Best Animation Studios in Mexico City (2026)

Introduction

Mexico City has eight animation studios worth a close look in 2026, covering stop-motion and hand-drawn features, game cinematics, CGI for brands and immersive work. They range from Cinema Fantasma, whose I Am Frankelda reached Netflix worldwide in June, to small studios that make most of their living from commercials.

It has been a mixed year for the city’s animation scene. Ánima Estudios, founded in Mexico City and long the country’s best-known animation producer, paused active production in July 2026 and confirmed layoffs while it restructures. At the same time, I Am Frankelda became one of Mexico’s highest-grossing films of 2025 before its Netflix release, and Fotosíntesis Media premiered its 2D feature My Friend the Sun at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in April. Guadalajara and Zapopan are the country’s other big animation centre, and Pixelatl holds its 15th festival there in November.

Every studio here makes work from a Mexico City base in 2026. The list is in no fixed order of merit: the right partner depends on the technique, the budget and whether you need a feature, a series or a 30-second spot.

The best animation studios in Mexico City

1. Cinema Fantasma

Independent · Mexico City · cinemafantasma.com

Cinema Fantasma is the stop-motion studio of brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz, founded about 15 years ago. Its HBO Max series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (2021) led to I Am Frankelda, billed as Mexico’s first stop-motion feature, which premiered at Annecy in 2025, became a theatrical hit in Mexico and streamed worldwide on Netflix from 12 June 2026. More than 100 people worked on the film.

The studio also has a long run of commercial and broadcast work, including IDs for Adult Swim and Cartoon Network and projects for Nickelodeon and NFL Mexico. Its next feature, The Ballad of the Phoenix, went to the Venice Gap-Financing Market in September 2026 with Woo Films and Cine Vendaval as partners. After Frankelda the team downsized somewhat, so ask about capacity for large handmade jobs.

2. Fotosíntesis Media

Independent studio · Mexico City · fotosintesis.media

Fotosíntesis Media has spent ten years making 2D animated films with a social purpose, under the line “cause-driven entertainment”. Its earlier films include A Costume for Nicolas, The Angel in the Clock and The Stone Boy. My Friend the Sun, directed by Alejandra Pérez González from a script by co-founder Miguel Ángel Uriegas, had its world premiere at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in April 2026.

Alongside the films, the studio runs a services side making story-driven animation for game publishers, with episodes and trailers for Supercell, Free Fire and Warzone Mobile. It covers the full chain from narrative design and concept art to post, and it works with non-profits on awareness films.

3. Llamarada Animación

Animation studio · Mexico City · llamarada.tv

Llamarada is a Mexico City animation studio with more than ten years of work across film, television, museums and advertising. Its style draws on contemporary art and popular culture, and the team has made nine original shorts. It also runs a co-production strand for independent projects.

On the commercial side, Llamarada handles concept, production and post for brands including Nu, BBVA, Fiat, Cinemex and Ben & Frank, as well as Sprite’s “Luis” Pride piece. Its portfolio also includes work for INECC’s MIDE Ciudades programme.

4. Cinética Studio

Creative technology studio · Mexico City · cinetica.studio

Cinética has worked since 2019 at the point where 3D animation meets live events and technology. It offers CGI and digital characters, motion capture, virtual production, real-time rendering and FOOH (fake out-of-home) anamorphic video, plus AR, VR and installation work. The studio reports more than 120 completed projects.

Recent jobs include FOOH and anamorphic video for Tecate at Pa’l Norte 2025 and an XR piece for Nissan at Formula E 2025. Other clients include Netflix, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, BBVA and Aeroméxico. It suits briefs where animation has to live in a physical space or a social feed as much as on screen.

5. Bocanada Studio

Creative and production studio · Mexico City and Dallas · bocanadastudio.com

Bocanada has made commercial content since 2015 from bases in Mexico City and Dallas, working as an extension of brand and agency teams. It mixes animation with live action, VFX and art direction, which helps on spots where characters and filmed footage share the frame.

Recent animated work includes a Disney Vips tie-in for Toy Story 5, campaigns for Coppel and Banamex’s Buen Fin, Estafeta’s “Déjalo en nuestras manos” and “Yomi Tajín”. It also produced animation for the TikTok Awards 2024.

6. Spaceboy

Creative studio · Mexico City and California · spaceboy.mx

Spaceboy describes itself as a studio of multidisciplinary artists building audiovisual work alongside its own stories and custom techniques. It runs production for brands next to an originals slate, a games label (Spaceboy Games) and digital experiences, and it released a new demo reel in 2025.

