The rise of the animation industry in Spain was one of the narrative benchmarks of this event, held from September 19 to 22 in the French city of Toulouse

Spanish companies GoldBee and Peekaboo Animation triumphed at the Cartoon Tributes 2022, with GoldBee named as Investor/Distributor of the Year and independent production company Peekaboo winning Producer of the Year.  

It was the crowning glory of a year with a strong Spanish flavor that included a strong presence in the pitching sessions as well as a spotlight dedicated to Spain, with several networking activities to promote the local industry, supported by ICEX in collaboration with Diboos, the federation of animation and VFX production companies.

In one of the strongest representations ever in pitching—the main attraction of this event in Toulouse—Spain was the second country with the most projects, eight, behind only France.

Major production companies presenting their most recent animation projects included In Efecto Atlantis, the Spanish-French studio behind the Disney series "Tara Duncan"; Sygnatia, the producer of the multi-award-winning animated film "Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles"; and Peekaboo, creator of the worldwide best-selling "I, Elvis Riboldi."

Two of the selected Spanish projects ("My Brother is a T-Rez", by Mr. Klaus Animation Studio and Lusco Fusco Animation, and "Polka Dot Zebra" by Sygnatia and Bro Cinema) are aimed at preschool children.

Five other titles ("Bertie's Brainwaves," by In Efecto and Flickerpix;" Best Friends Forever... Stranded!" by Peekaboo; "Mervyn's Album" by Kick the Door Productions and BigB; "The Little Orchestra" by Mago Production, Apus Animación y Contenido, and Cucho TV, and "Zoey Oceans "by Studio Kimchi) are aimed at older children, while "Primeros" by TV ON Producciones and Tippo Creative Lab targets family audiences.

The eight selected shows "demonstrate the wealth of knowledge and talent that Spain has generated since we began to develop the industry in the 1960s," said Nico Matji, president of Diboos.

In recent years, the animation scene has experienced historic growth, becoming a crucial sector in a fast-growing domestic audiovisual market.

According to ICEX estimates, the animation and VFX sector generates 20% of the jobs in the audiovisual industry. Its annual turnover—900 million euros—accounts for 9% of total revenues.

The greatest international visibility for this industry has to date come from feature films.

"Animated films showed that there is incredible talent in Spain," explained Xosé Zapata, CEO of Sygnatia, producer of Salvador Simó's film "Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles," winner of the Goya, Annecy, and European Film Academy awards.

Other recent milestones in Spanish animated film include Alberto Mielgo's "The Windshield Wiper," winner of the Oscar for Best Short Film; Annie and BAFTA Award winner and Oscar nominee for "Klaus"—Netflix 's first foray into original animated feature films—Sergio Pablos, as well as "Tadeo Jones 3. La Tabla Esmeralda" (Tad The Lost Explorer and the Emerald Tablet), directed by Enrique Gato and produced by Lightbox Entertainment and Telecinco Cinema, the successful third installment of the popular international saga.