Huhu Studios

Huhu Studios was an animation studio based in Warkworth, New Zealand. Founded in 1996 by director Trevor Yaxley, the company began as a boutique operation producing small-scale television series and direct-to-DVD animation. Its early business model reflected the production environment available to smaller studios: developing comparatively focused projects, contributing animation services, and building a portfolio that could travel across international distribution markets. Over time, Huhu expanded its New Zealand operations and developed an international footprint in China, where it established two studios in Beijing. This expansion increased the company’s production capacity and positioned it to participate in projects requiring distributed animation teams. At its height, the studio employed approximately 100 people. Its work included animated television properties, feature-length or special-format projects, and productions aimed at home-entertainment audiences. The studio’s credited or associated productions included VeggieTales, Buzz and Poppy, Turbo Dogs, Sinbad & the 7 Galaxies, The Ten Commandments, Fifty the Tractor, Life at the Pond, Hermie and Friends, and Mosley. These projects represented a broad mix of children’s entertainment, faith-oriented or family programming, television animation, and animated film. The range of titles illustrates Huhu’s role primarily as a production and co-production studio rather than as a consumer-facing entertainment conglomerate built around one proprietary franchise. In its later period, Huhu Studios focused increasingly on international co-productions. This strategy allowed the company to work across national production ecosystems and seek projects beyond the domestic New Zealand market. It also made the studio dependent on the continuity of international production arrangements, financing, staffing, and travel or operational conditions. In 2022, Yaxley said that Huhu Studios had closed because of pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The original intention was reportedly to mothball the studio and reopen it, but the prolonged duration of the pandemic made that plan impractical. The closure ended the active operation of a New Zealand animation company that had grown from a small boutique studio into a business with international facilities and a workforce of roughly 100 at its peak.

Huhu Studios was established in 1996 by Trevor Yaxley in New Zealand. It began as a boutique animation company serving smaller-scale television and direct-to-DVD projects. This initial focus gave the studio a relatively flexible position within the animation sector, where smaller producers could contribute to projects without operating at the scale of the largest international entertainment groups. As the company developed, it expanded its New Zealand operation and created two studios in Beijing, China. The Chinese facilities broadened Huhu’s production resources and supported work requiring larger or geographically distributed teams. At its peak, the studio employed around 100 people, marking a substantial increase from its original boutique format. Huhu’s production history covered a range of animated television shows, films, and home-entertainment projects. Its listed work included VeggieTales, Buzz and Poppy, Turbo Dogs, Sinbad & the 7 Galaxies, The Ten Commandments, Fifty the Tractor, Life at the Pond, Hermie and Friends, and Mosley. The company therefore operated across children’s animation, family entertainment, faith-oriented programming, television content, and film projects. In its later years, Huhu Studios placed greater emphasis on international co-productions. This approach connected the New Zealand studio with overseas partners and projects, while making its business dependent on international financing, scheduling, production continuity, and market access. The model was consistent with the studio’s earlier expansion into China and its broader effort to operate beyond the New Zealand market. The COVID-19 pandemic became a decisive disruption. In 2022, Yaxley said the studio had closed under the pressure created by the pandemic. The initial plan was to mothball the company and resume operations later, but the pandemic lasted long enough to undermine that reopening strategy. Huhu Studios consequently ceased active operations. No successor owner, parent company, or reopening date is identified in the available reference material.

• 2022

  Studio closes

  [1]Huhu Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Trevor Yaxley said the studio closed after prolonged COVID-19-related pressures prevented a planned temporary mothballing from turning into a reopening.

• 1996

  Huhu Studios is founded

  [1]Huhu Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  Trevor Yaxley founded Huhu Studios in New Zealand as a boutique animation studio focused on smaller television series and direct-to-DVD projects.

• Expansion into China

  [1]Huhu Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  The company expanded its New Zealand operation and established two studios in Beijing, increasing its international production capacity.

• International co-production focus

  [1]Huhu Studiosen.wikipedia.org

  In its later operating period, Huhu Studios concentrated on international co-productions.

A New Zealand-founded animation production studio that combined boutique development with international production capacity and co-production work.

• Animated television and family entertainment · 2009

  VeggieTales

  VeggieTales is listed among Huhu Studios’ animated production credits for the 2009–2015 period. The property is a children’s and family-oriented animated series built around anthropomorphic vegetable characters and moral or educational storytelling.

• Children's animated series · 2004

  Hermie and Friends

  Hermie and Friends is listed as a Huhu Studios production credit for 2004–2005. It is a family-focused animated property centered on insect characters and values-oriented storytelling.

• Animated television series

  Turbo Dogs

  Turbo Dogs is among the animated television projects associated with Huhu Studios. The title indicates a children’s adventure or comedy format featuring a canine cast, and represents the studio’s work in serialized family animation.

• Animated children's production

  Buzz and Poppy

  Buzz and Poppy is listed among Huhu Studios’ animated productions. Available reference material identifies the title as part of the studio’s children’s animation output but does not provide further production or distribution details.

• Animated film or special

  Sinbad & the 7 Galaxies

  Sinbad & the 7 Galaxies is listed among Huhu Studios’ animated projects. The title combines the traditional Sinbad adventure motif with a science-fiction setting, reflecting the studio’s involvement in feature or special-format family animation.

• Faith-oriented animated film

  The Ten Commandments

  The Ten Commandments is included in Huhu Studios’ film and animation credits. The project belongs to the studio’s work in faith-oriented and family-targeted animated entertainment.

• Children's animated production

  Fifty the Tractor

  Fifty the Tractor is listed as one of Huhu Studios’ animated productions. Reference material provides no additional detail about its format, release, or distribution.

• Animated children's production

  Life at the Pond

  Life at the Pond is included among Huhu Studios’ animated titles. The project appears within the studio’s broader family and children’s entertainment portfolio, although the available source does not specify its exact format.

• Animated film

  Mosley

  Mosley is listed among Huhu Studios’ animated films or major animated projects. It represents the company’s participation in longer-form animation alongside its television and direct-to-DVD work.

• 2022

  Mothballing plan abandoned after pandemic disruptionStrategy

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic placed prolonged pressure on Huhu Studios and disrupted the conditions needed for continued animation production.

  Action taken

  The studio was closed, despite an initial intention to mothball operations temporarily and reopen later.

  Aftermath

  The extended pandemic prevented the planned reopening and brought Huhu Studios’ active operations to an end.

  Source

1. 1Huhu Studiosen.wikipedia.org