The mix makes it a fit for clients who want a character or world that can move between a commercial, an interactive piece and a game. Its site lists few named clients, so ask for case studies close to your brief.

7. Biota

Animation studio · Mexico City, Miami, Bogotá and other cities · biota.group

Biota, formerly Biota Studios, has made character-led animation since 2009. It describes its work as creating characters, stories and worlds, and it runs one team across offices in Mexico City, Miami, Bogotá, Caracas, Buenos Aires and Madrid, working in Spanish and English.

The spread of offices suits pan-regional brands that want one animation partner for Mexico, the US Hispanic market and South America. The public site shows a reel but few named projects, so ask to see recent work and which office will lead.

8. Melocotón Studio

Independent · Mexico City · melocotonstudio.com

Melocotón is an independent VFX and animation studio that works with production companies, agencies and directors from pre-production to final delivery. It has won the Ariel Award for Best Visual Effects twice, for Belzebuth in 2020 and Desaparecer por completo in 2024.

Its episodic and film credits include Chespirito: Sin querer queriendo for HBO Max and Cassandro for Amazon, and it released a commercial reel in 2026. Commercial and on-set clients include Logitech, Meta and On Running. It is the right call when animation has to sit inside live-action plates, such as CG characters or products composited into filmed scenes.

What to look for in a Mexico City animation studio

Start with technique. Stop-motion, 2D, 3D CGI and mixed live action each need different crews, schedules and budgets, and most Mexico City studios have a clear home technique even when they offer several. A studio that has shipped a feature in your chosen technique will plan the pipeline differently from one that mostly makes 20-second spots.

Ask how the studio scales. Many studios run a small core team and bring in freelancers for big jobs. That works well, but it is worth knowing who leads design, animation and compositing by name, and whether the people in the pitch will stay on the project.

Agree the review stages before work starts. Animation is approved in steps (script, boards, animatic, layout, animation, final render), and changes cost more the later they come. A clear number of revision rounds per stage, and a named approver on the client side, saves money and time.

Finally, look at how files and feedback move. Animation projects produce large render sequences, project files and many versions of the same shot. Studios that keep one shared home for the latest renders, and gather notes in one place, make it much easier for an agency or brand team to stay on top of approvals.

How Fabric helps animation teams

Fabric gives an animation studio one workspace for its files, references and client feedback, with AI search across all of it. Render outputs, project files and reference libraries 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 handling large outputs in why your rendering files need a home.

Search works by meaning across documents, images, PDFs and transcribed recordings, and colour search finds visual assets by shade, which helps when an art director asks for “the warm dusk palette from the pitch”. Boards, style frames and moodboards can be laid out on Canvas, an infinite whiteboard that embeds YouTube, Vimeo and Figma and exports to SVG or PNG.

For client review, any file or folder can be published as a web page and shared with password protection. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without creating an account. With annotations, reviewers can mark up PDFs and documents such as scripts and treatment decks, and leave timestamped comments and drawings on video.

Production stages can run on a Kanban board where each card is the shot or file itself, so a folder of shots moves from animatic to final in one view.

Password protection is included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best animation studio in Mexico City?

It depends on the technique and the brief. For handmade stop-motion, Cinema Fantasma made I Am Frankelda, which streamed on Netflix worldwide in 2026. For 2D features and game cinematics, Fotosíntesis Media premiered My Friend the Sun in 2026. For CGI and anamorphic brand work, Cinética Studio has worked with Tecate, Nissan and Netflix.

What happened to Ánima Estudios?

In July 2026 Ánima confirmed layoffs and said it had temporarily paused active animation production while it restructures. The studio said it had not closed permanently and aimed to release the Leyendas film La Venganza del Charro Negro with outside partners. It is left off this list until it is producing again.

How much does animation cost in Mexico City?

Studios price by technique, length and the number of review rounds, so quotes vary widely. A short 2D or motion piece costs far less per second than stop-motion or character CGI. Ask for a quote broken down by stage (design, animatic, animation, compositing) so you can compare studios on the same basis.

Do Mexico City animation studios work with international clients?

Yes. Cinema Fantasma has made work for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and Netflix, Fotosíntesis Media makes cinematics for international game publishers, and Bocanada and Biota run offices outside Mexico. Most studios work in Spanish and English.

Where can I find VFX studios in Mexico City?

Some studios here, such as Melocotón, also do visual effects. For houses that focus on compositing, CG and on-set supervision for film and commercials, see our list of the best VFX studios in Mexico City.

Related lists

Animation studios in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Mexico City: Creative agencies · VFX · Post-production · Video production · Content studios

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for creative teams · Storyboards in Fabric · Best video asset management tools