José Carlos García Letona co-founded Anima Estudios with Fernando de Fuentes in 2002. Headquartered in Mexico City, the company has expanded to open offices in the Canary Islands, Madrid and Buenos Aires,
Ánima has produced more than 20 films including Top Cat: The Movie for Warner Bros in 2011, English-language animation Guardians Of Oz, executive produced by Jorge R. Gutiérrez, a co-production with India’s Discreet Arts Productions in 2016, and Ariel award- winning Ana And Bruno for Netflix in 2017.
The company’s series work includes El Chavo: The Animated Series, pre-school comedy Cleo & Cuquin, Disney XD series’ Space Chickens In Space and an adaptation of the comedy horror film franchise Legend Quest.
Recently, Ánima signed a deal with IDW Publishing to make a series based on the graphic novel Brutal Nature by Luciano Saracino and Ariel Olivetti.
Letona is in Annecy to present Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires as a work in progress. It is directed by Juan José Meza-León, whose credits include Rick And Morty and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. It is a co-production with Warner Bros Animation and Chatrone and will screen on HBO Max.
How has the sector and the industry transformed since Ánima Estudios started out over 20 years ago?
Audience consumption habits have changed hand in hand with the rise of the streaming platforms in such a way that we have found that selling films directly to the platforms compensates the release to cinemas. It allows us to reach huge audiences immediately.
How has Anima Estudios itself evolved?
Anima kicked off making films and as time went by we included series and eventually digital content via YouTube. We have grown side by side with the evolution of the market, selling to platforms and maximizing YouTube revenues. We always try to be at the forefront of new business windows and optimise our processes with the latest trends and technologies.
How important is the international market to you?
We have made more than 21 co-productions, with countries as diverse as India, Australia, the UK, China, Chile, Ukraine and several more, all successfully completed. Along the way we have learned a lot from our partners in each project, and we firmly believe in the benefits of working hand in hand with studios that make us grow and allow us to make increasingly ambitious projects.
What are your plans for the future?
The goal is to make unique and innovative projects, stories with a global sensitivity and a Latino heart. And we are seeking powerful partners that will help us achieve this vision.
Mexico has a long animation tradition and the sector is now booming bigger than ever. What do you think drives the Mexican love affair with animation?
I think it is largely due to the Mexican nature of wanting to tell stories. This comes from pre-Hispanic times. A medium as powerful and with as many possibilities as animation has is ideal to achieve this. In addition, in Mexico there are extraordinary artists with a unique vision who want to share this with the world.
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