Atomic Cartoons promotes animation duo

Thunderbird Entertainment Group in Canada has made two senior appointments at its kids’ and family division, Atomic Cartoons.

Chris Buckley

Nadine Westerbarkey has been promoted to head of 2D animation, while Chris Buckley has been upped to head of 3D animation. Both roles are based in Vancouver.

Westerbarkey previously served as animation director at the company, working on productions such as 101 Dalmatian Street, which recently premiered on Disney, and Hilda, which launched as a Netflix original in 2018.

Prior to joining Thunderbird’s kids’ and family division in 2017, Westerbarkey held roles at DHX Media, Bardel Entertainment and Disney.

Buckley has worked as an animation director on multiple productions at Atomic, including Lego Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit. He also joined Thunderbird’s kids and family division in 2017, having previously held roles at Industrial Light & Magic, Animal Logic and Sony Pictures Imageworks.

“As we continue to expand our production pipeline by attracting top-quality service work from the likes of Netflix, Disney and NBCUniversal, and acquiring highly sought-after IP that includes Princesses Wear Pants and The Last Kids on Earth, Nadine and Chris will be key to making sure our animation teams continue to excel,” said CEO Jennifer McCarron.