Emmy- and Annie-nominated director John Aoshima (pictured) has signed an exclusive multi-year overall agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation that will see him steer both original and studio films for the unit as a director of development.

Bringing a strong background in kids toons to the table, Aoshima spent his early career working as an animator and story artist on projects like Avatar: The Last Airbender (Nickelodeon) and stop-motion feature Kubo and the Two Strings (LAIKA), before stepping up to direct episodes of Disney Channel/Disney XD shows Gravity Falls and Duck Tales.

And more recently, he spent nearly seven years at Netflix, starting out as a sequence director on Maya and the Three and eventually co-directing last year’s acclaimed in-house feature Ultraman: Rising.

News of this overall deal comes in the wake of last week’s CinemaCon expo, where WBPA teased kids & family projects including Meet The Flintstones and Margie Claus during the Warner Bros. presentation. Scheduled for release next year from the division is The Cat in the Hat (February 27, 2026), as well as Coyote vs. Acme, which will now be distributed by Ketchup Entertainment.

Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix