The World Animation Summit Returns This November

 

The World Animation and VFX Summit describes itself as "the leading West Coast event for staying current with the latest trends and technologies in animation and VFX." The Summit is held annually by Animation Magazine. Every year, they induct new animation filmmakers and creatives into The Hall Of Fame and hold panels relating to a variety of animation and VFX topics.

Held from November 3-6  on the grounds of the historic Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, a special Gala will be held on November 3 where the honorees will get their awards. The summit will feature keynotes, panels and networking breakfasts, lunches, screenings and parties with top tier executive and creative talent representing various aspects of the industry. 

The 2024 World Animation and VFX Summit has announced this year's Hall Of Fame honorees and panel speakers:

The 2024 Hall of Fame Honorees:

Pete Docter
Chief Creative Officer
Pixar

Lisa Henson
CEO
The Jim Henson Company

Nick Park
Creator-Director
Wallace & Gromit

Claudia Katz
Executive Producer
Futurama

Bento Box Entertainment
Studio of the Year
Joel Kuwahara

Kay Wilson Stallings
EVP, Chief Creative Development & Production Officer
Sesame Workshop

Raymond Zibach
Production Designer
The Wild Robot

Kevin Michael Richardson
Voice Actor
Invincible, The Simpsons, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and others

Highlights from this year's Panels

Creative Keynotes:

Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train)

Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit (LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy)

Natasha Kline (Primos)

Minnow Mountain (Undone, Apollo 10 ½)

 

Awards Feature Contenders (in two parts)

Kelsey Mann (Inside Out 2), Simon Otto (This Christmas), Vicky Jenson (Spellbound), Josh Cooley (Transformers One), Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot), Merlin Crossingham (Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl), Dana LeDoux Miller (Moana 2), Shannon Tindle (Ultraman: Rising), Mike Mitchell (Kung Fu Panda 4), Alex Kirwan (The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie)

 

Get Ready for the Future with L.A.’s Own Creative Studios

Eric Towner (Stoopid Buddy Stoodios), Dana Tafoya-Cameron (Bento Box), Timothy Reckart (Sycamore Studios), Ben Kalina (Titmouse), John Andrews (moderator)

 

Games Without Frontiers

Arnaud-Loris Baudry (Arcane), Tim Miller (Secret Level), Curtis Lelash, Tasha Huo (Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft)  John Derevlany (Pudgy Penguins)

 

Hot Topic: Thoughts on Animating the Climate Change Dilemma.

Bobs Gannaway (WondLa), Carmiel Banasky (Undone), Jennifer McCarron (Wonderoos), Mary Bredin (Jade Armor)

 

AI and Animation: Replacing Dystopian Nightmares with Positive Solutions.

Lin Tam, Sixte de Vauplane, Luisa Huang, Todd Steinman, Evan Baily

 

Getting to Greenlight! Top Animation Execs Offer Tips on How to Get Your Shows Made. Katie Petrachonis (Warner Bros. Animation), Daniel Weidenfeld (Bento Box), Kari Kim (Nickelodeon), Josh Fisher (I Josh Around), Jason Caparaz (DreamWorks TV)

 

The Delicate Art of Balancing Personal Visions and Industry Needs.

Jorge R. Gutierrez (Maya and the Three), Vivienne Medrano (Hazbin Hotel), Sanjay Shah (Everybody Still Hates Chris), Rodney Clouden (Marvel’s Moon Girl and

Devil Dinosaur), Juston Gordon- Montgomery (Invincible Fight Girl), Michael Hollingsworth (BoJack Horseman)

 

How to Find the Right Global Partners

Bob Higgins (Trustbridge Ent.), Adrianna Cohen (Mikros Animation), Rick Mischel (Artists Animation Studio), Frank Falcone (Guru Studios), José Carlos Garcia De Letona (Anima), Sander Schwartz (Sandman TV & Film)

 

Independents’ Day. Morgan Neville (Piece By Piece), Adam Elliot (Memoir of a Snail), Usman Riaz (The Glassworker), Tim Harper (Ozi: Voice of the Forest), Archita Ghosh (Rezolution Pictures)

 

Riding the Animated Shorts Wave (In two parts)

Nicholas Ashe Bateman (An Almost Christmas Story), Iain Gardiner (A Bear Named Wojtek), Damián Perea (Animayo, In the Shadow of the Cypress), Toby Cochran (LUKi and the Lights), Maral Mohammadian (Maybe Elephants), Pablo Leon (Remember Us), Searit Huluf (Self), Sean Pecknold (Tennis, Oranges)

 

ASIFA-Hollywood Presents: Annie Award Winners Discuss the State of Animation and How to Save the Industry

Sanjay Patel (Ghee Happy), Justine King (The Little Poet), Amber Noizumi (Blue Eye Samurai), Raymond S. Persi (Welcome Home, Franklin), Aubry Mintz (ASIFA President)

 

Playing for Success

Rob David (Mattel), Yvette Sittrop (Moose Toys), Laura Clunie (Spin Master), David Shayne (LEGO Star Wars specials, Mech Cadets) Nicole Dubuc (Transformers: Earthpark) Rob Hudnut (Tea Town Teddy Bears)

 

Making Toons for the Preschool Set

Rich Magallanes (Dora), Stephanie Simpson (Mighty Monsterwheelies), Jennifer Oxley (Wonder Pets: In the City), Lynne Southerland (Disney Jr.’s Ariel), Leanne Preston Cortez (Moonbug), Rita Street (Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos!)

Business of Show Business

Strawn Dixon (UTA), Peter McHugh (The Gotham Group), Eddie Gamarra (Gamarra Media), Frank Saperstein (Surprise Bag)

 

The Next Wave of Adult Animation

Travis Willingham (The Legend of Vox Machina) Mark Levin (Big Mouth), Dean Lorey (Kite Man, Creature Commandos), Kiahna Manker (Arcane), Steve Levy (Krapopolis), Mark Hoffmeier

 

A Conversation with Three Major Studio Leaders: Kristine Belson (Sony Pictures Animation) and Margie Cohn (DreamWorks Animation) Ramsey Naito (President of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation)

 

Fireside Chat: DreamWorks Directors Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot) and Joel Crawford (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)

 

“Despite all the challenges our industry has faced in 2024, we were fortunate to enjoy so many amazing animated movies, TV series and shorts over the past 12 months. Once again, we are thrilled to be able to celebrate and spotlight the talent and resilience of our community and to spotlight the achievements of the creative forces in the animation industry,” says Summit founder and president and publisher of Animation Magazine Jean Thoren. “We invite all our friends in the global animation industry to join us once again at this one-of-a-kind event. We can’t wait to catch up with everyone and learn about the latest innovations and exciting new projects at the Summit this year.”

Visit the Summit's website to secure your tickets today.