New Animation Reigns in Spain

This article was written for the December '24 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 345).

Thanks to great talent, a favorable tax environment and excellent working conditions, the beautiful European country has become one of the top hubs for animation.

Observers of the global animation scene can easily testify that with movies such as Robot Dreams, Dragonkeeper, Unicorn Wars, the Tad the Explorer Series, Spain has become a powerful player in the industry over the past few years. This positive trend has been a direct result of the government’s effective plans to give the country’s audiovisual sector a special strategic status and earmarking over 1.6 billion euros of public investment until 2025 thanks to the Spain Audiovisual Hub of Europe Plan.

“Spain has been traditionally a country of highly skilled and creative professionals,” explains Elisa García Grande, the executive director at ICEX-Invest in Spain.“It is a territory with a rich heritage, the third most spoken language in the world and among the top leaders in digitalization and connectivity. These factors along with the efforts of the local industry and the support of the public institutions, have contributed to think of Spain as one of the top leaders in audiovisual productions in the globe. Our industry, which has more than 270 companies specialized in animation and visual effects, generates more than 10,000 direct skilled jobs and 21,000 indirect jobs, with an estimated turnover of more than €950 million.”

Between 2020 and 2022, Spain produced 16 feature films, 62 series and 156 animated short films, which is representative of the capacity and creativity of this resilient industry. “To reach this point, we believe that a strong bond between the industry and the public institution has been essential,” adds García Grande. “In recent years, we have different examples such as 2024 releases Dragonkeeper (a Spanish-Chinese co-production), Buffalo Kids, Rock Bottom or Sultana’s Dream. Our successes vary from last year’s Robot Dreams and 2020’s Klaus Oscar nominees, to 2022’s Oscar winner The Windshield Wiper short film. Just to give you another example, Tad, the Lost Explorer and the Emerald Tablet, was the only European animated feature that managed to be among the most watched films of 2022.”

Animation studios in Spain have taken advantage of the rich ecosystem through the lucrative tax incentives and the availability of highly skilled professionals, to enhance their production capabilities and overall competitiveness. “The Spanish government offers significant tax reliefs, tax credit and tax rebate up to 30% on eligible production expenses and up to 60% in some regions,” she points out. “This financial support has incentivized both local and foreign studios to invest in animated projects within the country, minimizing the risks associated with production costs which encourage studios to undertake larger and more ambitious projects.”

Additionally, Spain’s robust educational institutions with specialized courses and degrees in animation and digital arts, have fostered a great workforce available. This pool of technical and creative talent allows the studios to maintain high production standards and innovate storytelling and visual effects. “As a result, international studios such as France’s Fortiche and U.S.’s Skydance, or more recently Australia’s Flying Bark and Poland’s Platige Image, have decided to open their own offices in Spain, enriching the Spanish industry landscape,” notes García Grande. “Knowledge exchange and artistic collaboration with the Spanish studios are contributing to produce a diverse array of successful animated and visual effects projects, driving the industry forward and contributing to the global recognition of Spanish animated film and series.”

Investing in Excellence

Skydance Animation is a shining example of how major global studios have been successfully relying on Spanish talent over the past few years. Skydance acquired Ilion Animation Studios back in 2020 and has been working with the talented team at the studio on its first two lavish animated movies, Luck (2022) and this month’s Spellbound. “We knew the team at Ilion was talented at both telling stories and making beautiful images,” says Holly Edwards, president of Skydance Animation. “Since we started working as one studio in 2020, it became clear right away that we were like-minded in what we wanted to create together. Since then, we’ve continued to add amazing talent across our animation production and technology teams. We are so proud of the incredible work that has come from our Spanish team.”

“It’s been an amazing experience across all areas of our studio and on each movie in production,” adds Edwards. “We all share the same passion and ambition for making movies that can be enjoyed by everyone around the world. It’s also ‘icing on the cake’ that our U.S. team members get to spend time in the beautiful city of Madrid.”

Fortiche Animation, which is best known for its Emmy and Annie-winning series Arcane, is another global powerhouse that is relying on Spanish talent and facilities to make its highly acclaimed shows. Hervé Dupont, the studio’s Deputy CEO explains, “Keeping the best talent at Fortiche is crucial, and it sometimes means building the company around them. For example, when one of our top animators needed to move to Las Palmas for personal reasons, we didn’t want to lose him. So, we decided to establish a branch there, driven initially by this ‘love story.’ This move wasn’t just about retaining talent; it also aligned with our plans to expand the team while remaining competitive business wise, and make sure the culture and work quality are preserved.”

He notes that establishing a production base in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, has allowed the studio to tap into the rich pool of Spanish animation talent. “The employees also benefit from a high quality of life,” notes Dupont. “Additionally, we enjoy competitive incentives that make this move strategically sound. Our team in Las Palmas is a balanced mix of international and Spanish talents. Despite cultural differences, the Fortiche spirit remains strong. Our supervisor has successfully instilled and maintained the studio’s values, ambition, and mindset within his team. This blend of talent and culture has resulted in a very positive experience for everyone involved.”

These are just some of the opportunities that Spain has to offer.  If you are interested, please visit investinspain.org