Disney Partners with Animaj to Accelerate Animation Using AI

Disney has selected startup Animaj for its 2025 accelerator cohort, aiming to speed up animated‑short production with an AI‑driven tool that fills in in‑between frames while keeping human animators in control. The partnership promises to cut episode creation time from months to weeks, offering a faster pipeline for Disney Branded Television and Disney Television Studios. Animaj’s system trains on existing show assets, generates consistent character poses, and allows artists to tweak results, addressing industry concerns about AI replacing creative talent. Disney sees the technology as a way to meet streaming‑driven content demands while preserving the studio’s artistic legacy.

Disney’s AI‑Enhanced Animation Initiative

In a move designed to modernize its content pipeline, Disney has added Animaj to its 2025 accelerator program. The startup’s AI‑powered animation tool is built to work alongside human artists, generating the in‑between frames that traditionally require labor‑intensive hand‑drawing. By inputting key character positions, animators can let the model predict the motion that connects those poses, then adjust any inconsistencies. This workflow retains artistic control while dramatically shortening production cycles.

Speed Gains and Production Impact

Animaj’s CEO claims that a five‑minute episode that once took five months to complete can now be finished in less than five weeks. Disney’s Vice President of Innovation, David Min, notes that the technology could reduce overall series development time to about 30% of current schedules, allowing pilots and full seasons to be delivered far more quickly. The faster turnaround is positioned as a competitive advantage in the streaming era, where audiences expect a constant flow of fresh content.

Training on Existing Assets

The AI model is trained exclusively on images and poses from the specific show it will animate. For example, Animaj built a database of more than 300,000 poses from four seasons of the children’s series “Pocoyo.” This targeted training helps the system maintain the visual style and brand DNA of each property, avoiding the erratic results associated with generic text‑prompt generators.

Industry Concerns and Union Response

While Disney frames the partnership as a tool that empowers artists, the broader animation community remains wary. The Animation Guild has previously struggled to secure AI‑safety provisions in its contract, and some fear that AI could eventually be mandated in workflows without opt‑out options. Animaj emphasizes that its technology does not replace animators but rather frees them from repetitive tasks, enabling more focus on creative refinement.

Strategic Outlook

Disney’s exploration of AI reflects a broader industry trend of integrating generative technologies to meet the high‑volume demands of streaming platforms. By selecting a company whose system aligns with the studio’s “creator‑first” philosophy, Disney aims to balance rapid production with the preservation of its historic artistic standards. The partnership is expected to be announced publicly in the coming months, signaling Disney’s commitment to leveraging AI as a complementary asset rather than a disruptive replacement.