artists, animators, and storytellers working from our Cape Town headquarters and around the world. We produce feature films, series, and branded content for partners and audiences worldwide.

In December 2025, we released David, an animated musical epic that opened at number two at the US box office and set a record for the highest opening weekend for an animated biblical film. Critics described it as filling “that Prince of Egypt-shaped hole.” For us, it represents the culmination of 25 years of learning: the ambition of Sky Kingdom, the craft refined on Jungle Beat, and the perseverance required to keep showing up for the work.

We believe stories have the power to change people. Our job is to tell them well.