Courtesy of Bad Robot
Veteran studio executive and producer Hannah Minghella has joined Netflix as head of feature animation and live-action family film, Variety can exclusively report.
Minghella joins the tech giant from Bad Robot, where she worked across live action, animation and documentary features. She’ll now report to Dan Lin, the recently installed chariman of Netflix’s film operation. In addition to Minghella, Sharon Taylor will return to Netflix to lead production at the unit. Based in Vancouver, Taylor was previously the CEO of Animal Logic studios.
“Hannah brings her unique skill set and experience to this role, along with strong relationships with top filmmakers. As a studio executive and producer, Hannah has overseen many franchise films across animation and live-action. I believe her expertise will deepen our efforts to bring variety and quality to both our animation and live action family film slate,” said Lin.
As a result of the change, current animation head Karen Tolvier will depart. The well-liked leader helped establish Netflix’s animation vertical with films like Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar winner “Pinocchio.” Traci Balthazor will also depart.
Lin praised the pair as having “helped build our animated film division into a powerhouse in the industry, with hit films like ‘Leo,’ Academy Award winner Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘The Sea Beast’ and ‘Nimona,’ while also integrating Animal Logic Studios and expanding key creative partnerships. I have immense gratitude for everything they’ve done.”
While Minghella comes from a most recent stint at Bad Robot, she also served at Sony Pictures for 15 years working on dual slates in family and mainstream live action film. In 2023, she released the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning animated short film, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” for the BBC and Apple. She departs having shepherded an adaptation of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” for Warner Bros. Animation with Jon Chu and Jill Culton directing from a script by Rob Lieber, and songs by Pasek and Paul.
“I am so grateful to Bela and Dan for the opportunity to build on that foundation and collaborate on a dynamic slate of both animation and live-action movies. I have loved my time at Bad Robot with JJ Abrams, Katie McGrath and my wonderful colleagues there. It is hard to leave those people and those projects behind but I return to being an executive with an even deeper appreciation and respect for all artists, storytellers, filmmakers and producers who give so much of themselves to the process of creating,” she said.
At Sony animation, Minghella oversaw titles like “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “Hotel Transylvania” and “The Smurfs,” as well as Aardman Animation’s “Arthur Christmas” and their stop-motion film “The Pirates!.” She also handled franchises like “Goosebumps,” the “Jumanji” reboot and “Peter Rabbit.”
A governor of AMPAS, the England-born Minghella lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three daughters.
