Nelvana

Nelvana Limited, commonly known as Nelvana, is a Canadian animation studio and children's media company based in Toronto, Ontario. It develops, produces, and distributes animated television series, specials, and feature films, and manages licensing and consumer products associated with its properties.

Nelvana was founded in 1971 by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive Smith. The name Nelvana is connected to Nelvana of the Northern Lights, a Canadian comic book heroine whose name the founders chose for the company. In its early years, Nelvana produced a combination of short films and television specials that helped establish the studio's international reputation in children’s animation.

Among Nelvana’s notable productions are The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978), a musical animated special, and the long-running Care Bears franchise, which began with television specials in the 1980s and expanded into a television series and related merchandise. The company also produced the animated series Babar (1989–1990), based on the Babar the Elephant books. These projects contributed to Nelvana’s role as a leading Canadian animator and producer of children’s programming during the late 20th century.

Since the 1990s, Nelvana has operated as a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment, a Canadian media company. Under Corus, Nelvana has continued to produce and co-produce children’s programming for international broadcasters and maintain a presence in licensing and consumer products. The studio remains active in animation production, development, and distribution, with a focus on family-friendly content for global audiences.