Disney has selected French startup Animaj for its 2025 Accelerator Program to integrate AI tools that speed up animation without replacing human artists. At a demonstration in Burbank, California, Animaj showcased how its technology reduces episode production time from five months to under five weeks. The partnership aims to enhance efficiency in Disney's television studios while keeping creators in control.
On a recent afternoon at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, executives and media gathered in the Main Street Cinema to witness presentations from four startups, including Animaj. The French company, chosen for Disney's 2025 Accelerator Program, demonstrated its AI tool using characters from the children's series Pocoyo. The technology allows animators to sketch key poses, with AI generating the in-between movements, which artists then refine.
Animaj CEO Sixte de Vauplane highlighted the efficiency gains: "Thanks to this tool, it takes less than five weeks to produce a 5-minute-long episode, whereas it used to take five months." The AI is trained on over 300,000 poses from four seasons of Pocoyo, enabling "motion in-betweening" that preserves the show's art style. Animators input positions like standing to sitting, and the system fills the transitions, freeing creators from repetitive tasks to focus on style and flow.
David Min, vice president of Disney Innovation, explained the selection process: Disney evaluated thousands of AI companies and chose Animaj for its artist-centered approach. "The artist is really driving the process," Min said. Unlike text-prompt tools like Google's Veo 3 or OpenAI's Sora 2, Animaj's system relies on human sketches. The company also uses AI to analyze viewer trends, informing storytelling and allowing faster testing of ideas—reducing pilot production time by 30%.
De Vauplane emphasized ethics: "The artist is in control... We want to show that there is another way to use AI in a very ethical way." Disney plans to announce further integration with its Branded Television and Television Studios soon. This builds on animation's history of technological evolution, from hand-drawn sketches in Snow White to modern CGI, amid ongoing union concerns over AI's role in jobs.
