New Nelvana boss Mellany Welsh sets out stall
By Jordan Pinto
19-03-2024
Canadian studio Nelvana’s new head, Mellany Welsh, discusses her strategic priorities in the coming months, plans to rejuvenate dormant franchises like Franklin the Turtle, and how an internal taskforce is helping to examine the risks and opportunities presented by AI.
Mellany Welsh
Storied Canadian animation studio Nelvana came under new leadership six weeks ago as Mellany Welsh took the reins from outgoing president Pam Westman.
Welsh, who now leads the company as VP and head of Nelvana, assumes leadership at a time when the firm’s parent company Corus Entertainment, and the wider children’s entertainment ecosystem, is contending with several major challenges including shrinking viewership, audience fragmentation and an advertising downturn.
Nelvana, however, has been an enduring, innovative entity within the international kids’ media landscape since it launched in 1971 and Welsh insists it will remain that way.
“There’s no doubt this is a challenging time for our business and I imagine it will continue to be this way for the foreseeable future, but adapting to the ever-changing market is really a strength of Nelvana, given that we’ve been around for 50 years,” she tells C21.
Things have moved swiftly since the late-January announcement that Westman, along with several other senior Corus executives, was exiting her post.
Less than a week later, Welsh was on her way to San Diego for Kidscreen Summit to attend her first industry conference as the public face of the company.
Welsh is no stranger to the inner workings of Nelvana and its parent company, where she has held various roles for the better part of 15 years. Prior to her promotion, she led Nelvana’s licensing and merchandising business, in addition to its publishing imprint Kids Can Press. In her expanded role, she also assumes oversight of all aspects of Nelvana’s animation and live-action studio.
Piñata Smashlings is produced by Nelvana and London-based toy company Toikido
Over the next few months, Welsh says she plans to immerse herself in the new aspects of the role, which means diving further into the studio side of the business, meeting with key studio heads to discuss active productions and learning more about the operational and creative aspects of the company.
“Out of the gate, that’s the most important thing for me,” she says, adding that everything she does will be geared to responding to market requirements. “I want to make sure we’re hyper focused on what the broadcasters and markets need and that everything we have in development is answering those needs.”
She also notes she wants to create a “cross-functional team culture” to ensure Nelvana’s various groups are able to build out long-term franchises as effectively as possible. In total, Nelvana has a team of around 250 people across all departments.
Key titles coming down the pipe include Piñata Smashlings, a 26×11’ 2D animated series produced by Nelvana and London-based toy company Toikido. Based on Toikido’s Roblox gaming property, the series is aimed at kids aged six-to-nine and follows four friends who have been thrown together by fate to form a team of very unlikely heroes as they go on quests to save the Piñataverse from the evil Bashlings.
Corus-owned kids network YTV boarded the project earlier this year and it is currently being shopped to other international broadcasters and platforms.
Corus and Toikido are putting a major push behind the brand, with a series of animated shorts already released on YouTube, toys being sold in several territories and a publishing programme in place.
This marks the first time Nelvana has produced a project based on an IP originating on Roblox, and Welsh says the plan is to do more. “Where it makes sense to expand on a world that isrooted in gaming, we will definitely be looking in that area,” she says.
Millie Magnificent is a 3D animated preschool series
Another key upcoming title is 3D animated preschool series Millie Magnificent, based on Ashley Spires’ Most Magnificent book series.
Nelvana also plans to tap into its IP mine, cultivated during its five-decade existence, to revive dormant properties for IP-hungry buyers.
“It’s important to have a mix within our portfolio of new original IP and established IP. But when there’s so much in the market, and so much competition for kids’ attention, if there’s any pre-awareness of IP – even if it’s from the parents’ perspective – it helps,” she says.
Among the properties Nelvana is looking to revive is Franklin, reveals Welsh, the animated preschool series about a turtle who goes on adventures to learn about the world he lives in. The original iteration of the series, which is based on the book series Franklin the Turtle, aired for six seasons between 1997 and 2004. It is currently in development with Nelvana.
While animation will continue to be the primary focus for Nelvana, Welsh says the company will remain in the live-action children’s content space, where it has previously produced shows including a reboot of The Hardy Boys, which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023. Its focus in the live-action space will be on the 13-and-under age group, she notes.
One topic that all studio heads are being forced to confront is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), which looms large over the entire animation sector and its workforce.
DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg made headlines in November when he claimed AI could, in the future, reduce 90% of the time and labour involved in producing animated feature films. Others have suggested it will lead to an explosion of creativity and not bring about as many job losses as initially feared.
Asked for her take on the potential ramifications of AI on the animation business, Welsh says that it is too early to understand its full impact. However, she wants Nelvana to lean into rather than away from emerging technologies.
“I don’t yet know how it might improve or take costs out of the business, so I don’t want to comment on that specifically. But I will say that I’m a big believer in tech and plan on fostering a culture at Nelvana that embraces tech and doesn’t shy away from it.
“We know AI is already prevalent and used by many, not just in studios but in people’s everyday lives. For me and Nelvana, it’s really important that we are responsible and that we find ways to find guidelines with how we might use AI.”
To that end, Corus has created an internal taskforce to examine how to implement AI within various parts of the business and simultaneously establish guidelines for using it responsibly.
“It’s important that any opportunities we look at align with the values of the company. We have a duty to protect children with what we’re putting out there, so we’re being very careful about it. I hope we will figure out how we might integrate it, if at all, in the near future,” she says.
