Best Animation Studios in Helsinki (2026)

Introduction

Helsinki has seven animation studios worth shortlisting in 2026, ranging from service studios that animate series for Disney and Warner Bros. to small teams making character spots and game marketing films for Finnish brands. Most of them work in 2D and 3D across both entertainment and commercial projects.

The city’s animation scene is shaped by two things: children’s IP made for export and a large games industry next door. Gigglebug Entertainment added a second studio in Gran Canaria in late 2024 while keeping its base in Helsinki. Pikkukala’s Samuel arrived on Netflix in June 2025, and Moominvalley, produced by Gutsy Animations and animated by Anima Vitae, is now in its fourth season. On the commercial side, Supercell, Rovio, Remedy and Futureplay all commission trailers and user acquisition ads from local studios.

Every studio here has a working studio in Greater Helsinki in 2026, checked against its own site or recent trade coverage. Helsinki is a small market, so the list is shorter than in larger cities, and it runs in no fixed order of merit.

The best animation studios in Helsinki

1. Gigglebug Entertainment

Independent · Vallila · gigglebugentertainment.com

Gigglebug was founded in Helsinki in 2013 by CEO Anttu Harlin and creative director Joonas Utti. It began with its own preschool brand and has grown into one of the larger service studios in the Nordics. In October 2024 it opened a second studio in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with a planned combined workforce of about 150.

Its credits include The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti, Disney’s 101 Dalmatian Street, Nickelodeon International’s Best & Bester, The Last Kids on Earth for Atomic Cartoons, and Warner Bros. Animation’s Merry Little Batman, where it was lead vendor studio. It is currently making Ted & Paula’s Tadpole Journey, a 52-episode 2D original, and runs an adult animation label, In Stitches.

2. Anima Vitae

Majority founder-owned, with an Aurora Studios stake · Helsinki · anima.fi

Anima Vitae has worked in 3D animation since 2000 and is best known for the Niko feature films. It was founded by Antti Haikala, Jani Kuronen and Olli Rajala, and has studios in Helsinki and Kuala Lumpur. Helsinki group Aurora Studios bought a 40% stake in 2021.

The studio animated Moominvalley for Gutsy Animations and lists the fourth season among its current work, alongside Niko: Beyond the Northern Lights and the feature Fleak, which it produces. Earlier service work includes Angry Birds Stella for Rovio and Rabbids Invasion: Mission to Mars.

3. Pikkukala

Independent · Helsinki · pikkukala.com

Pikkukala makes original series and features for children and families. Veronica Lassenius and Pablo Jordi founded it in Helsinki in 2012, added a Barcelona studio in 2018 and set up in Ireland in 2026. The Helsinki team leads creative direction, compositing, post-production and sound.

Its originals include Royals Next Door, which mixes animation with live action, and Taste Buddies, selected for Animation Production Days 2025. Samuel reached Netflix in June 2025, and Who Will Comfort Toffle? won at the Macau International Children’s Film Festival that July. It also co-produces, including Stinky Dog and Froggie.

4. Brink Helsinki

Independent · Helsinki · brinkhelsinki.com

Brink Helsinki has been animating for brands, agencies and game companies since 2011. Its work covers 2D and 3D character animation, frame-by-frame, photoreal product and FMCG animation, and game marketing films, with post-production handled in-house.

Recent projects include the Giga Bear 3D mascot, 2D characters for K-Citymarket, a photoreal squirrel for Metsä Group’s Serla, Merge Mansion user acquisition ads, assets for Supercell’s mo.co and work on Rovio’s Angry Birds titles. Clients also include Valio, Fiskars, Elisa, Ubisoft, Wärtsilä and the City of Helsinki.

5. Visual Kult

Independent · Helsinki · visualkult.fi

Visual Kult is a design and animation studio co-founded by art director and animator Eesu Lehtola. It covers 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, illustration and brand identity, and works closely with its sister production company, Silent Paprika Films, when a project needs live action.

Games and tech clients make up much of the animation work. It made logo animation and motion graphics for Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak, the Alan Wake II logo animation for Epic Games and Remedy, and 3D animation for Rightware’s Kanzi One. Other clients include TBWA, Warner Bros., ITV, Banijay and UNICEF.

6. Gutsy Animations

Independent, with Rovio investment · Arabianranta · gutsy.fi

Gutsy Animations is the production company behind Moominvalley, the Emmy-nominated series now in its fourth season and sold to more than 70 countries. Marika Makaroff founded it in 2016, and Rovio invested €5 million in 2021. Creative teams work from Helsinki and Bristol.

