Netflix has officially opened a major new animation studio in Vancouver, marking a significant expansion of its production presence in Canada and further cementing the city’s role as a global hub for animation, film, and visual effects.
The newly opened purpose-built studio spans about 111,000 sq. ft. of space at 110 East 5th Ave. within the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area — inside the 2025-built, nine-storey, office building known as M4, part of the area’s Main Alley tech campus’ growing cluster of office and residential buildings.
Located at the southeast corner of the intersection of East 5th Avenue and Quebec Street, the building is about a five-minute walk from SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station on the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension, opening in Fall 2027.
Known as Netflix Animation Studios, the team is the successor to Australia-founded Animal Logic — formerly an independent animation and visual effects company that first announced in May 2022 it would become the building’s anchor tenant once completed. Shortly after, Netflix acquired Animal Logic in July 2022, and the Vancouver operation has since been turned into the company’s in-house animation division.
In Spring 2025, in a deal worth about $90 million, Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust announced it had acquired local developer Westbank’s remaining stake in the M4 building, which has a total building floor area of about 195,000 sq. ft., including 167,000 sq. ft. of tech-oriented office space and 38,000 sq. ft. of creative/light industrial and retail/restaurant uses. The building, now 100 per cent owned by Allied, is designed by Vancouver-based Henriquez Partners Architects.
Allied later indicated that as of August 2025, the building was 77 per cent leased, with the expectation at the time that the finalization of a lease-expansion agreement would bring it to 90 per cent leased.
Netflix notes that the facilities of its Vancouver studio have been designed specifically for animated feature production.
The space integrates advanced production technology with collaborative work areas aimed at supporting both creative development and large-scale animation workflows. The site is also expected to expand further with the addition of employees from Eyeline — Netflix’s in-house visual effects division — creating a combined animation and visual effects production hub.
In addition to ample desks for workspaces, there are also breakout and collaboration spaces, multi-purpose meeting rooms, an auditorium-style production theatre, and a wide range of amenities for staff, such as a games room and a cafeteria on the top floor of the building.
More than 450 staff are currently based at Netflix Animation Studios in Vancouver. According to Netflix, construction of the facility’s interior spaces contributed over $50 million to British Columbia’s GDP, with ongoing operations as a hub for creativity for global entertainment projected to add approximately $100 million per year.
The studio is already gearing up for its next major project, Steps, a feature film that reimagines the story of Cinderella’s sisters. The production will feature voice performances from Ali Wong, Stephanie Tsu, and Amanda Seyfried.
Amir Nasrabadi, chief operating officer of Netflix Animation Studios, highlighted Vancouver’s talent pool as a key factor in the company’s decision to invest in the region.
Netflix’s Vancouver-based animation teams have already contributed to several high-performing titles on the platform. Among them are Leo, which spent 10 weeks on Netflix’s global top 10 English film list and reached the number one spot in 62 countries, and Thelma the Unicorn, which also appeared on the global chart and reached the top 10 in 72 countries.
“We’re excited to be working on the upcoming film, Steps, from our new studio. Vancouver is home to some of the world’s most incredible talent, and we’re lucky to have many of them in our studio. We’re proud of what we’ve created here and even more excited about the work to come,” said Nasrabadi.
The new studio adds to Netflix’s broader production footprint in B.C., where a range of film and television projects have been shot. These include Avatar: The Last Airbender, which generated more than $150 million in economic activity during its first season, and Virgin River, which contributed $44.4 million to the province’s economy during its fifth season.
Other productions filmed in the region include The Wrong Paris and TIME OUT, currently in production, as well as upcoming projects Remarkably Bright Creatures and Crew Girl.
Originally published on Daily Hive
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