Belgian Connections: five animation studios present their approach at Cartoon Business
From Walking the Dog to nWave, the Belgian industry is always busy. Is it thriving? We would hope so
Cartoon Business is already coming to end this evening, after three days of intense discussions about the future of the global animation industry. In this landscape, it was wonderful to (re)discover the variety of studios active in Belgium.
Before diving back into the panels, a quick shout out to all those studios that presented Wednesday and Thursday morning. They are doing outstanding work, and they are also (most of them) looking for talents and young artists. A statement reflected in the lovely Wednesday afternoon they spent meeting with students and junior artists.
Why is it important?
In the ever-changing landscape of animation, Belgian artists tend to struggle, some of them forced to go and work abroad on productions. Where studio work isn’t what everyone is looking for, it is indeed a great way to build experience, add depth to your portfolio, and have the opportunity to work on world class animated features, tv series and specials in both 2D and 3D animation.
Now, let’s dive into the different studios
Vivi Film - Studio Souza - Creature
I’ve already talked extensively about the great set up veteran producer Viviane Vanfleteren has created with Vivi Film and the studios connected to her production company, spanning from Brussels (Studio Souza) to Ghent (Creature). Their recent projects include Titina, The Polar Bear Prince, the Upside down River, and upcoming Stitch Head and Ewilan’s Quest.
People wanting to know more about these studios should reach out directly to the teams. There are currently no open positions at Creature (per their website), but as you may know, it all depends on upcoming projects and upcoming productions, so don’t hesitate to check out their website (and their socials) regularly.
You can reach out to Studio Souza directly at recruitment(at)studiosouza.be
Dreamwall
Located in Charleroi, Dreamwall is a multimedia service provider studio specialized in creating animated content in all types of technologies (2D, 3D, hybrid). With it’s wide technological approach, whether in the professional tools used (2D, 3D, etc.) or in the production tracking tools that the studio can integrate with (Shotgrid, Kitsu, etc.), Dreamwall has placed agility at the heart of its identity.
Part of the Media-Participations mega-publishing French group, Dreamwall has been working on features, tv series, animated docs and much more. With collaboration on hit series such as The Smurfs, Le petit Nicolas, or acclaimed animated features such as Michael Dudok de Wit’s Oscar-Nominated Red Turtle.
As of now, Dreamwall is very busy working on several projects, many of them scheduled for 2026. On the feature side, the 2D gem that is The treasure of Barracuda has already been released in Spain, its local market, and will release in other territories in 2026. Les légendaires, a 3D feature film adapted from hit comic book series of the same name, will hit French and Belgian theatres in January 2026.
On the series’ side, Dreamwall is working on another comic book adaptation, Louca, a 3D series backed by Media Valley, Belvision and TF1.
People interested in knowing more about Dreamwall or applying can do so directly on their website through spontaneous application. And good news, Dreamwall is always looking for talents!
Walking the Dog
Another long established studio in Flanders, Walking the Dog has been behind most of many world class animated projects for the past 25 years. Working with Ari Folman on The Congress and Anne Frank, Eric Goossens and Anton Roebben also collaborated on Jack et la Mécanique du Coeur, a striking musical 3D film crafted back in 2014, and have been collaborating with the Richard the Stork and Fox & Hare franchises. On the more “arthouse” side, Walking the Dog has brought forth films such as Another Day of Life, Best Animated Film at the European Film Awards, but also the latest film by Sylvain Chomet, A Magnificent Life.
On that last project, Eric Goossens underlined the fact that it was difficult to find senior 2D artists in Belgium, connecting to my previous point.
As per recruitment, the veteran producer (and co-founder of Belgian animation producers association anim.be ) was both enthusiastic and cautious : “We try to employ as much interns, juniors, mids as possible, as well of course as seniors and specialists. But to me, if you want to apply at Walking the Dog, be as direct and detailed as possible. We are also human beings, we don’t have that much time, and we are looking with people willing to go the extra mile with us.”
A good way to go through the cluster of email candidacies is to attend such events as Cartoon Business, and meet the recruiters face-to-face. If you’re not able to do that and you’re interested in applying, reach out at hr[at]walkingthedog.be and here.
nWave
I won’t go too deep on this one as well, as I already covered the rich history of nWave in a long conversation with its co-founder Ben Stassen, as well as its latest film Chickenhare 2 here. But nWave has many more projects up its sleeves.
One of them is their “Untitled Jean-Paul Gaultier project”, slated for 2027, but they’re also working hard on a new feature, Yugly, that they pitched back at Cartoon Movie. The film is in production right now, and there are many other projects (both commissioned work and original ideas) in the pipe at nWave. I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of that film when I did my Chickenhare 2 interview, and trust me when I say it’s going to be a visual treat.
People wanting to apply to this Belgian animation powerhouse (that now has also offices in both Liège, and the north of France) can find more info here.
The Pack
More than solely an animation studio, The Pack defines itself a “a bunch of talented artists, supported by a powerful infrastructure and solid production.” What do they do? Not only VFX for live-action, but also series, commercials, postproduction and stunning VR experiences, some of them screened in international festival.
We will dive more in a further newsletter on the multiple aspects of their work, but it’s interesting to say that they are also exploring gaming, in a very transmedia approach, combined with (following in Vivi Film’s footsteps) a tri-region setup that helps them get funding from all Belgium.
What are their works? The Pack collaborated on the indie, award-winning animated feature film Journey to Yourland, as well as crafting the Venice-selected The Sad Story of the Little Mouse who wanted to become somebody, and are currently working on next projects such as The Bottanix, a coproduction with Canada & Germany.
Interested in knowing more? Go to their website here.
There are, of course, many more studios based (or having offices) in Belgium. I had the chance to meet with the team at Waooh! during Cartoon Business, and they will be (as well as the Pack) the subject of an upcoming newsletter. Submarine, a Dutch studio which also has an antenna in Antwerp, is also very active.
So there’s definitely more to talk about! But right now, I’m diving back in the last Cartoon Business panels.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and I leave you with not only one, but a load of Smurfs episodes, animated by Dreamwall as well as many other partners.
Have a Smurfy animated weekend <3
Kevin