Gutsy develops and produces, then works with service studios for animation (Anima Vitae won the original Moominvalley pitch). That makes it a good fit for brand owners and broadcasters looking for a producing partner on a long-running series. It has since moved into adult live-action drama with L/over.

7. Fiilin Good Films

Independent · Helsinki · fiilingoodfilms.com

Fiilin Good Films creates and produces animation, graphic novel and game IP, with a lean towards genre stories for tweens, teens and young adults. It lists Helsinki among its bases, alongside Barcelona, London, Dublin and Los Angeles.

Its own animated series in development include Divine Consultants and Joy Eternal. It also works for other studios and game developers on visual development, narrative design, world building and game trailers, and it was at Finnish Film Affair and Pocket Gamer Helsinki in 2025 and Cartoon Next in 2026.

What to look for in a Helsinki animation studio

Decide first whether you need a service studio or a producer. Gigglebug and Anima Vitae animate for international clients at series scale, with pipelines built for dozens of episodes. Gutsy Animations and Fiilin Good Films develop and produce, and bring in animation partners. For a 30-second spot or a game trailer, a smaller studio such as Brink Helsinki or Visual Kult will usually move faster.

Check where the animation is made. Several Helsinki studios split work between Finland and a second site (Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur), which helps with capacity and co-production funding. It is worth asking which stages happen in Helsinki and who your day-to-day contact will be.

Look for the right kind of reel. Children’s series work, photoreal product animation and game user acquisition ads ask for different skills, and a studio that is strong in one may be less practised in another. Ask to see work close to your brief in format and length, and ask whether the same team made it.

Agree the review process before production starts. Animation runs through scripts, boards, animatics, layout, animation and comp, and each stage produces large files and a round of feedback. Studios that keep the latest versions in one place, and collect client notes against specific frames, lose less time to version confusion between stages.

How Fabric helps animation teams

Fabric gives an animation studio one workspace for project files, client feedback and production knowledge, with AI search across all of it. The motion design setup keeps boards, animatics, renders and call notes together for each client or series.

Renders, image sequences and project files sit in Fabric’s cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space, and heavy files open without a full download. There is more on this in a home for your rendering files. Search works by meaning across documents, images and transcribed recordings, and similar search finds frames or style references that look like the one selected. Story artists can build boards and moodboards on a canvas with embedded Vimeo and YouTube references.

For review, share an animatic or a cut with the client as a commenter. Shared links work without sign-up, and with annotations the client can leave timestamped comments on video, draw on a frame to point at a pose or background, or draw on a still and attach a note. The team marks each comment completed as it is fixed, so a round of notes works like a checklist. Published links are view-only, so feedback goes through shared links. Getting client feedback on a video walks through the steps.

A Kanban board turns any folder into a pipeline view whose cards are the files themselves, which suits shots moving from layout to animation to comp.

When a reel or pitch goes out to a commissioner, password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best animation studio in Helsinki?

It depends on the project. For series service work at scale, Gigglebug Entertainment and Anima Vitae have the longest international credit lists. For brand and game spots, Brink Helsinki and Visual Kult are well placed, and Pikkukala is a strong choice for original children’s content.

Who made the Moominvalley animated series?

Gutsy Animations in Helsinki produces Moominvalley, and Anima Vitae, also in Helsinki, won the pitch to animate it. The series is in its fourth season and has been sold to more than 70 countries.

Do Helsinki animation studios work for international clients?

Yes, and many depend on it. Gigglebug has animated for Disney, Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. Animation, Pikkukala’s Samuel is on Netflix, and Brink Helsinki and Visual Kult make trailers and ads for game companies such as Ubisoft, Supercell, Remedy and Epic Games.

Can a Helsinki animation studio handle live action as well?

Some can. Pikkukala combines animation and live action in Royals Next Door, and Visual Kult works with its sister company Silent Paprika Films on mixed projects. For mainly live-action shoots, a commercial production company is the better fit.

How much does animation cost in Helsinki?

Studios price by project, based on length, style and the number of revision rounds. A short 2D character spot costs far less than photoreal 3D or a full series episode. Ask for a quote broken down by stage (boards, animatic, animation, comp) so changes later in production are easier to price.

Related lists

Animation studios in other cities: Stockholm · Copenhagen · Oslo · London · New York

More in Helsinki: Creative agencies · Content studios · Design agencies · Advertising agencies · Social media agencies

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