Yet, beneath the surface of this tech-driven city-state, a quiet but resilient ecosystem of is not only surviving—it is evolving.

“We were the best invisible artists in the world,” says , a veteran animator who worked on The Amazing Spiez! . “We could match any style—French, American, Japanese. But we had no style of our own.”

At 10 am, the team is gathered around a TV screen, reviewing an animatic for a preschool show bound for CBeebies. The director, a Singaporean in her 30s, points to a sequence involving a otter (Singapore’s unofficial animal mascot).

For most of the late 90s and early 2000s, "2D animation production in Singapore" meant one thing: . Local artists were world-class "hands" but not "heads." They cleaned up in-between frames for The Powerpuff Girls , colored backgrounds for Dexter’s Laboratory , and animated sequences for The Simpsons .

More co-productions with Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. The proposed Singapore-Malaysia Animation Corridor (under discussion) could allow SG studios to access regional talent at lower cost while keeping IP ownership.

For decades, Singapore has been known as a hub for 3D animation and visual effects (think The Lego Batman Movie and Overwatch ). But 2D animation? That was considered a dying art form, outsourced to Japan or Korea. However, a new generation of homegrown studios, streaming giants, and a nostalgic global appetite for hand-drawn aesthetics is rewriting the narrative. To understand the present, we must look at the 1990s. Singapore’s government identified animation as a strategic growth sector. Tax incentives and infrastructure attracted foreign giants. In came Hanna-Barbera , Walt Disney Television Animation , and later, Cartoon Network .

A boutique studio specializing in "adult 2D." Their work on Downstairs (a dark comedy about HDB living) went viral locally, proving that 2D animation isn't just for kids. They now do concept art and animation for international music videos and indie games.