‘PAW Patrol’ Animation Studio Guru Studio Ups Rachel Marcus To VP

Guru Studio, the Toronto-based animation company behind Nick Jr.’s PAW Patrol, Sprout’s Justin Time and Netflix’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom, has promoted Rachel Marcus to VP Creative Development. The move expands her role to include leading the company’s overall development of original IP, as well as oversee creative partnerships, co-productions and features. She will report to Guru’s president and executive creative director Frank Falcone.

Marcus joined Guru in 2015 from Nickelodeon, where she developed short-form content linear content for Nick.com and Nick Jr. At Guru, she co-created the preschool series Pikwik which will air on Disney Junior and Hulu next year, and the underwater adventure series Big Blue which was greenlit by CBC in Canada.

“Over the last few years, I have been seen first-hand Rachel’s strong creative leadership,” Falcone said. “I am confident she will continue to strategically grow our IP, with the same creativity, collaboration and passion that the industry has come to expect from Guru.”

Guru was also involved in The Breadwinner, the animated pic about a young girl in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan who disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family after her father is kidnapped. It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar last year and won the Annie Award for best indie film.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be leading Guru’s creative team into the company’s next phase of growth,” Marcus said. “We have an extremely talented team who continue to create ground breaking and imaginative shows for kids — I can’t wait to share what we have coming.”