Walt Disney Animation Studios on Aug. 4 announced plans to open a production facility in Vancouver to focus on projects for the Disney Plus streaming service.
The announcement by WDAS President Clark Spencer follows recent news that Disney plans to relocate 2,000 Parks, Experiences and Products employees, approximately 5% of its California staff, to Florida to capitalize on almost $580 million in tax breaks.
Compartmentalizing the animation divisions allows WDAS to expand its roster of more than 900 employees on the studio’s Burbank lot and opens new opportunities to recruit talent with an exclusive focus on film projects. Burbank will also be home for story development, storyboarding and production design for all projects.
In a December 2020 investor’s call, Disney announced a huge slate of projects, with some meant for theatrical release and others for Disney Plus.
At that time, the company announced plans for four WDAS-produced series, “Moana: The Series,” “Baymax,” “Zootopia+,” “Tiana” and “Iwájú.” The latter will be produced in collaboration with Pan-African comic book entertainment company Kugali.
WDAS Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee indicated that these series would be among the first produced at the Vancouver facility, which aims to open in January 2022. “As we continue to grow our original slate of projects, there are more creative, artistic and technological opportunities than at any previous time,” she said.
Animation veteran Amir Nasrabadi will serve as the head of WDAS Vancouver. He previously was executive vice president and general manager at WildBrain Studios. Earlier, Narabadi oversaw Pixar Canada and held senior leadership roles both with Illumination, home of “Minions,” and Paramount Animation.
“I am so honored and excited to be joining the Disney family again,” Nasrabadi said. “I continue to be amazed at the high-level of artistry and technical advancements coming out of the animation industry here in Vancouver and I am so proud to be a part of this community. This is really a dream come true for me.”
Unlike with the DPEP relocation, the Vancouver studio will focus primarily on recruiting new talent to support projects like “Moana,” which Academy Award nominee Osnat Shurer will produce after working on the original feature.
“With Burbank and Vancouver both 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 audiences have come to expect from Disney Animation,” Spencer said.
