The Hive’s Amit Gicelter Takes Us Inside His Buzzy Animation Studio

Founded in 2010, Israel- and Greece-based The Hive Studio is best known for co-producing award-winning shorts such as the Oscar-nominated short Letter to a Pig, Black Slide and Swimming with Wings, and series such as The Fenestas, Summer Memories and Flying Thoughts.

We had a chance to chat with founder and producer Amit Russell Gicelter about the studio’s recent expansion to Greece and partnership with Athens-based Animasyros Productions, as well as their upcoming projects.

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit of background about The Hive and its many specialties?

Amit R. Gicelter: The Hive Studio is a global award-winning animation studio. I founded it 15 years ago, now operating across four studios in the Mediterranean.

We specialize in developing and producing animated content, including episodic series, films and commercial projects. Our productions are visually diverse — we have proved pipelines for 2D, 3D and even live-action integration. We create original IPs, as well as offer high-end animation services to clients around the world.

Our most acclaimed achievement to date in the indie animation world is an Academy Award nomination for the short film Letter to a Pig, directed by Tal Kantor and co-produced with Miyu Productions.

What are some of the interesting animated projects you are currently working on?

We recently began production on the fifth season of Crayola’s Scribble Scrubbie Pets, a 3D commercial series for early preschoolers with millions of online viewers. The show features Crayola’s products, and we’ve proudly produced Season 4 as well. We’re managing a complex, multi-continent production across three continents — one of our studio’s core strengths.

We’re also provided mid-production on a bold project titled The Normal MFer, produced for CC0 Studios and showrun by Alex Orrelle. This privately owned series tackles themes of loneliness,
stasis, toxic masculinity, and the fear that no one is truly getting better — all wrapped in a fast-paced, meme-laced, minimalistic ally-styled satire.

Meanwhile, at our Athens studio, we’re developing a proof of concept for a new animated series for children inspired by Greek mythology, based on a best-selling local book. It brings classic characters and stories into a contemporary context, making them fresh and fun for kids today.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing you as an indie international company?

Financing is certainly the biggest challenge, the fact that we create and develop our own content is usually the best part of doing what we do, but eventually it’s a lot of sweat and equity invested into this and not many manage to get financed in full. We have been very lucky to succeed in this field, and we have balanced quite well over the years our indie projects and the commercial ones, but it is certainly a challenge.

How is the growing digital creator economy changing the way you run your business and the projects you select?

We’re already seeing a strong connection between content and social media. Today, a project needs a solid social presence to truly break through. I think that’s true across many creative fields, and animation is no exception. Let me give you two examples:

We recently launched a crowdfunding campaign for a project called Vampair, based on a 10-year-old YouTube music videos channel created by Daria Cohen. The channel has 1.04 million subscribers, and its most popular video has over 58 million views. With that kind of built-in audience, we were confident the Kickstarter campaign would do well — and it did. Within just a few days, we raised over $170,000 with the support of 1,274 backers. (Try raising that amount from public funds, assuming
they’d ever fund a project like this in the first place!)

The second example is The Normal MFer, which I mentioned earlier. The project features TikTok star Charlie Curtis-Beard, whose involvement has brought in thousands of viewers we might not have otherwise reached.

Can you talk about the recent expansion to other regions?

When I founded the studio in Tel Aviv in 2010, it began as a small creative hub for local animators. Over the years, our work has grown significantly, and we opened two additional studios in other parts of the country, strategically located near animation schools and regional film funds to nurture local talent and opportunities.

A few years ago, I participated in the Animasyros International Animation Festival in Greece, where I connected with the wonderful team behind the festival, Animasyros Productions, including Vassilis C. Karamitsanis and Maria Anestopoulou. We quickly realized we shared a common vision and creative energy for the entire region , and decided to join forces to open a new studio together: The Hive Greece. This partnership has opened a new window of opportunities for both sides, enabling cross-border collaboration, shared talent pools and access to regional funding and creative ecosystems in both countries.

What do you love about your job today?

I genuinely believe the animation industry is full of the best people in the world. Animation professionals tend to be some of the nicest, most interesting, and friendliest people around (even if a bit introverted at times). That makes my job incredibly enjoyable. Running a studio means I’m constantly in touch with my team and meeting new collaborators, which means lots of human interactions. Beyond that, I love how animation strikes a good balance between art and technology, both of which I find fascinating, fun and inspiring.

What kind of advice would you offer other Indies who are trying to brave the storms of economic turbulence, mergers and acquisitions?

First, the obvious: Don’t give up. This industry takes a lot of perseverance, hard work, and more long nights than most people imagine. Resilience is key.

Second, prioritize real human connection. Networking is essential if you want to move forward. In the early stages especially, an email can only take you so far. A face-to-face meeting (or even a video call) can open doors in ways that written outreach simply can’t.

It also requires some financing and long term investment. It’s funny, because most of us think of our education as the last major investment before entering the industry. But in reality, you’ll also need to budget for things like attending events, conferences and festivals. That’s where the real connections happen. At the end of the day, clients choose to work with you not just for your talent, but because they genuinely enjoy working with you.

What is your take on the use of AI in animation?

First, and it might be a cliché by now, but it’s true: if you don’t learn to work with AI, you risk becoming irrelevant faster than you think. This is the direction the industry (and the world) is heading, and there’s no escaping it. So, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. And once you do, you’ll realize that AI can actually be a fantastic tool.

At our studio, we use AI extensively during the visual development phase, but also in many other parts of the pipeline. That said, it’s important not to rely on it blindly. Always review, refine and add your own creative input, otherwise, the result will carry that unmistakable “AI feel.”

I am also proud to say that the AI and the work with this tool hasn’t replaced us. Just made the workflow different, and often better.

What can we look forward to from your studio in the months ahead?

In the coming months, we’ll be kicking off the 2026 Academy Awards campaign for Butterfly Kiss, a short film we co-produced with Fabian & Fred, directed by Zohar Dvir. It qualified for Oscar consideration after winning the Golden Hugo Award at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival.

We’re also excited to be collaborating with Darjeeling in France on a very intriguing project that’s currently in the fundraising stage. It’s based on a best-selling graphic novel. We can’t share more just yet, but it’s something we’re really excited about.

Visit thehivepro.com to learn more.