READ LESSCanadian studio Nelvana’s new head, Mellany Welsh, discusses her strategic priorities in the coming months, plans to rejuvenate dormant franchises like Franklin the Turtle, and how an internal taskforce is helping to examine the risks and opportunities presented by AI.
Mellany Welsh
Storied Canadian animation studio Nelvana came under new leadership six weeks ago as Mellany Welsh took the reins from outgoing president Pam Westman.
Welsh, who now leads the company as VP and head of Nelvana, assumes leadership at a time when the firm’s parent company Corus Entertainment, and the wider children’s entertainment ecosystem, is contending with several major challenges including shrinking viewership, audience fragmentation and an advertising downturn.
Nelvana, however, has been an enduring, innovative entity within the international kids’ media landscape since it launched in 1971 and Welsh insists it will remain that way.
“There’s no doubt this is a challenging time for our business and I imagine it will continue to be this way for the foreseeable future, but adapting to the ever-changing market is really a strength of Nelvana, given that we’ve been around for 50 years,” she tells C21.
Things have moved swiftly since the late-January announcement that Westman, along with several other senior Corus executives, was exiting her post.
Less than a week later, Welsh was on her way to San Diego for Kidscreen Summit to attend her first industry conference as the public face of the company.
Welsh is no stranger to the inner workings of Nelvana and its parent company, where she has held various roles for the better part of 15 years. Prior to her promotion, she led Nelvana’s licensing and merchandising business, in addition to its publishing imprint Kids Can Press. In her expanded role, she also assumes oversight of all aspects of Nelvana’s animation and live-action studio.
Piñata Smashlings is produced by Nelvana and London-based toy company Toikido
Over the next few months, Welsh says she plans to immerse herself in the new aspects of the role, which means diving further into the studio side of the business, meeting with key studio heads to discuss active productions and learning more about the operational and creative aspects of the company.
“Out of the gate, that’s the most important thing for me,” she says, adding that everything she does will be geared to responding to market requirements. “I want to make sure we’re hyper focused on what the broadcasters and markets need and that everything we have in development is answering those needs.”
She also notes she wants to create a “cross-functional team culture” to ensure Nelvana’s various groups are able to build out long-term franchises as effectively as possible. In total, Nelvana has a team of around 250 people across all departments.
Key titles coming down the pipe include Piñata Smashlings, a 26×11’ 2D animated series produced by Nelvana and London-based toy company Toikido. Based on Toikido’s Roblox gaming property, the series is aimed at kids aged six-to-nine and follows four friends who have been thrown together by fate to form a team of very unlikely heroes as they go on quests to save the Piñataverse from the evil Bashlings.
Corus-owned kids network YTV boarded the project earlier this year and it is currently being shopped to other international broadcasters and platforms.
Corus and Toikido are putting a major push behind the brand, with a series of animated shorts already released on YouTube, toys being sold in several territories and a publishing programme in place.
This marks the first time Nelvana has produced a project based on an IP originating on Roblox, and Welsh says the plan is to do more. “Where it makes sense to expand on a world that isrooted in gaming, we will definitely be looking in that area,” she says.
Millie Magnificent is a 3D animated preschool series
Another key upcoming title is 3D animated preschool series Millie Magnificent, based on Ashley Spires’ Most Magnificent book series.
Nelvana also plans to tap into its IP mine, cultivated during its five-decade existence, to revive dormant properties for IP-hungry buyers.
“It’s important to have a mix within our portfolio of new original IP and established IP. But when there’s so much in the market, and so much competition for kids’ attention, if there’s any pre-awareness of IP – even if it’s from the parents’ perspective – it helps,” she says.
Among the properties Nelvana is looking to revive is Franklin, reveals Welsh, the animated preschool series about a turtle who goes on adventures to learn about the world he lives in. The original iteration of the series, which is based on the book series Franklin the Turtle, aired for six seasons between 1997 and 2004. It is currently in development with Nelvana.
While animation will continue to be the primary focus for Nelvana, Welsh says the company will remain in the live-action children’s content space, where it has previously produced shows including a reboot of The Hardy Boys, which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023. Its focus in the live-action space will be on the 13-and-under age group, she notes.
One topic that all studio heads are being forced to confront is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), which looms large over the entire animation sector and its workforce.
DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg made headlines in November when he claimed AI could, in the future, reduce 90% of the time and labour involved in producing animated feature films. Others have suggested it will lead to an explosion of creativity and not bring about as many job losses as initially feared.
Asked for her take on the potential ramifications of AI on the animation business, Welsh says that it is too early to understand its full impact. However, she wants Nelvana to lean into rather than away from emerging technologies.
“I don’t yet know how it might improve or take costs out of the business, so I don’t want to comment on that specifically. But I will say that I’m a big believer in tech and plan on fostering a culture at Nelvana that embraces tech and doesn’t shy away from it.
“We know AI is already prevalent and used by many, not just in studios but in people’s everyday lives. For me and Nelvana, it’s really important that we are responsible and that we find ways to find guidelines with how we might use AI.”
To that end, Corus has created an internal taskforce to examine how to implement AI within various parts of the business and simultaneously establish guidelines for using it responsibly.
“It’s important that any opportunities we look at align with the values of the company. We have a duty to protect children with what we’re putting out there, so we’re being very careful about it. I hope we will figure out how we might integrate it, if at all, in the near future,” she says.