The 2022 World Animation Summit has announced Ramsey Naito. President of Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, and Jorge R. Gutierrez, co-creator of Nickelodeon’s Emmy-winning show El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera as two of the event's Hall of Fame Game-Changer awards honorees!
The 2022 World Animation Summit brings together creative luminaries and industry leaders to explore the latest trends and technologies in animation and VFX, as well as celebrate the just-announced stars being honored with this year’s Hall of Fame awards.
Taking place November 6-9 on the grounds North Hollywood’s historic hotel The Garland, the Summit will kick off with an opening night gala and award ceremony (Nov. 6), followed by three days of special keynotes, panels and networking breakfasts, lunches and parties with top-tier executives and creative talent representing various aspects of the industry.
Nickelodeon executives Latifa Ouaou (EVP of Movies, Global Franchises, Nickelodeon/Paramount), Claudia Spinelli (SVP, Nickelodeon) and Eryk Casemiro (Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Animation, Global Series Content) will also be taking part in two must-see panels during the 2022 World Animation Summit.
Tuesday, Nov. 8
12 PM — Animation Execs Tell You How to Stand Out!
Location: Tent
Panelists: Zoe Bamsey, Kim Berglund, Eryk Casemiro, Daniel Weidenfeld, Frank Saperstein
2022 has been quite a challenging year for animation for both traditional outlets and the streamers and everyone tries to hang on to their audiences as competition continues to grow and everyone feels the impact of the latest mergers and the tough economic times. We will catch up with some of the top animation professionals to find out how the new post-Covid era has impacted the way they do business and what kind of animated projects they are seeking from the creative animation community and producers worldwide.
Wednesday, Nov. 9
4:30 — Nickelodeon Spotlight: Building Franchises for Kids in Today’s World
Location: Tent
Panelists: Eryk Casemiro, Latifa Ouaou, Claudia Spinelli
From SpongeBob to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers to Monster High, building franchises is what Nickelodeon does best. Now, more than ever, it’s increasingly important to create original content, characters and stories that have expanding universes and different experiences for kids across the globe. Join the top creative forces at Nickelodeon for a conversation about creating and sustaining the top franchises for kids of all ages.
Additionally, Nickelodeon will be sponsoring two events at 2022 World Animation Summit on Sunday, November 6: Opening Night Cocktail Party at 5:00 p.m. and Awards Gala at 7:00 p.m.
To find out more about the 2022 World Animation Summit, including this year's agenda in full, visit https://animationmagazine.net/summit.
About Ramsey Naito
Naito previously served as Executive Vice President of Paramount Animation in 2018 before assuming her role as Executive Vice President of Animation Production and Development at Nickelodeon Animation.
At Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation content across all formats and platforms– spanning linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical motion pictures and SVOD. Since joining the network in 2018, Naito has since overseen a renaissance at the studio of animation content and production in scale and creativity.
She has been a driving force at Nickelodeon bringing new projects, top talent and key partnerships to Nickelodeon Animation, to further bolster its content pipeline across preschool, kids, theatrical and its studio business. Notable projects include: the highly anticipated Star Trek: Prodigy from Nickelodeon and CBS Studios’ Eye on Animation; best-selling book adaptations Real Pigeons Fight Crime, produced by James Corden and Ben Winston, and the critically acclaimed Big Nate; Tiny Chef in partnership with Imagine Kids+Family; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem theatrical motion picture in partnership with Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, helmed by Jeff Rowe, and PAW Patrol: The Movie; the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years; and the animated series based on Monster High, the iconic franchise in partnership with Mattel.
Simultaneously, Naito manages the day-to-day operations of Nickelodeon’s current series and development slate, overseeing the network’s key franchises including: SpongeBob SquarePants, The Casagrandes, The Loud House, Baby Shark, Blue’s Clues & You!, Santiago of the Seas, The Patrick Star Show, the Rugrats reboot and Nickelodeon’s latest original series Middlemost Post.
To continue growing Nickelodeon’s animation business beyond linear, in 2019, Naito oversaw the network’s multi-year output deal with Netflix to produce original animated feature films and television series, based both on the Nickelodeon library of characters as well as all-new IP for kids and families globally. This deal marked an expansion of the existing relationship between the companies, which has already brought several popular titles to Netflix, including animated specials Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, and movies based on The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Building an inclusive and diverse culture at the animation studio and developing emerging and homegrown talent has been a strong point in Naito’s mission throughout her time at Nickelodeon. Naito has brought in more than 700 new employees across dozens of animation productions, and since employees began working remotely in March in 2020, over 200 new positions have been filled with studio productions operating virtually at 100%. Nickelodeon currently has over 50 animated shows in production across series, its studio business and movies, and doubled its production slate by end of 2020. Under Naito’s leadership, Nickelodeon also held its first-ever virtual job fair this year, garnering nearly 6000 attendees globally, exemplifying a commitment to hire inclusively and to reflect authenticity and diversity in storytelling.
Naito produced DreamWorks Animation’s Oscar®-nominated feature, The Boss Baby, while also earning her a PGA nomination for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Ramsey worked as a producer for Blue Sky Studios, at Cartoon Network as Head of Movies and at Nickelodeon Movies as Vice President of Development & Production. Her executive and producer credits include: Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009), Barnyard (2006), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002), Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002), the Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
(2000), and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).
