Walt Disney Animation opening new studio in Vancouver next January

VANCOUVER — Film and television giant Walt Disney Animation Studios has announced the planned opening of a new studio in Vancouver set for January next year.

The company says in a news release that the new studio would focus on long-form series as well as special projects created for the Disney+ streaming platform.

It says the Vancouver studio’s work will begin with the musical series “Moana.”

Story development, storyboarding and production design for all projects will still be based in its Burbank, Calif., studio, which also handles all of Disney’s feature films.

The company says Amir Nasrabadi will head the studio in Vancouver after working in senior roles with Vancouver-based WildBrain Studios, Pixar Canada and Paramount Animation.

Disney Animation president Clark Spencer says both Burbank and Vancouver are home to some of the world’s most talented artists and technicians.

“We believe the storytelling and visual quality created within each location will meet the incredibly high standards we set for ourselves and (which) audiences have come to expect from Disney Animation,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

While it’s not yet clear how many jobs the studio will generate, Calvin Leduc, head of faculty at Vancouver Animation School says he anticipates a lot of opportunity, particularly for recent graduates.

“A big prestigious studio like Disney, they’re going to be looking for a fairly large staff. They’re going to be turning out series work which requires them to be done fairly quickly,” he says.

“That requires a lot of people, a lot of different positions. It’s an excellent opportunity because they’re always looking for juniors.”

Noting Vancouver is already a hub for animation, Leduc says the studio will only make the city a more attractive prospect for animators in a medium that has been thriving during the pandemic.

“It’s just going make the industry even stronger. Any opportunity to get something like this where there’s long-term stability is great,” he says.

“The people that work in animation, they really do it because they love doing animation, it is a very tough job, and only being obsessed with the medium means that you’re willing to put in the time and effort to create this type of art.One industry that has flourished during the pandemic has been animation streaming services. Animation appeals to a very broad audience, everybody from children, teens, and adults, and grandparents can watch it. “