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2025 is an exciting year for animated TV shows, with plenty of new releases being highly anticipated by audiences. Such shows span a variety of genres, from lighthearted comedy series to dark fantasy action series. The remainder of the new year sees shows both old and new premiering exciting stories that are expected to be well worth the wait. Some of the biggest shows returning in 2025 are beloved animated series like Invincible, Harley Quinn, and Castlevania: Nocturne.

One of the most inspiring premieres in 2025 is Devil May Cry, an adaptation of the eponymous video game, starring Johnny Yong Bosch. Disney+ alone has several upcoming animated series, including Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda, and Win or Lose. Though there are plenty of additional animated series expected to return or premiere in 2025, a majority of these shows have been given a specific release date, allowing audiences to confidently prepare for the entertaining animated stories to come.

The fall market and festival season is traditionally a thrilling time for the French animation sector as companies prepare to unveil new projects, partnerships, and distribution deals at events such as the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, Cartoon Forum, Mipcom and MipJunior.

This year, however, French animation finds itself in a precarious spot, having been hard hit by a recent contraction among international distribution platforms that had, for several years now – especially during and post-pandemic, been investing heavily in the region.

Despite holding its spot as France’s No. 2 screen industry export medium, with a 25.2% market share, animation had a rough 2023. Foreign sales fell 11.2% to €51.2 million ($56.3 million), according to a Cnc report unveiled at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous on Tuesday. The overwhelming bulk of that drop can be attributed to American investors, who cut back by 69.7% to €4.3 million ($4.7 million). The rest of the world saw a less steep drop of just 6.6% to €12.9 million ($14.2 million), still significant.

As a Disney+ subscriber, I’m growing restless. I haven’t watched a Disney+ original since the wildly uneven “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The service has dramatically slowed its original output, and it doesn’t look like there’s any strategy in place aside from 3-4 Marvel and Star Wars shows every year. At this point, I’m reconsidering my subscription.

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If you check out the official Disney+ “coming soon” page, you can see a whopping nine titles.

The problem is that those titles will be coming at a glacial pace.

Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Sept. 13 Agatha All Along - Sept. 18 Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man - Nov. 2 Star Wars: Skeleton Crew - Dec. 3 Win or Lose - Dec. 6 The Doomies - Tba Percy Jackson and The Olympians Season 2 - Tba Ironheart - Tba...

The world of Disney Television Animation is getting ready to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a lineup of brand new television shows and specials aimed at both younger children with Disney Junior and older children with Disney Channel and Disney Xd.

Ayo Davis, the President of Disney Branded Television, made the following statement in regard to their upcoming programming at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France:

“Disney Branded Television is proud of our four-decade legacy of creating magical and visually stunning animation beloved by young audiences around the world. It’s a momentous year at Annecy, as we celebrate our studio’s milestone anniversary and showcase some of our most exciting new projects and creative talent that are ushering us into a new era of storytelling.“

They spoke about upcoming programming for younger children at Disney Jr., including SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventures, Disney Junior’s Ariel, Season 2 of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,...

Since 2019, 98 animated titles have benefited from France’s tax-rebate on international productions (Trip) scheme, representing 27% of all projects and reflecting a wider industry desire to make the country a global toon boom hub.

This year’s Annecy Animation Festival will share the fruits of that program – which offers an across-the-board 30% tax rebate for international productions, with an additional 10% bonus to projects that partner with local VFX houses — showcasing internationally funded, made-in-France projects like Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” and Studio Ponoc’s anime fantasy “The Imaginary.” Meanwhile local artists are currently hard at work bringing Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. 2” to life at Illumination’s Paris facility.

Recent big-screen blockbusters that benefited from that program include “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” while Netflix’s small-screen sensation “Blue Eyed Samurai” and upcoming titles “The Doomies” from Disney+, “Creature Commandos” from James Gunn and Max/Warner,...

Disney Branded Television continues its long and fruitful relationship with the Annecy Animation Festival today with an annual presentation of project greenlights and series renewals. The company is also sharing first looks at exciting upcoming shows and specials from its preschool and kid-focused slate.

Detailed descriptions of the titles showcased in this year’s presentation are available below, but highlights from today’s panel include new shorts series announcements for “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab” and “SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventure,” a 22-minute “Prep & Landing” special, a fifth season order of “Big City Greens,” and the second season release date and first look images from “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.”

First looks are also being provided for upcoming series including “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” “Kindergarten: The Musical,” “StuGo” and “The Doomies,” the latter of which will host an Annecy Work in Progress session on Wednesday morning.

Originally developed as an eight-episode series, the maritime adventure “Lucy Lost” will instead hit the silver screen now that Paris-based powerhouse Xilam Animation has retooled the project as a feature. “Klaus” alum Olivier Clert has boarded as co-writer and director, joining BAFTA-winning screenwriter Helen Blakeman for a seaside family tale adapted from “War Horse” author Michael Morpurgo’s 2014 novel “Listen to the Moon.”

Xilam has shared this first-look with Variety ahead of the reformatted project’s pitch at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux.

Set on the Isles of Scilly just off the Cornish coast, the film follows a young girl named Lucy raised by a clan of fishermen she knows not to be hers. However, she remembers little else about her past, and as a terrible war rages off in the distance, a chance encounter with the mysterious girl her own age soon helps Lucy put back the pieces of her...

Exclusive: Disney’s VP of International Animation is to keynote the Manchester Animation Festival next month.

Orion Ross will address the UK’s biggest animation confab with “case studies of how Disney is working in the UK on global series,” he said, “while discussing the evolving opportunities for the UK’s rich and unique ecosystem of animation creators, writers, artists, studios and producers to play a leading role in making new global hits.”

Ross is a big draw for the annual fest. As part of the Disney Branded Television group headed by Ayo Davis, he and his UK-based team develop and produce animated series for Disney’s global channels and platforms including Disney+. Recent and upcoming projects include the Disney+ Originals Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life, The Doomies, Magicampers, Dragon Striker and The Sunnyridge 3, as well as the global co-productions Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.

Oscar-nominated Xilam Animation will serve as animation studio for Zack Snyder’s upcoming epic 2D animated action series Twilight of the Gods.

Set in the world of Norse mythology, the series is created by Snyder, who directs two episodes, Jay Olivia, who also directs, and Eric Carrasco. Series is executive produced by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller, and produced by Zack and Deborah Snyder’s production company The Stone Quarry. Carrasco also serves as producer.

Xilam’s animation services on the animated series will include lay-out, colour Bg, animation and compositing.

“We’re so proud to be working with the team at Stone Quarry, including iconic creator and director Zack Snyder. And we’re also deeply grateful to Netflix for trusting us to bring his spectacular vision to life,” said Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO at Xilam Animation. “We’ll be utilising state of the art 2D animation across the series,...