Walt Disney Animation Studios Shifts Some Animations to Canada

Disney tapped Cinesite’s Canadian studio to handle animations for its upcoming series, ‘Iwájú.’

The Walt Disney Studios logo is projected onscreen during the CinemaCon Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Special presentation at the Colosseum Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 3, 2019. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Walt Disney Animation Studios has outsourced animations on its upcoming six-part animated series, “Iwájú,” to Cinesite, a company headquartered in London with Canadian studios in Montreal and Vancouver.

Cinesite has previously worked with Walt Disney Studios on various live-action projects, such as 2011’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and 2018’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” according to Cartoon Brew. However, the partnership marks the first time a visual effects company has collaborated on an animation outside of Walt Disney Animation Studios, which typically handles its animations in-house, per a statement by Cinesite.

The series is set to premiere on Disney+ on Feb. 28 and is co-produced by Kugali, a pan-African entertainment company. Kugali’s co-founder, Ziki Nelson, directed the series, with the Disney Animation team being led by producer Christina Chen and award-winning animator Marlon West under the supervision of Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer of Disney Animation.

“To work with the best in animation with Walt Disney Animation Studios and fresh, new voices with the exciting storytellers of Kugali is truly a first-of-its-kind not just for Cinesite, but for all of us,” Eamonn Butler, chief of animation of Cinesite, said in a statement.

Vancouver Animation Studio

Walt Disney Animation Studios has been eyeing a foray north of the border for quite some time. In 2021, the company revealed it would be expanding its operations outside of the United States with the launch of a studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, per Variety. The studio, which would be dedicated to long-form series production, was projected to open at the start of 2022.

A recent post to an Instagram account that appears to be run by Walt Disney Animation Studio’s artistic director, Malcon Pierce, indicates that the studio has been operating for the past year and a half. In the Feb. 8 post, he said the studio’s inaugural project was “Moana 2.” The animated musical is a feature-length sequel to 2016’s “Moana” and is slated to be released on Nov. 27.

One year after the studio opened, Mr. Pierce said the team “grew to over 100 strong.” He continued: “Today, we stand proud with a team of 400+ artists, engineers, and technicians, embarking on our first theatrical release.”

A press release sent out by The Walt Disney Company on Feb. 7 announcing details about the new feature film does not mention the Vancouver-based studio.

The Epoch Times reached out to Disney for comment.

Shifts in the Animation Industry

Canadian animation companies have seen a notable surge in U.S.-backed projects in recent years, which can be largely attributed to tax incentives available in the country, per The Hollywood Reporter.

“With Hollywood trying to figure out exactly the direction they’ll go with content—with theatrical content, with streaming content, with originals and franchises—a natural part of that discussion is Canada with its tax credit and a wonderful talent pool that Cinesite works with,” Bradley Wald, chief operating officer of Cinecite, told the publication.

However, Walt Disney Animation Studios isn’t the first company to move away from in-house production. As part of its cost-cutting measures, Disney’s rival, DreamWorks Animation, revealed it would start outsourcing heavily to third-party companies starting in 2025, per Cartoon Brew. The same month, the company announced it would be slashing 70 positions—about four percent of its staff—citing the recent strike and soaring production costs, per Deadline.

In April 2021, the Walt Disney Company was forced to close Blue Sky Studios, the computer animation division behind the “Ice Age” franchise, per Deadline. The closure followed economic impacts that arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios,” Walt Disney Studios told the Los Angeles Times at the time.

Major Changes at Disney

In 2023, Disney’s chief executive officer, Bob Iger, laid off 7,000 employees—3.2 percent of its staff—as part of the company’s sweeping cost-cutting strategy to attain $5.5 billion in savings, per Variety.

In the wake of COVID-19, Walt Disney Animation Studios has also grappled with tepid box-office returns.

The company’s 2022 animated film “Strange World” tanked at North American box offices, grossing only $11.9 million during its Thanksgiving weekend debut, per Variety. It made $18.6 million over five days following its release despite being projected to earn between $30 million and $40 million. The 2023 animated film “Wish” also flopped at the box office, generating only $31.6 million domestically.

The Disney+ streaming platform recently revealed it had lost 1.3 million global subscribers in the final three months of 2023 despite gaining 7 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of its previous fiscal year.

The recent dip in subscribers followed a 27 percent price hike to its ad-free Disney+ Premium plan in October 2023. Fees increased by $3, bringing the cost of commercial-free watching on the platform from $10.99 to $13.99.

Despite struggling to turn a profit since its launch in November 2019, Disney+ said it’s still on track to reach profitability by the end of its current fiscal year.