Best Animation Studios in Kuala Lumpur (2026)

Introduction

Kuala Lumpur and the wider Klang Valley hold most of Malaysia’s animation industry, and the six studios below are the ones we could verify as active here in 2026 with strong recent work. They range from studios that own household-name characters to a game-art house whose credits include Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The past year was a big one for Malaysian animation at the cinema. Monsta’s Papa Zola The Movie passed RM68.2 million at the Malaysian box office, overtaking WAU Animation’s Ejen Ali The Movie 2 as the country’s highest-grossing animated film. Abroad, MDEC took 11 local animation companies to the Annecy market (MIFA) in June 2026, and Animasia’s Kisah Bawah Tanah premiered on Astro in March 2026, billed as Malaysia’s first adult animated series.

Every studio here has a studio or office in Greater Kuala Lumpur in 2026, which in practice means the city itself plus Cyberjaya, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam. The list is unranked. Some studios mainly build their own IP and others mainly take service work, so the right fit depends on what you need made.

The best animation studios in Kuala Lumpur

1. Monsta

Privately held · Cyberjaya · monsta.com

Monsta (Monsta Studios Sdn Bhd, known for years as Animonsta) was founded in 2009 by four former Les’ Copaque staff and is the studio behind BoBoiBoy, Mechamato and Papa Zola. Papa Zola The Movie became Malaysia’s biggest animated film, reaching RM68.2 million at home and 4.4 million cinema-goers across Southeast Asia, and won Gold at the MARKies Awards Malaysia 2026. BoBoiBoy Galaxy Baraju was named Best Animated Programme Made in Asia at the ContentAsia Awards 2026.

Most of its output is original IP, but the studio also works with brands and government bodies; its site lists partners such as 7-Eleven, GSC, TGV, RapidKL and MR DIY, and in August 2026 it partnered with JPJ for National Day. Papa Pipi, a series about Papa Zola’s family, is due in late 2026, with BoBoiBoy Movie 3 set for 2027.

2. Lemon Sky Studios

Privately held · Kuala Lumpur · lemonskystudios.com

Lemon Sky has made game art and animation in Kuala Lumpur since 2006 and lists more than 180 shipped titles. Its credits include Final Fantasy VII Remake, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Gears of War 5 and Warcraft III Reforged, and clients shown on its site include Square Enix, Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Riot Games and Netflix.

The studio covers concept art, 3D characters and environments, game cinematics and CGI trailers, from previs to final render, and can supply a single discipline, embedded artists or a full external team. It is also building its own IP: My Shiba Ate the Time Machine, a papercraft and claymation series co-owned with Berani Nusantara Media, made its market debut at MIPCOM 2026 with FINAS support.

3. WAU Animation

Privately held · Cyberjaya · wau.com.my

WAU Animation was founded in 2013 by Usamah Zaid Yasin, a co-founder of Les’ Copaque, and is best known for Ejen Ali, the spy series about a boy agent. Ejen Ali The Movie 2, co-produced with Komet Productions and distributed by Primeworks Studios, premiered in May 2025 and took more than RM58 million, holding the record for a Malaysian animated film until Papa Zola passed it.

The studio’s first Ejen Ali film grossed about RM30 million in 2019. It is mainly an IP studio, so brand and service work is a smaller part of what it does; ask about capacity before briefing it.

4. Les’ Copaque Production

Privately held · Shah Alam · lescopaque.com

Les’ Copaque is the studio behind Upin & Ipin, the twins who have been on Malaysian television since the studio started work in 2006. Founded by Burhanuddin Md Radzi and Ainon Ariff, it marked 20 years in December 2025 with LC Xpo at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. Its 2019 film Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal was the first Southeast Asian animated film to qualify for the Oscars.

Recent work includes Dongeng Sang Kancil (December 2024), a feature that mixes 2D effects with 3D and later went to Netflix, and the console game Upin & Ipin Universe, made with Streamline Studios. An Upin & Ipin theme park is planned at King’s Park in Genting Highlands, though no opening date has been set.

5. Animasia Studio

Privately held · Kuala Lumpur · animasia-studio.com

Animasia has been making and licensing animation from Kuala Lumpur since 2005, with further offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver. Its titles include Chuck Chicken, Harry & Bunnie, Bola Kampung and ABC Monsters, and its work has been licensed to Disney Channel Asia among others.

Kisah Bawah Tanah, a horror-comedy based on Southeast Asian ghost stories, co-produced with Spaceboy Studio for IP owner Bawah Tanah, premiered on Astro Prima in March 2026 after eight years in development. Animasia also takes service work (2D and 3D production, character design, game development) and has made public-information videos for Malaysia’s National Security Council.

