Cartuna
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 1
About Cartuna
Cartuna is an independent animation production and distribution company based in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Founded in 2015, the studio works across adult animation, original television series, animated features, shorts, music videos and branded content. Its projects span digital platforms, broadcast television and theatrical releases, with a particular emphasis on creator-driven comedy and independent filmmaking.
The studio offers production capabilities from concept development and scripting through character design, storyboarding, animatics, background art and animation. Its work also encompasses episodic production, showrunning, post-production, film financing and co-production. This combination supports both commissioned animation and independently developed projects across short-form and feature-length formats.
Television and commissioned animation
Cartuna’s television work includes Human Kind Of and Liverspots and Astronots for Facebook Watch, alongside Dogs In A Park for Watchable and IFC. For Syfy’s TZGZ adult animation block, it developed and produced Science!, Magical Girl Friendship Squad and Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins.
The company has also contributed animation to Comedy Central projects including Loafy and the Office Ladies Animated Series, Showtime’s Desus & Mero and Ziwe, and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Its commercial and branded work includes projects for McDonald’s, DoorDash and Invisalign, as well as Bandai Namco’s PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks. Music videos form another strand of its production work.
Independent film and distribution
Cartuna animated sequences for Penny Lane’s hybrid documentary NUTS! and produced independent features including Tux and Fanny, Strawberry Mansion and OBEX. These projects sit alongside its ongoing series and commercial production activities.
Its distribution business encompasses theatrical, digital and boutique physical releases, including Blu-ray editions. Reported releases and acquisitions include Hundreds of Beavers, Boys Go to Jupiter, Dead Lover and the North American release of Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark. Through these activities, Cartuna combines animation production with financing, production partnerships and release services for independent cinema.
More about Cartuna
Leadership
- Co-founder James Belfer serves as CEO; his background includes film production and teaching as an NYU adjunct professor.
- Co-founder Adam Belfer serves as COO and Head of Digital and Branded Content.
Production model
For its 2019–2020 television work, Cartuna coordinated a network of more than 100 animators, designers and compositors using Adobe Animate and Photoshop pipelines. The report describes a small core team that scales production through freelance collaborators.
Recognition
Penny Lane’s NUTS!, for which Cartuna supplied animation, won a Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Human Kind Of received an Annie Award nomination for Best Animated Television Production. These recognitions concern the productions rather than a standalone studio award.
Distribution partnerships and milestones
Cartuna co-acquired Boys Go to Jupiter with Irony Point. Its acquisition of Dead Lover with Dweck Productions used the separate joint venture Cartuna Dweck LLC, formed on March 21, 2025.
In September 2026, James Belfer launched Video Visions, a boutique home-video and physical-media label operating under Cartuna’s distribution umbrella.
Notable credits
29 creditsOffices
Where Cartuna is based
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
Brooklyn office
HeadquartersPrimary operating studio and production headquarters in Bushwick.
Open roles
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