Toon City looks at Cebu as animation creative hub, source of animators in Visayas

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – Manila-based Toon City, recognized as one of the top animation studios in the Philippines and the world, is now looking at Cebu to become the animation and creative hub and a major source of animators in the Visayas, according to TOON City company executives.

In a Virtual Animation Career Fair and Webinar conducted by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in cooperation with Toon City and Toon City Academy (TCA) on April 24, Roderico Rene de Guzman, vice president for Toon City and chief operations officer of TCA said that Toon City is looking for animators and is looking at Cebu as a possible source of animators.

“There’s a lot of work and we know for a fact that people in Cebu are very talented and we would like to expand our reach by asking the young people of Cebu to join Toon City or Toon City Academy,” De Guzman said.

Toon City, he said has been ranked 22nd best in the world is working with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal Studios and presently the country’s animation industry revenues are placed at $20 to $30 million.

Developing Cebu as major hub for animation could also help boost the industry’s goal of increasing animation earnings to one percent of the $270-billion total global revenues for animation, De Guzman added.

Juan Miguel del Rosario, president and chief executive officer of Toon City noted that there’s a huge demand for animators in the country due to the rising demand for animation from global entertainment companies.

The TCA is the official training arm of Toon City, with veteran Filipino animators as instructors and it will start operations of its Cebu City facility by June this year.

Del Rosario said that jobs in animation industry pays well and provides jobs even for those who have not finished a four-year course. He added that 60 percent of their animators are non-college graduates.

He pointed out that animators earn from P24,000 to P25,000 monthly, which is not bad especially for those who haven’t finished a four-year college course and there are even some Toon City animators who earn up to P100,000 monthly.

“We believe in the creativity of the Cebuanos. We believe the talent (for animation) is in Cebu,” We would like to share this opportunity for Cebu to shine in the field of animation because we believe in the creativity of the Cebuanos and we’re really here to tap the talent of Cebuanos and provide opportunity for them to work with us,” Toon City executives said.

The company started accepting applications from those interested to work for Toon City and will continue to accept job applications, according to TCA-Cebu president MarioPanganiban that because the studio has a big client base, Toon City’s presence in Cebu will help provide job opportunities for Cebu-based animators,

Toon City will be bringing jobs and would not compete with local studios because they would need more people to cope with the big projects given to them.  TCA Cebu will provide training for animators to the level and quality required by the major global entertainment companies, Panganiban said.

Panganiban noted that the potential and possibilities are great for Cebu if it could prove that it has enough talents that meet the level their clients require.  Cebu’s creative sector could also look at other possible sources of revenue, Panganiban added.

Even if Toon City caters to the entertainment industry, Panganiban noted that Cebu could also cater the gaming industry.  In 2020, he bared that the global gaming market was valued at $162.32 billion. It is projected to increase to $295.63 billion by 2026.