6. Lil Critter Workshop

Independent · Petaling Jaya · lilcritterworkshop.tv

Lil Critter Workshop is a children’s animation studio with its main studio in Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya, a second studio in Cyberjaya and an office in Bristol in the UK. It started out on the comedy series Lawak Kampus and now develops its own shows, including Hogie the Globehopper, which has gone out on broadcast internationally, and the slapstick series Buck and Buddy.

Its development slate includes Billy Fei and the Cloud Trials, a 3D sci-fi comedy built in Unreal. In September 2026 the studio was named among the MDEC Digital Content Grant recipients during the Jelajah Malaysia Digital tour.

What to look for in a Kuala Lumpur animation studio

Start with the studio’s business model. Several of the best-known Klang Valley studios earn most of their money from their own characters, through cinema releases, licensing and merchandise. They have deep production pipelines, but service work has to fit around their own slates. Studios such as Lemon Sky and Animasia take more outside work and are set up for it.

Check the pipeline against your project. A brand film, a 52-episode preschool series and a batch of game cinematics need different tools and different people. Ask which software the team uses (Toon Boom, Maya, Unreal and so on), who will direct, and how many artists will be on your job at its peak.

Plan around language and the calendar. Much Malaysian animation is made in Malay first and dubbed into English, Mandarin, Indonesian or Arabic, so agree early which versions you need and who records them. Festive seasons such as Hari Raya and Chinese New Year bring heavy demand for short animated spots, so book well ahead if your work lands then. MDEC grants and FINAS support also shape what studios can take on, and some co-productions depend on them.

Finally, ask how review works. Animation goes through many rounds (script, storyboard, animatic, layout, animation, lighting, comp), and each one produces large files and a lot of notes. A studio that keeps one current version of each shot and collects feedback in one place saves weeks across a series.

How Fabric helps animation teams

Fabric gives an animation studio one workspace for its files, feedback and production knowledge. Scenes, renders and reference 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. Shared team folders always hold the latest version. There is more on storing renders in your rendering files need a home.

Search works by meaning across documents, images, PDFs and transcribed audio and video, and results jump to the right page or timestamp. Colour search finds frames and designs by shade, and similar search surfaces related character sheets, backgrounds or past shots from a single image.

For reviews, share a shot, animatic or folder with the client or director as a commenter; shared links work without sign-up. With annotations, reviewers leave timestamped comments on video and audio, draw on a video frame with a comment, and draw on stills such as storyboards and character designs. The team marks each comment completed as it is fixed, so a round of notes works like a checklist. Published links are for viewing only, so they suit finished reels rather than review rounds. The review and approval page shows the workflow.

Pre-production fits on Canvas, an infinite whiteboard for boards and style frames that can embed Figma, YouTube and Vimeo. A Kanban board turns any folder into a pipeline whose cards are the shot files themselves. Up to 25 people can work together in a file through collaboration, with threaded comments, @mentions and viewer, commenter, editor and admin roles.

Password protection and link analytics for client deliveries come with Pro and Team plans, and Team plans, from $125 a month, add self-writing docs for each client. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

Which studio made Upin & Ipin?

Les’ Copaque Production, based in Shah Alam, created Upin & Ipin and has produced the series since 2006. The studio marked its 20th anniversary in December 2025.

What is the highest-grossing Malaysian animated film?

Papa Zola The Movie by Monsta, which passed RM68.2 million at the Malaysian box office. It overtook Ejen Ali The Movie 2 by WAU Animation, which took more than RM58 million in 2025.

Do Kuala Lumpur animation studios take brand and commercial work?

Many do. Monsta lists brand and government partners, Animasia takes service and public-sector work, and Lemon Sky supplies game cinematics and trailers to international publishers. For live-action spots with animated elements, the video production companies in Kuala Lumpur list is a better place to start.

Where are most animation studios in the Klang Valley?

Cyberjaya has the largest cluster, including Monsta and WAU Animation. Others are in Kuala Lumpur itself, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam.

Can a Malaysian studio work on an international series?

Yes. Lemon Sky works for publishers such as Square Enix and Insomniac Games, Animasia has offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver, and Lil Critter Workshop has an office in Bristol. Malaysian studios also co-produce with foreign partners, often with MDEC or FINAS support.

Related lists

Animation studios in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Singapore · Sydney

More in Kuala Lumpur: Creative agencies · Video production · Content studios · Advertising agencies

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for creative teams · Best video review software for creative teams · How to get client feedback on a video