Coala Filmes
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2000
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 1
About Coala Filmes
Coala Filmes is an independent Brazilian animation studio and production company based in São Paulo. Founded in 2000, it specializes in handcrafted stop-motion and mixed-media animation for cinema, television and advertising. Its work spans adult and authorial storytelling, children's programming, commissioned campaigns and physical installations, combining sculpted characters and miniature environments with digital modeling and 3D printing.
The studio provides production from initial development through finished animation. Its capabilities encompass screenwriting, character design, storyboarding, set construction, armatures, puppet fabrication and stage shooting, followed by post-production, visual effects, compositing and sound design. Art, model-making and scenery workshops support a production approach built around physical materials and purpose-made characters and sets.
Film and television
An important strand of Coala Filmes' work explores the characters and creative universe of Brazilian cartoonist Angeli. The animated documentary short Dossiê Rê Bordosa appeared in 2008, followed by the television series Angeli The Killer, which aired across two seasons on Canal Brasil. The studio's first feature, Bob Cuspe – Nós Não Gostamos de Gente (Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People), was released in 2021 and brought its stop-motion approach to feature-length storytelling.
Its television output also includes Gildo, a preschool series based on Silvana Rando's books, and Guard Dog, both introduced in 2024. Other short-form productions include Tempestade, GIZ and A Velha a Fiar. These projects reflect a body of work extending across animated shorts, recurring television formats and feature production.
Commissioned production
Alongside its original films and series, Coala Filmes produces advertising, broadcast identities and interstitials, as well as custom sculptures and brand installations. Its commissioned work includes projects for broadcasters, financial institutions, cultural venues and consumer brands, including Canal Brasil, CineSesc, Melissa, Itaú and Luftal. This commercial practice operates alongside the studio's development of independent screen projects.
More about Coala Filmes
Founder and leadership
César Cabral founded the studio and remains its director, stop-motion animator and managing partner. He studied film at the University of São Paulo's School of Communications and Arts. His animation work predates the company, including the 1999 short Shpluph.
Recognition
Bob Cuspe – Nós Não Gostamos de Gente received the Contrechamp Award at Annecy in 2021 and the Grand Prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The report identifies the film as the first Latin American production to receive Ottawa's top prize.
Production model and collaborations
The studio maintains a small core team and expands with specialized artists, modelers, animators and crew during major productions. Gildo was directed by Thomas Larson and César Cabral; Guard Dog was developed in collaboration with American animator Bill Plympton.
Development slate
An October 2, 2026 interview reported five works in development: four feature films and a documentary.
Notable credits
19 creditsOffices
Current and former locations of Coala Filmes
- Rua Augusta, 1239, Conjunto 11, 1º Andar, Consolação, São Paulo, SP, 01305-100, BrazilSão Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo office
HeadquartersAbout this office
Company headquarters and primary production facility, including creative offices, art department, sculpting and model-making workshops, and shooting stages.
- Av. Atlântica, 982, Vila Valparaíso, Santo André, SP, 09060-001, BrazilSanto André, São Paulo, Brazil
Santo André office
Former officeOpened 2014
About this office
Former secondary shooting and production facility. The report identifies the branch registration as dissolved and the facility as closed; no closure year is supplied.
Open roles
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