Ánima, the leading Latin American animation production house, in association with Videocine, Televisa’s Mexico City-based distribution company, have struck a deal with The Walt Disney Company Latin America which will see the House of Mouse pick distribution rights on Ánima’s popular “Las Leyenda” (“The Legends”) series of films which will be made available on Disney Plus in Latin America.
Feature titles in the series now headed to Disney Plus include “The Legend of Llorona,” “The Legend of the Mummies,” “The Legend of Chupacabras” and “The Legend of Charro Negro.
“Las Leyendas” films follow young Leo San Juan, a pre-teen adventurer who can communicate with supernatural entities. San Juan teams up with a group of friends and together the kids investigate stories of monsters, ghosts and other fictional creatures from the region and abroad.
Although many of the “monsters” are viewed by locals as malicious or evil, Leo is often empathetic to their plight and frequently takes pity on the creatures he’s asked to stop.
“Since the initial launch with the first film in 2007, ‘Las Leyendas’ films continue to be ranked as some of the top grossing movies of all time in Mexico achieving tremendous box-office and audience success with each film more successful than the previous one,” said José C. García de Letona, COO and co-founder of Ánima.
“With an ever-growing loyal fan base and storylines that include creatures and ghosts, I have no doubt these titles will be very appealing for the Disney Plus audience in Latin America,” added Ánima co-founder and CEO Fernande De Fuentes Sainz.
The Disney deal is the latest in a string of big moves made by Ánima this year, as the company nears its 20th anniversary in 2022. In August, the company launched a dedicated adult-young adult division and announced that it will begin production on “El Santos,” a serialized version of its 2012 comic book-inspired feature “El Santos vs la Tetona Mendoza.”
The star-studded, landmark films established Ánima as not only a regional powerhouse of Mexican animation, but a leading creator of cartoon content internationally, and was the company’s first production to screen at France’s prestigious Annecy Animation Festival.