Netflix Animation Studios’ 110,600-square-foot Vancouver office, which opened earlier this year, underscores the city’s expanding role as a significant animation production center. The facility currently employs more than 450 staff members hired from the local workforce. According to Amir Nasrabadi, Chief Operating Officer for the studio, Netflix has maintained a presence in Vancouver for over a decade, initially operating under the Animal Logic banner before transitioning to its current structure. The company credits the city’s deep talent pool as a key factor enabling expansion of animation operations across its various locations.
Vancouver’s animation sector has grown substantially beyond its historical focus on production services and children’s programming. Multiple major studios—including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Atomic Cartoons, Bardel, Mainframe, Titmouse, Icon Creative Studio, and a Disney facility—now operate in the city. This concentration has created a sophisticated ecosystem supporting artists, writers, directors, production teams, and technology specialists. Stephanie Betts, chief content officer at WildBrain, describes the city as having evolved into “one of the most sophisticated animation hubs in the world,” where original concepts are now created and developed rather than simply produced for external clients. The range of projects has diversified considerably, encompassing anime-influenced content, gaming material, features, hybrid productions, and adult animation.
Netflix Animation Studios’ Vancouver team contributed animation work to Adam Sandler’s “Leo” and is currently developing “Steps,” the studio’s first fully in-house produced feature scheduled for release November 20. The company maintains no single house style across projects, instead supporting diverse creative voices and filmmakers at various career stages. Competition for local talent has intensified as streaming platforms expand operations in the city, pushing compensation higher but also creating opportunities for experienced creators to build sustained careers within Vancouver’s animation industry.
The city has also emerged as a center for original animated content aimed at adult audiences. Filmmaker Leah Nelson, co-founder of animation studio Giant Ant, premiered her feature “Tangles”—an adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir about Alzheimer’s disease—at multiple film festivals including Cannes and TIFF, with the film being shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Nelson assembled her creative team primarily in Vancouver, attracted by the project’s meaningful subject matter. Indigenous filmmaker Amanda Strong founded Spotted Fawn Productions to create animation-based works centered on Indigenous narratives, utilizing stop-motion techniques to preserve creative control and storytelling authenticity.
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