Netflix’s animation unit, and its film slate, will undergo restructuring in a move that will see job cuts along with at least two films currently in pre-production being shut down.
According to Variety, the streamer is looking to recruit outside producers to keep up the volume of its animated content. It’s not clear how many jobs will be lost, but those sackings are expected in the coming weeks.
Karen Toliver, the service’s current animation vice president, is reportedly still committed to a “robust slate” but she and her division are now looking more to third-party producers to air their animated works on the service with likely less being developed internally.
It’s not clear which companies or producers are being pursued to potentially provide content. The film “Escape From Beverly Hills,” which was being developed at Netflix, will now go back out on the open market. A second film, “Tunga,” will remain at Netflix and has been sent back into the development phase.
The moves come even as Netflix Animation had its biggest year in 2023 and won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”.
Netflix has numerous animated films on the way that won’t be impacted by this, including the Adam Sandler-voiced “Leo” and the anticipated Aardman sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.”