Naito is a member of Women in Animation, the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art and her Master of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts. Naito is based in Nickelodeon’s Burbank, Calif. studio.
About Eryk Casemiro
Eryk Casemiro is Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Animation, Global Series Content, leading animation series content for preschool and Kids 6-11 across all formats and platforms for the Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Based in Nickelodeon’s Burbank, Calif., headquarters, Casemiro oversees the day-to-day operations of the animated series teams, with creative and business oversight of production and development on both the east and west coasts.
An Emmy® Award-winning producer, Casemiro’s creativity and leadership has helped grow Nickelodeon’s animation division, translating into the ongoing success of some of Nick’s biggest preschool hits including Baby Shark’s Big Show!, Blue’s Clues & You!, PAW Patrol and Santiago of the Seas, as well as the Rugrats reboot, on which he also serves as executive producer. Series highlights for 2022 under Casemiro’s team include Paramount+'s Big Nate, Tiny Chef, Monster High, Transformers, Star Trek: Prodigy season two, Rugrats season two, SpongeBob SquarePants, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, Hamsterdale, Zokie Sparkleby, Rock, Paper, Scissors from the Intergalactic Shorts Program, Max and the Midknights and the series strategy for Avatar Studios.
Casemiro most recently served as Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Preschool, in charge of the network’s preschool production and development across all formats and platforms spanning digital, TV and film. He is a Rugrats alum, having worked on the original series during his time as Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs at Klasky-Csupo Productions. While at Klasky-Csupo Productions, Casemiro was also responsible for the development and production of beloved Nickelodeon shows such as The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, As Told By Ginger, and All Grown Up!, earning the studio three Ark Trust Awards, four Humanitas Awards, 10 Emmy nominations, and an Emmy Award. He also led the development and production of feature films for Paramount Pictures including Rugrats Go Wild, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, and The Rugrats Movie.
Previously, Casemiro was the Chief Creative Officer for Zodiak Kids Studios, comprised of Marathon Media and Tele-Image in Paris, and the Foundation in London, where he produced Kody Kapow for Sprout NBC/Universal; Lilybuds for France Televisions and Discovery Kids Latin America; and Magiki for DeA Kids and Planeta. Prior to that, Casemiro was Chief Creative Officer for Marathon Media, overseeing the production of Get Blake for Nickelodeon Global and LoliRock, a co-production with Disney and France Televisions.
Casemiro also worked as a writer/producer on series including: OLIVIA, based on Ian Falconer’s award-winning book; Poppy Cat, adapted from illustrator Lara Jones’ picture book series and currently seen in 170 countries across the globe; and The Mr. Men Show, adapted from Roger Hargreaves’ Little Miss and Mr. Men book series, for which he received his 11th Emmy nomination–this time for Best Writing in a Children’s Series.
Casemiro began his career with Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, where he produced Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Candles, Snow and Mistletoe for CBC, Lassie’s 40th Special, and the long-running hit Frosty Returns, now in its 29th year on CBS.
About Latifa Ouaou
Bio coming soon!
About Claudia Spinelli
Claudia Spinelli is Nickelodeon’s Senior Vice President of Animation for Big Kids. In this role, Spinelli oversees the Development and Production of all animated content for Kids 6-11. Her most recent projects include: Star Trek: Prodigy, Transformers: EarthSpark (which is being produced in a partnership with eOne), the SpongeBob SquarePants spinoffs Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and The Patrick Star Show, Big Nate, The Middlemost Post, and the Monster High animated series (produced in a partnership with Mattel).
Spinelli began her career at Nickelodeon in 2000 in Animation Development before expanding into Current Series where she oversaw the brand management of SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron and Avatar: The Last Airbender. As SpongeBob SquarePants grew in popularity, Spinelli was elevated to Executive in Charge (EIC) of the series in 2007. Throughout her career at Nickelodeon, Spinelli also served as EIC of Sanjay and Craig, Harvey Beaks, Robot and Monster, Get Blake!, Random! Cartoons, The Mighty B!, Making Fiends, and Planet Sheen, among others.
Spinelli’s work on SpongeBob SquarePants extended beyond the show as she has helped initiate projects throughout other areas of the company including: marketing partnerships with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; SpongeBob SquarePants theme park attractions; the franchise’s expansion into Social Media, video games featuring the iconic character; and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, which garnered 12 Tony Award nominations.
Spinelli holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from New York University. She also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Animation and Digital Arts from University of Southern California, where later she taught a class on Introductory Principles of Motion for Animation for the Interactive Media Department. In between her degrees, she held a number of positions in various animation houses in New York City on commercials and short films.
About Jorge R. Gutierrez
Emmy and Annie award winning Jorge R. Gutierrez is a Mexican animator, painter, voice actor, writer, and director. Born in Mexico City, raised in Tijuana, CalArts graduate, Gutierrez has completed various films, cartoons, and paintings exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture.
Gutierrez was the director & co-writer of the Guillermo Del Toro produced animated feature The Book of Life for Fox which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe Award nomination. He was also the writer & director of the Emmy nominated Son of Jaguar VR short for Google. Along with his wife and muse, Sandra Equihua, they created the multiple Emmy Award–winning animated series El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon. Gutierrez most recently created the event series Maya and the Three for Netflix which recently won 2 Annie Awards, including Best Children’s TV/Media award. Gutierrez is currently developing a Netflix animated feature named I, Chihuahua! with Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias.
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