‘Hey A.J.!’ Studio Surfing Giant Opening New Tenerife Facility

Surfing Giant Studios is expanding its European animation footprint with the launch of a new production facility in the increasingly vibrant Santa Cruz de Tenerife, reinforcing the Canary Islands’ growing reputation as a major international animation hub.

Scheduled to open in spring 2026, the Tenerife studio says it will create more than 100 new animation and production jobs on the island, with the majority of hires expected to come from Tenerife and mainland Spain. Recruitment will begin in the coming weeks, with positions advertised publicly through official channels.

The move builds on the Canary’s rapid rise as a global animation center, fueled by highly competitive tax incentives, a favorable production and living environment, and a rapidly expanding local talent base. Once home to only a few studios, Tenerife has developed into a vibrant animation ecosystem that continues to attract international companies seeking scalable production capacity in Europe. It’s also the home of the prestigious Quirino Awards.

Surfing Giant’s new facility has been designed as a purpose-built, collaborative workspace and will initially focus on 2D animation production, with plans to expand into additional formats and platforms. The studio will operate as part of a connected European production network alongside the company’s Manchester facility, allowing teams to support multiple series simultaneously through shared 2D and 3D pipelines.

The expansion follows a period of rapid growth for Surfing Giant, including the recent debut of its first long-form animated series, Hey A.J!, on Disney Junior, Disney Channel, and Disney+. The studio is also preparing to begin production on an undisclosed action-adventure series for a major U.S. network.

Both the Manchester and Tenerife studios will operate under head of studio Helen Brown, overseeing production, recruitment, and talent development across locations.